Illegal Border Crossings Fall After 3-Month Surge

(DailyDig.com) – The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on November 14 that unlawful crossings of the border from Mexico declined 14% in October compared to the previous month, capping three months of significant rises.

Arrests for unauthorized border crossings reached 188,778 in October for all nationalities, a decrease from 218,763 during September, which was the second-most month on record. Arrests had doubled in the preceding three months as immigrants and traffickers adapted to new asylum rules implemented in May.

According to the administration, it is a manifestation of the unprecedented global relocation of people. Biden has maintained a two-pronged immigration approach, penalizing unlawful border crossings while also increasing legal channels for entry into the United States. However, migrants claim the lengthy wait for interviews to apply for asylum encourages them to travel across the border illegally.

The acting CBP commissioner, Troy Miller, said that they are continuing to strengthen their security posture for the border and stay watchful. He had encouraged Congress to support President Biden’s supplementary budget request for border-related expenditures of $13.6 billion.

While crossings remain exceptionally high, the monthly reduction is a rare bit of good news for an administration that’s been chastised for its immigration policy by both the left and right.

Biden, a Democrat, has adopted a strategy at the border that blends new legal paths into the nation with tighter asylum limitations for those who cross illegally. Including those authorized routes, immigrants entered the US 240,988 times in October, an 11% decrease from the previous month’s total of 269,735 crossings.

More than 44,000 individuals entered the country from Mexico into the US with appointments planned using the CBP One smartphone app, increasing the total amount of scheduled appointments through the program to 324,000 since its January introduction. Furthermore, almost 270,000 immigrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Cuba arrived in the nation via an airport after registering online with a financial sponsor.