According to authorities, arrests for crossing the U.S. border illegally saw a slight decrease in March, contrary to the usual spring increase, due to heightened immigration enforcement in Mexico. The Border Patrol reported 137,480 arrests of individuals entering from Mexico, marking a 2.3% drop from February's 140,638 arrests. This decline in March arrests is the first since 2017, with crossings typically surging as temperatures warm up.
Mexico's enforcement efforts have intensified, detaining migrants 240,000 times in the initial two months of the year, a significant increase from the same period in 2023. This has led to a diversion of migrants further south within Mexico to deter them from heading to the United States. While specific figures for March from Mexico are yet to be released, U.S. officials credit Mexican enforcement for the recent downturn in border crossings.
