by DNA America Staff
The number of apprehensions of undocumented immigrants by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at the US-Mexico border increased between June and July, according to new data released by the agency on Friday.
The number of migrant encounters along the southern border in July increased to 132,652 from 99,545 crossings in June. According to officials, the month-over-month increase was due to the large number of families crossing the border, which nearly doubled between the two months and led to 60,161 arrests. Almost 40% of migrant families came from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Adult immigrant apprehensions totaled about 62,000 in July, according to CBP. Additionally, CBP agents processed more than 10,000 unaccompanied children in July, representing a 50% increase over June.
“We remain vigilant and continue to adjust our operational plans to maximize law enforcement efforts against those who do not use legal avenues or process, knowing that smugglers continue to use disinformation to take advantage of vulnerable people,” said the acting commissioner of the CBP, Troy Miller, in a statement.
While the July number represents a significant increase, it still marks a decrease from the 181,834 migrants intercepted along the southern border in July 2022.
As of the end of July 2023, around 41,000 Cubans, 72,000 Haitians, 34,000 Nicaraguans and 63,000 Venezuelans crossed the US-Mexico border to seek asylum, according to statistics.
The area that reported the highest number of encounters with migrants was the Tucson Sector, in Arizona, due to misleading advertising by human smugglers who claim that it is easier to cross the border there. Tucson reported 39,215 arrests in July, a 60% increase over arrests seen in June and more than double those seen in July 2022.
The number of immigration detentions has dropped after Title 42 of the pandemic-era policy was lifted on May 11. According to a senior DHS official, as of early May CBP agents were processing nearly 6,000 people a day, a number that has now dwindled to just over 2,000.
“We’ve seen those encounters drop significantly more than 66% from the beginning of May to after Title 42,” the official told reporters on Friday. “And we’ve seen most of the encounters hold steady from time to time.”
– – –
Photo “Illegal Immigrants” by John R. Modlin.
