Migrant Arrests Along Border Have Fallen 77% in 2024 But Encounters Up Locally

We hear "back the blue@ often but it's important to remember to "honor the green!"

At Americas southern border migrant arrests have fallen 77% as the illegal flow of immigrants slows significantly into the US border lands. The numbers have fallen from an all-time high to some of the Biden administration’s lowest levels this fiscal year but at the New Mexico and Mexico border migrant encounters went up 22%, going from 9,087 in July to 11,016 in August bucking the national trend.

Migrant arrests along the Southwest border fell 77% in eight months, going from 249,741 in December to 56,399 in July. 

The Biden administration credits several executive actions for the reduction, the most recent being the June 4 proclamation limiting and suspending asylum for those who cross the southern border unlawfully during “times of high encounters.”

When CBP released its monthly report for August, acting CBP Acting Commissioner Troy A. Miller issued a statement: “CBP continues to enforce the Securing the Border interim final rule and deliver strong consequences for illegal entry, and encounters between ports of entry remain at their lowest level in years.”

In May 2023, the DOJ and DHS also issued the Lawful Pathways rule that encourages migrants to use lawful, safe, and orderly processes for entering the United States and deems those who don’t follow them ineligible for asylum.

Some of those “pathways” include the establishment of Safe Mobility Offices in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala; expansion of parole for urgent humanitarian reasons; expansion of access to visa programs for seasonal employment; and the establishment of the CBP One app for non-citizens to schedule asylum interviews.

Additionally, the Biden administration started allowing migrants to make those appointments from as far away as the Mexico-Guatemala border after requiring them to be along the U.S.-Mexico border. According to the Associated Press, 813,000 migrants have used the CBP One system since it was launched in January 2023.

The programs, however, appear to be helping reduce high levels at the border. U.S. Border Patrol agents have encountered fewer migrants attempting to cross illegally.

The Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector, for example, which at one point was the busiest, has the fifth-fewest number of migrant encounters this fiscal year.

However closer to home in New Mexico, whose entire border with Mexico is part of the El Paso Sector, migrant encounters went up 22%, going from 9,087 in July to 11,016 in August.

The increase in New Mexico has been deadly. Local officials and advocates estimate that roughly 200 have died in the New Mexico desert and waterways along the border this year, a sad and heartbreaking record.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, returned to the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday. Harris visited the tiny border town of Douglas, Arizona, where she discussed border security and her work prosecuting transnational criminal organizations while attorney general of California. 

Per a recent CBP report as the largest law enforcement agency in the United States, CBP is uniquely positioned to detect, identify, and seize illicit drugs before they enter our communities. CBP’s combination of interdiction and intelligence capabilities, complemented by its border search authorities, scientific services, non-intrusive inspection equipment, and canine detection teams, places it at the forefront of the U.S. government’s efforts to combat illicit fentanyl and other dangerous drugs.

During FY 2024, through the end of August, CBP has seized over 19,600 pounds of fentanyl. CBP has caught more fentanyl nationwide in fiscal years 2023 and 2024 than ever before in history. We continue to optimize our intelligence and field operations to stop these deadly substances from reaching American communities.

Nationwide in August, seizures of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana (combined, by weight) increased 31% from July. This included a 113% increase in seizures of cocaine and an 84% increase in seizures of methamphetamine from July to August.

Additional CBP drug seizure statistics can be found on the Drug Seizure Statistics webpage.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America's frontline: the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. The 65,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air, and on the seas with a mission to facilitate safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We hear back the blue often but it's important to remember to honor the green!

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