Border arrests for illegal crossings from Mexico dropped by 29% in June, reaching the lowest number during President Biden’s presidency.
In June, there were 83,536 arrests, a significant decrease from 117,901 in May, marking the lowest figure since January 2021 as reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The big picture: The reduction in arrests is attributed to a new rule that temporarily suspends asylum processing, which led to a seven-day average of daily arrests falling by more than half during June.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Troy Miller stated that recent border security measures have had a meaningful impact on imposing consequences for unlawful border crossings.
Go deeper: The decline in arrests has been significant across various nationalities, including Mexicans and Chinese individuals who traditionally fly to Ecuador before traveling to the U.S. border overland.
- San Diego and Tucson, Arizona, were the top two busiest sectors for arrests among the Border Patrol’s nine sectors bordering Mexico.
- In June, over 41,000 people entered legally through CBP One, an online appointment app, with a total of 680,500 successful appointments since its introduction in January 2023.
- Nearly 500,000 individuals from four countries benefited from a policy allowing two-year stays if they had financial sponsors and arrived at an airport. This group included Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans according to CBP data.
