Migrant Arrests At US-Mexico Border Drop 28% In June From May, First Drop Since January

The number of people arrested at the U.S. border with Mexico dropped by 28 percent in June from the previous month, the first month that saw a decline in patrol apprehensions since January this year.

According to preliminary internal data gathered by the CNN, there were nearly 95,000 apprehensions on the U.S.-Mexico border last month, marking a significant decline from the 132,887 recorded in May, which saw the highest number of arrests in more than a decade.

The number of apprehensions in June, however, is still higher than for June last year, when there were only 34,089 arrests.

The numbers also agree with the forecasts of acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, who predicted that the number of migrant apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border would drop by up to 25 percent in June.

McAleenan credited this to new agreements and policies. The number of immigrants who cross into the Southwest United States tends to dip in the hot summer months, but McAleenan said that there is more to the decline than the seasonal trend in migrations.

Last month, he said that new agreements between the United States and Mexico, particularly, the increased interdictions by Mexico and the policy of holding asylum seekers in Mexico during the duration of the immigration hearings in the United States, likely contributed to the decrease in migrant apprehensions.

“It’s become clear that over the past three weeks, since the administration reached a new agreement with Mexico, that we’ve seen a substantial increase in the number of interdictions on the Mexican southern border, and a sincere effort to address the transportation networks coming through Mexico,” McAleenan said, according to The Washington Post.

The United States and Mexico signed a deal on June 8 after President Donald Trump threatened to impose potentially crippling tariffs in a bid to address illegal border crossings. The pact included an agreement by Mexico to take unprecedented steps to improve enforcement and curb irregular migration.

McAleenan said that he expects to tell by late July if the initiatives undertaken by the two governments will have a sustained impact.

The Customs and Border Protection declined to comment on the unofficial numbers. The border control agency releases the final monthly numbers toward the beginning of the following month.