ICYMI: Border Encounters Hit Lowest Level Since August 2020

Yesterday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection released new data showing that since President Biden took executive action on June 4th, border encounters have dropped by more than 55% to the lowest levels in almost four years. Encounters between ports of entry are lower than during the last several months of the previous Administration.

Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris Administration reached a historic bipartisan agreement with Senate Democrats and Republicans to deliver the largest reforms of America's immigration laws in decades. This agreement would have added critical border and immigration personnel, invested in technology to catch illegal fentanyl, and more. But Republicans in Congress chose to put partisan politics ahead of our national security, twice voting against the toughest and fairest set of reforms in decades. The Biden-Harris Administration has taken effective action, and Republican officials continue to do nothing.

The Hill: September Border Patrol encounters lowest since the pandemic
[Rafael Bernal, 10/22/24]

Fewer migrants were apprehended between ports of entry at the southern border in September than in any month since August of 2020, according to new data released by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

According to the numbers released Tuesday, the Border Patrol encountered 53,858 people crossing the border illegally in September, in line with similar numbers posted in July and August, and down from a high of 249,740 in December.

Overall encounters — including both Border Patrol apprehensions and CBP encounters with migrants at official ports of entry — remained flat at 101,790 in September, the lowest posted number since the 101,099 encounters in February of 2021, President Biden's first full month in office.

"The data published today by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that since the President announced new executive actions to secure the border on June 4, unlawful border crossings have dropped by more than 55% to the lowest levels in over four years. Encounters between ports of entry are lower than they were during the last several months of the previous Administration," said White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández.

Spectrum News: Illegal border crossings fall to lowest levels in four years, CBP says
[Susan Carpenter, 10/22/24]

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported a 55% decrease in illegal border crossings between ports of entry at the southwest border since June 5
• The number of noncitizens processed for quick removal from the country has also tripled
• From June 5 through the end of September, the Department of Homeland Security returned or removed more than 160,000 people to over 145 countries
• The agency attributed the border improvements to increased enforcement in the southwest following President Biden's Presidential Proclamation on Securing the Border in early June; hat proclamation suspended and limited the entry of noncitizens into the U.S. who lacked valid documents

The agency attributed the border improvements to increased enforcement in the southwest following Biden's Presidential Proclamation on Securing the Border in early June. That proclamation suspended and limited the entry of noncitizens into the U.S. who lacked valid documents.

AP News: Border arrests fall in September

Arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico fell 7% in September to a more than four-year low, authorities said Tuesday.
…
The White House touted the numbers as proof that severe asylum restrictions introduced in June were having the intended effect, and blamed congressional Republicans for opposing a border security bill that failed in February. Vice President Kamala Harris has used that line of attack against Trump to try to blunt criticism that the Biden administration has been weak on immigration enforcement.

"The Biden Harris Administration has taken effective action, and Republican officials continue to do nothing," said White House spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández.