Arrests of migrants unlawfully crossing the U.S. southern border continued dropping in June and reached the lowest figure of the Biden administration, according to Customs and Border Patrol.
Statistics released by the agency this week showed that such apprehensions decreased by 29% in June, clocking in at 83,536. This compares to 117,901 in May and is the lowest tally since January 2021.
Troy Miller, acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner said that the administration's recent executive orders aimed at stemming migratory flows have been key to the decrease.
"Recent border security measures have made a meaningful impact on our ability to impose consequences for those crossing unlawfully," said Miller. He was making reference to the executive action that largely shuts down asylum claims when the daily average of encounters over a seven day period tops 2,500.
Taking a more granular look, San Diego was the busiest of the nine border sections, followed by Tucson, Arizona. Encounters have sharply dropped along Texas as the Greg Abbott administration reinforced its sector of the border with troops and infrastructure to deter migrants from crossing through the state.
This has led some migrants to attempt crossings through new, more perilous routes. Last week, fire department officials in Texas pulled 54 people out of the Rio Grande, several of them with hypothermia. The people pulled out of the water were turned over to law enforcement, with Border Patrol agents in the area of the rescue.
"I have a message for the migrants: Crossing illegally is against the law and it is dangerous," said Sunland Park Fire Chief Daniel Medrano.
The new scenario is also seeming to cause an increase in murders, with Mexican officials saying that criminal groups are now competing to exploit fewer migrants. Authorities in Chihuahua, a state on Mexico's border with the United States, reported a 33% increase in homicides in the state capital and a 7% increase in Ciudad Juárez. The figures coincide with the Biden administration's crackdown on immigration.
The city of Chihuahua experienced the most significant surge, while June was the second deadliest month of the year in Juárez, with 106 homicides, second only to January, which saw 125.
Elsewhere, over 41,000 people entered legally through government app CBP One last month, taking the total since its launching in January 2023 to 680,500 people.
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