Unauthorized border crossings in November are set to reach a record-breaking low for the Biden administration, according to a recent Customs and Border Protection internal report.
Border Patrol is on track to record fewer than 50,000 apprehensions of unlawful migrant crossings in the southern border in November. The agency averaged roughly 1,550 apprehensions between legal ports of entry each day so far in November, according to the Customs and Border Protection report, which was obtained by CBS News and published on Monday.
If the trend holds, illegal border crossings in November will be below 54,000 apprehensions logged by Border Patrol in November, the current Biden-era low. The last time illegal border crossings were lower was in the summer of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was still strong.
The projected figures show a continuation in a trend that reflects unauthorized border crossings going down since earlier this year, which has been largely attributed to Mexican authorities stopping migrants from reaching American soil and asylum restrictions enacted by President Biden in June.
The sweeping asylum policy has cut the number of migrants released into the U.S. and allowed to apply for legal protection, according to CBS News.
The figures also show that a previous concern of a migrant surge following Donald Trump's electoral victory has not yet come into fruition.
On Nov. 4, nearly 36 hours before Trump declared victory, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas held a virtual meeting with his top advisers and the heads of Customs and Border Protection, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement in which the participants raised concerns about what a possible victory would do to border security, NBC News reported.
"Coyotes," as human smugglers are known, have also reportedly been sending signals to aspiring migrants to make the trip north and cross the border before Trump takes office on Jan. 20. For instance, Beatriz Fuentes, who manages the Casa Fuente shelter for women and children in Mexico City, said her shelter began emptying out even before the election.
"They were told to hurry up in case of a possible change," she said about coyotes pressuring migrants to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump has vowed to enact stricter measures than the Biden administration, proposing the largest mass deportation operation in American history and dismantling Biden-era programs that allow certain migrants to enter the country legally.
Unauthorized immigration has been at the core of Trump's presidential bids. Now that migrant crossings are down before he has taken office, and yet voters still support his mass deportation plans, some experts are calling it the "ultimate irony."
If it continues, the decline in apprehensions could allow the incoming Trump administration to take credit, and give limited resources to carry out his mass deportation plans, which are likely to face logistical and legal challenges.
"It is an ultimate irony, and it is going to put Trump in a position of declaring victory," said Doris Meissner, who led the now-defunct Immigration Naturalization Service during the Clinton administration and currently serves as a senior fellow at the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute.
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