Arrests on the southern border ticked up final month for the primary time for the reason that rollout of a brand new Biden administration coverage limiting entry to asylum.
The Border Patrol made about 58,000 arrests between ports of entry in August, a determine that hovers close to all-time lows however can also be a 3 p.c soar over the prior month.
The Biden administration in June rolled out a coverage to droop asylum when border crossings attain a sure threshold, blocking entry to the protections for these fleeing persecution and hazard. Advocacy teams have challenged the legality of this system.
Border crossings initially declined sharply within the wake of this system, falling greater than 50 p.c, and Biden administration officers on Monday waved away any issues in regards to the small enhance in crossings.
“The data published today by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that since President Biden announced new, decisive executive actions to secure the border on June 4, encounters between ports of entry have dropped significantly and remain at their lowest level in years – July and August saw the lowest encounter levels since September 2020,” White Home spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández stated in an announcement.
An all-time excessive of 250,000 arrests on the border was reached in December, however they’ve largely been on the decline since. The August figures are 68 p.c decrease than on the identical time final yr.
Additionally final month, practically 45,000 individuals entered the U.S. after making an appointment on the CBP One App, which lets migrants schedule an appointment to current at a border crossing, the place they’ll make an preliminary bid to hunt asylum.
