Current:Home > StocksBorder arrests are expected to rise slightly in August, hinting 5-month drop may have bottomed out -MacroWatch
Border arrests are expected to rise slightly in August, hinting 5-month drop may have bottomed out
View
Date:2025-04-14 05:03:46
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico during August are expected to rise slightly from July, officials said, likely ending five straight months of declines.
Authorities made about 54,000 arrests through Thursday, which, at the current rate, would bring the August total to about 58,000 when the month ends Saturday, according to two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that has not been publicly released.
The tally suggests that arrests could be bottoming out after being halved from a record 250,000 in December, a decline that U.S. officials largely attributed to Mexican authorities increasing enforcement within their borders. Arrests were more than halved again after Democratic President Joe Biden invoked authority to temporarily suspend asylum processing in June. Arrests plunged to 56,408 in July, a 46-month low that changed little in August.
Asked about the latest numbers, the Homeland Security Department released a statement by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling on Congress to support failed legislation that would have suspended asylum processing when crossings reached certain thresholds, reshaped how asylum claims are decided to relieve bottlenecked immigration courts and added Border Patrol agents, among other things.
Republicans including presidential nominee Donald Trump opposed the bill, calling it insufficient.
“Thanks to action taken by the Biden-Harris Administration, the hard work of our DHS personnel and our partnerships with other countries in the region and around the world, we continue to see the lowest number of encounters at our Southwest border since September 2020,” Mayorkas said Saturday.
The steep drop from last year’s highs is welcome news for the White House and the Democrats’ White House nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, despite criticism from many immigration advocates that asylum restrictions go too far and from those favoring more enforcement who say Biden’s new and expanded legal paths to entry are far too generous.
More than 765,000 people entered the United States legally through the end of July using an online appointment app called CBP One and an additional 520,000 from four nationalities were allowed through airports with financial sponsors. The airport-based offer to people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela — all nationalities that are difficult to deport — was briefly suspended in July to address concerns about fraud by U.S. financial sponsors.
San Diego again had the most arrests among the Border Patrol’s nine sectors on the Mexican border in August, followed by El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona, though the three busiest corridors were close, the officials said. Arrests of Colombians and Ecuadoreans fell, which officials attributed to deportation flights to those South American countries. Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras were the top three nationalities.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- What is chamomile tea good for? Benefits for the skin and body, explained.
- Blind 750-pound alligator seized from New York home, setting up showdown as owner vows to fight them to get him back
- Bodies of 2 men recovered from river in Washington state
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- March Madness is here. Bracket reveal the 1st step in what should be an NCAA Tournament free-for-all
- What channel is truTV? How to watch First Four games of NCAA Tournament
- Printable March Madness bracket for 2024 NCAA Tournament
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- Connecticut back at No. 1 in last USA TODAY Sports men's basketball before the NCAA Tournament
Ranking
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Michigan defensive line coach Greg Scruggs suspended indefinitely after OWI arrest
- Wisconsin voters to decide on banning private money to help fund elections
- First charter flight with US citizens fleeing Haiti lands in Miami
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Stock market today: Asian stocks gain ahead of US and Japan rate decisions
- The inside story of a rotten Hewlett Packard deal to be told in trial of fallen British tech star
- ‘Art and science:' How bracketologists are using artificial intelligence this March Madness
Recommendation
Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
Dollar stores are hitting hard times, faced with shoplifting and inflation-weary shoppers
Stock market today: Asian stocks gain ahead of US and Japan rate decisions
UConn draws region of death: Huskies have a difficult path to March Madness Final Four
Travis Hunter, the 2
‘Loved his family’: Obituary infuriated Michigan teen shot in face by stepdad
Princess Diana's Brother Worries About Truth Amid Kate Middleton Conspiracy Theories
'Spring cleaning' for your finances: 12 money moves to make right now