The number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border illegally dropped to its lowest level during President Biden's administration in September, according to internal Department of Homeland Security data. Border Patrol apprehended nearly 54,000 individuals who crossed between legal entry points along the U.S.-Mexico border, down from the previous low of 56,000 in July and well below its peak in December, when 250,000 crossings were recorded.
The drop is attributed for the most part to the administration's tough asylum restrictions which were implemented back in June and further enhanced by the end of September. Originally, the U.S. could restrict asylum petitions when the amount of migrants arriving at the border between ports of entry reached 2,500 per day and could then be lifted when the average dropped to 1,500 per day for a week. Now, however, the average will have to extend for almost a month before restrictions can be lifted.
The policy has led to a steady decline in border crossings, maintaining monthly totals between 54,000 and 58,000 throughout the summer. That measure, an 80% reduction in migrant releases, and a rise in deportations — up from 25% in May to over 70% since the new asylum rules took effect — reflect the administration's efforts to curb unlawful immigration, according to CBS News.
Republican lawmakers have argued that the administration's recent border policies are an election strategy by Democrats, while migrant advocates have called on officials to relax asylum restrictions within ports of entry in an attempt to reduce death tolls at the border, which have already surpassed last year's total.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris recently laid out her tough-on-border plans, outlining which include bringing back the bipartisan border bill that was killed by Senate Republicans earlier this year. During a recent visit to Arizona, the vice president also vowed to keep in place Biden's executive order limiting asylum at the southern border, bring more resources to border patrol agents and "keep the border closed."
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