In early September, a report revealed that border crossings had decreased so much since president Biden's asylum order in June that the administration is considering a new deactivation trigger, whereby restrictions would only be lifted if daily crossings fell below 1,500 during a 28-day period, considerably longer than the 7-day threshold that currently stands.
On Monday, CBP reported exactly how low their estimate for 2024 border crossings will be, as the annual total continues on track to be the lowest since the end of the Trump administration.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that Border Patrol agents recorded about 58,000 apprehensions between ports of entry in August, up from 56,399 in July but significantly lower than the record 250,000 encounters last December 2023.
The recent decline in border apprehensions marks a shift after three years of record-high crossings. Since Biden's executive orders in June, which imposed stricter asylum rules, migration numbers have fallen sharply, with apprehensions hitting a four-year low in July.
The White House says these actions have helped stabilizing the border situation. According to CBP, the fiscal year that ends on September 30 is expected to conclude with the lowest number of migrant encounters since 2020.
In August, of the 58,000 migrants apprehended, over 36,000 were single adults, about 15,500 arrived with a family member, and 6,400 were unaccompanied children. These numbers are slightly lower than in the final months of 2020, Trump's final year in office, when monthly arrests ranged between 65,000 and 75,000.
According to CBP's news release for August, since Biden's asylum restriction order:
"DHS has removed or returned more than 131,000 individuals to more than 140 countries, including operating more than 400 international repatriation flights. In that period, DHS has almost tripled the percentage of noncitizens processed for Expedited Removal, and the percentage of releases pending immigration court proceedings is down nearly half. Total removals and returns over the past year exceed removals and returns in any fiscal year since 2010 and a majority of all southwest border encounters during the past three fiscal years resulted in a removal, return, or expulsion."
Additionally, CBP reported encountering 40,000 migrants at ports of entry along the southern border, with another 51,000 deemed inadmissible or admitted under parole programs.
The CBP news release also made a point of highlighting the agency's efforts against criminal organizations:
"Through the work of our dedicated personnel, this enhanced enforcement posture is meaningfully disrupting the operations of deadly transnational criminal organizations. In August, CBP's counternarcotics surge efforts also led to the seizure of 30% more dangerous drugs than in July – keeping them out of our communities and enabling further enforcement against these criminal networks."
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