Migrant crossings at U.S.-Mexico border plunge 54% from record highs, internal figures show
El Paso, Texas — Illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border in May are down by more than 50% compared to the record highs reported in December, giving the Biden administration an unexpected reprieve during a time when migration has historically surged, according to internal government data obtained by CBS News.
During the first 21 days of May, U.S. Border Patrol agents recorded a daily average of approximately 3,700 apprehensions of migrants between official ports of entry. That represents a 54% decrease from the 8,000 daily average in December, when illegal entries soared to a quarter of a million, an all-time high.
May is also on track to see the third consecutive month-over-month drop in unlawful border crossings, the preliminary U.S. Department of Homeland Security statistics show. In March and April, illegal crossings along the southern border dropped to 137,000 and 129,000, respectively, according to public government data. If the trend continues, Border Patrol is on pace to record between 110,000 and 120,000 apprehensions in May.
tried and failed to advance a bipartisan border security bill for a second time on Thursday, calling the vote to highlight Republicans’ opposition to the legislation in an attempt to shift public opinion on the issue.
That proposal, which was brokered by the White House and a small bipartisan group of senators earlier this year, would give the president an emergency power to shut down asylum between ports of entry when illegal border crossings soar to certain levels. It would also preserve asylum processing at official ports of entry, and allow migrants who pass their initial asylum interviews to work in the U.S. immediately after being released from federal custody.
Most Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have rejected the border agreement, portraying it as insufficiently strict.
Mayorkas on Thursday said he was “very disappointed” by the rejection of the border deal.
“I think President Biden said it quite crisply,” Mayorkas said. “Some want the problem for political reasons, rather than deliver[ing] the solutions that border security and our country’s security needs and the American people deserve.”
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Source: cbsnews.com