Illegal border crossings from Mexico are expected to rise slightly in August, ending a streak of five monthly declines but remaining near four-year lows. The number of arrests is expected to reach around 58,000 for the month, a slight increase from July. This suggests that the numbers may be bottoming out after a significant decline from last year’s peak.
The decrease in arrests has been attributed to increased enforcement by Mexican authorities and the suspension of asylum processing by Democratic President Joe Biden in June. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is calling on Congress to support legislation that would reshape asylum processing and add more Border Patrol agents. The White House and Vice President Kamala Harris have praised the decrease in illegal crossings, despite criticism from both immigration advocates and those favoring stricter enforcement.
In addition to the decrease in illegal crossings, over 765,000 people entered legally through an online appointment app and an additional 520,000 from specific nationalities were allowed through airports. San Diego had the highest number of arrests among Border Patrol sectors, followed by El Paso and Tucson. Arrests of Colombians and Ecuadoreans fell due to deportation flights to those countries, while Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras remained the top nationalities.
Overall, while the number of illegal border crossings is expected to rise slightly in August, they remain near historic lows, signaling progress in border security efforts.
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