WASHINGTON (AP) — Arrests by Border Patrol agents of people entering the United States illegally fell in May to the third-lowest of any month during Biden’s presidency, while preliminary figures released Thursday show encounters with migrants have fallen even further in the United States. about two weeks after the president announced new rules limiting asylum.
The numbers are likely welcome news for a White House struggling to demonstrate to voters concerned about immigration that it has control over the southern border. But the number of people coming to the border is often in flux, depending on conditions in countries far from the U.S. and smugglers taking advantage of global migration.
Border Patrol made 117,900 apprehensions of people entering the country through official border crossing points in May, Customs and Border Protection said in a news release. That is 9% lower than in April, the agency said. The agency said preliminary data since President Joe Biden’s June 4 announcement limiting access to asylum shows a 25% drop in arrests.
“Our enforcement efforts continue to reduce encounters at the southwest border. But the fact remains that our immigration system is not equipped to handle what we are seeing,” said Troy A. Miller, acting chief of CBP.
The U.S. has also benefited from aggressive enforcement on the Mexican side of the border, where Mexican authorities have worked to prevent migrants from reaching the U.S.-Mexico border.
The figures are part of a series of data related to immigration, trafficking and drug seizures released monthly by CBP. The immigration-related numbers are being closely watched at a time of intense political scrutiny over who is entering the country and whether the Biden administration has a handle on the situation.
Immigration is one of the top concerns for voters, with many saying Biden has not done enough to secure the country’s borders. Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has made immigration a cornerstone of his campaign, saying he will deport people in the country illegally en masse and take other measures to crack down on immigration.
After Biden announced his plan to limit access to asylum at the southern border, opponents sued, saying it was no different than a similar effort under Trump.
