Illegal border crossings from Mexico dropped by 29 percent in June, marking the lowest month of Joe Biden’s presidency, as reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) this week. The number of arrests decreased to 83,536 in June from 117,901 in May, the lowest since January 2021.
A seven-day average of daily arrests fell by over half by the end of June, following Biden’s June 4 announcement to temporarily suspend asylum processing when daily arrests reached 2,500, which occurred immediately, stated Troy Miller, acting CBP commissioner.
“Recent border security measures have made a meaningful impact on our ability to impose consequences for those crossing unlawfully,” Miller said.
Arrests had already declined more than half from a peak of 250,000 in December, largely due to increased enforcement by Mexican authorities. The decrease was noted across various nationalities, including Mexicans and Chinese, who generally travel through Ecuador to reach the U.S. border.
San Diego recorded the highest number of arrests among the Border Patrol’s nine sectors bordering Mexico, followed by Tucson, Arizona.
In June, over 41,000 people entered legally using the CBP One appointment app, with 680,500 successfully scheduling appointments since its introduction in January 2023. Additionally, nearly 500,000 people from four countries entered the U.S. under a policy allowing two-year stays with financial sponsorship and arrival at an airport. This included 104,130 Cubans, 194,027 Haitians, 86,101 Nicaraguans, and 110,541 Venezuelans, according to CBP.
