The number of people entering the US illegally has fallen sharply, with encounters at ports of entry falling by 25% since the White House announced controversial asylum restrictions earlier this month, according to new monthly statistics released Thursday by US Customs and Border Protection.
The announcement is a welcome development for President Joe Biden, whose executive action on June 4 that shut off access to asylum for migrants who cross the US-Mexico border illegally sought to address an ongoing crisis that has become a significant political challenge.
According to CBP, encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border dropped to 117,900 recorded encounters in May, a 9% decrease from April. However, as CBP notes in a statement, “migration flows are dynamic.”
“CBP continues to take strong enforcement efforts against transnational criminal organizations at our borders and beyond,” CBP Acting Commissioner Troy A. Miller said in a statement.
“Our enforcement efforts are continuing to reduce southwest border encounters. But the fact remains that our immigration system is not resourced for what we are seeing,” Miller added.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration invoked an authority to shut off access to asylum for migrants who cross the US-Mexico border illegally, a significant attempt to address one of the president’s biggest political vulnerabilities ahead of the first presidential debate, which will be held on June 27 on CNN. It was the administration’s most dramatic move on the US southern border and used the same authority former President Donald Trump tried to use in office.
Biden’s executive action followed an unsuccessful attempt by US lawmakers earlier this year to reach a bipartisan agreement that would have changed asylum laws and secured greater funding for agencies to vet migrants seeking asylum in the US. The deal ultimately failed after Trump and House Republicans raised objections.
