Apprehensions between ports of entry at the southern border have been dropping throughout the year, but the speed increased since the Biden administration implemented an executive order cracking down on asylum seeking earlier this month.
According to Border Patrol figures, arrests have fallen by 25% so far in June compared to May. The figures can be politically helpful for President Joe Biden, for whom the historic amount of arrivals have become a political liability and a top talking point by his presumptive opponent in the November elections, Donald Trump.
CBP added that the total amount of arrests in May was down 9% compared to April, at 117,900 throughout the entire month. Troy A. Miller, the acting head of CBP, said in a statement that "enforcement efforts are continuing to reduce southwest border encounters," but warned that "our immigration system is not resourced for what we are seeing."
Additional data from CBP showed there were a little over 2,000 encounters along the Southwestern border on Monday, down from 2,460 last Sunday and 2,840 on Saturday, 75% fewer than the 8,057 encounters recorded in December.
Reports have also shown that migrant shelters on the Mexican side of the border are running low on food and hygiene products as more people are staying for longer.
A person working at the Good Samaritan shelter, which is run by the Catholic church, told Border Report that they are tending for the needs of 70 people, when the figure was 40 not long ago.
"We believe we will see a marked increase in the coming days here and at other places, so we should be prepared. Our biggest need is food," said Rev. Juan Fierro. He added that people are now getting to the shelter with the intention of staying, rather than continuing toward the river to cross unlawfully.
"They know the only way to come in legally to the United States now is through the application. They will seek the shelters, rest and begin their application through the app," he added, in reference to CBP One, which allocates 1,450 asylum-seeking appointments a day.
However, it's still unclear whether the measures are having an impact on voters. A Fox News poll showed Biden trimming Trump's advantage on the issue by six percentage points (from 15 to 9 in June). But an Equis poll released Tuesday showed that 41% of Latino voters, a key demographic when it comes to the issue, trust Trump, compared to 38% who favor Biden.
According to the findings, there is deep concern among Latinos that "Biden and the Democrats make promises about immigration reform during the campaign, but fail to deliver once they win." "Democrats no longer hold advantage among Latino voters when it comes to handling immigration," the poll added.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
