Current:Home > FinanceMigrant crossings at U.S.-Mexico border plunge 54% from record highs, internal figures show -BrightFutureFinance
Migrant crossings at U.S.-Mexico border plunge 54% from record highs, internal figures show
View
Date:2025-04-15 02:33:02
El Paso, Texas — Illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border in May are down by more than 50% compared to the record highs reported in December, giving the Biden administration an unexpected reprieve during a time when migration has historically surged, according to internal government data obtained by CBS News.
During the first 21 days of May, U.S. Border Patrol agents recorded a daily average of approximately 3,700 apprehensions of migrants between official ports of entry. That represents a 54% decrease from the 8,000 daily average in December, when illegal entries soared to a quarter of a million, an all-time high.
May is also on track to see the third consecutive month-over-month drop in unlawful border crossings, the preliminary U.S. Department of Homeland Security statistics show. In March and April, illegal crossings along the southern border dropped to 137,000 and 129,000, respectively, according to public government data. If the trend continues, Border Patrol is on pace to record between 110,000 and 120,000 apprehensions in May.
Border Patrol apprehensions don't include the number of migrants processed at official border crossings, where the Biden administration is admitting roughly 1,500 asylum-seekers on a daily basis.
While still elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels, the drop in migration this year has been unusual, bucking the trend in recent years of migrant crossings soaring in the spring. Senior U.S. officials have partially attributed the lower-than-expected levels of unlawful crossings to an aggressive crackdown on U.S.-bound migrants by the Mexican government.
Mayorkas on the border
In an interview with CBS News in El Paso on Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also credited Biden administration efforts for the downward trend.
"We have driven down the number of encounters at our southern border rather dramatically," Mayorkas told CBS News.
Mayorkas cited a "number of actions that we have taken, not only strengthening our enforcement, not only attacking the smugglers, but also building lawful pathways that enable people who qualify for relief to reach the United States in a safe, orderly and legal way."
The sustained drop in migrant crossings is welcome news politically for President Biden, who has faced withering criticism from two directions: Republicans and moderate Democrats who believe his immigration agenda is too lenient, and progressives who argue his administration has embraced some Trump-era border policies. Immigration has also emerged as a top concern for American voters ahead of November's presidential election.
Aware of the politics around immigration ahead of his election bid, Mr. Biden is considering an executive order that would attempt to suspend asylum processing along the southern border when illegal crossings spike, three people familiar with the White House's planning told CBS News. Officials are aiming to move forward with the move, which would rely on a broad presidential authority known as 212(f), in June, though the timeframe could shift, the sources said, requesting anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
While he did not confirm the expected executive action, Mayorkas said he was "not ruling out options."
"We look at options … every day, to see what more we can do to strengthen our border security in keeping with the law and our country's values," Mayorkas said.
Administration officials have frequently urged Congress to reform the U.S. immigration system, warning that any executive action could be held up in court because of legal challenges.
Senate Democrats tried and failed to advance a bipartisan border security bill for a second time on Thursday, calling the vote to highlight Republicans' opposition to the legislation in an attempt to shift public opinion on the issue.
That proposal, which was brokered by the White House and a small bipartisan group of senators earlier this year, would give the president an emergency power to shut down asylum between ports of entry when illegal border crossings soar to certain levels. It would also preserve asylum processing at official ports of entry, and allow migrants who pass their initial asylum interviews to work in the U.S. immediately after being released from federal custody.
Most Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have rejected the border agreement, portraying it as insufficiently strict.
Mayorkas on Thursday said he was "very disappointed" by the rejection of the border deal.
"I think President Biden said it quite crisply," Mayorkas said. "Some want the problem for political reasons, rather than deliver[ing] the solutions that border security and our country's security needs and the American people deserve."
Camilo Montoya-GalvezCamilo Montoya-Galvez is the immigration reporter at CBS News. Based in Washington, he covers immigration policy and politics.
TwitterveryGood! (7)
Related
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- The cicadas are coming: Check out a 2024 map of where the two broods will emerge
- How Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton Took Their Super-Public Love Off the Radar
- Get Gym Ready With Athleta’s Warehouse Sale, Where You Can Get up to 70% off Cute Activewear
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Messi scores goal, has assist. Game tied 2-2: Sporting KC vs. Inter Miami live updates
- O.J. Simpson died from prostate cancer: Why many men don't talk about this disease
- Chicago shooting kills 7-year-old girl and wounds 7 people including small children, police say
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- 'We'd like to get her back': Parents of missing California woman desperate for help
Ranking
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- Learn more about O.J. Simpson: The TV, movies, books and podcasts about the trial of the century
- A Michigan man and his dog are rescued from an inland lake’s icy waters
- Ohio State football's assistant coach salary pool reaches eight figures for first time
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- Kansas governor vetoes ban on gender-affirming care for minors and 2 anti-abortion bills
- Coachella 2024: See Kendall Jenner, Emma Roberts and More Celebrities at the Desert Music Festival
- Caitlin Clark gets personalized AFC Richmond jersey from 'Ted Lasso' star Jason Sudeikis
Recommendation
Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
OJ Simpson's trial exposed America's racial divide. Three decades later, what's changed?
Masters champ Jon Rahm squeaks inside the cut line. Several major winners are sent home
Ford recall on Broncos, Escapes over fuel leak, engine fire risk prompt feds to open probe
2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
Wildlife ecologist Rae Wynn-Grant talks breaking barriers and fostering diversity in new memoir
Masters weekend has three-way tie and more forgiving conditions. It also has Tiger Woods
Search continues in Maine as officer is charged with lying about taking missing person to hospital