CBP sees major drop in illegal immigrant encounters due to stricter asylum rules.
Encounters with Illegal Immigrants at Southwest Border Hit Lowest Level in Over Two Years
Total encounters with illegal immigrants along the Southwest border in June have reached the lowest level in more than two years, dropping by almost a third from the previous month, according to recently released data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB).
The total number of encounters, including those who presented at ports of entry with or without a CBP One appointment, was 144,607, marking a 30 percent decrease from the previous month and representing the lowest monthly number since February 2021.
The agency attributes this decline to enforcing consequences under Title 8 authorities and expanding lawful pathways and processes, as stated in a July 18 statement. CBP also reported a significant increase in narcotics confiscations due to its drug interdiction efforts.
The U.S. Border Patrol recorded 99,545 encounters between ports of entry, which represents a 42 percent decrease from May.
Troy A. Miller, CBP senior official performing the duties of the commissioner, credited the agency’s efforts to enforce consequences under Title 8 authorities and the expansion of lawful pathways for the decline in illegal migrant encounters.
“Our sustained efforts to enforce consequences under our longstanding Title 8 authorities, combined with expanding access to lawful pathways and processes, have driven the number of migrant encounters along the Southwest border to their lowest levels in more than two years,” he stated. ”We will remain vigilant.”
CBP has made significant progress in stopping dangerous drugs from being moved across the border, in addition to slowing illegal immigration. The agency has implemented more nonintrusive scanning tools and established working labs to quickly identify potential drugs and detect trends.
The combined seizures of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana, by weight, increased by 7 percent nationwide in June compared to May. Of particular concern is the surge in fentanyl seizures, with CBP having already confiscated over 22,000 pounds in fiscal year 2023, compared to 8,300 pounds during the same period in FY 2022.
Recent CBP Changes
CBP processes all migrants in accordance with Title 8 immigration laws and places illegal border-crossers into expedited removal or Section 240 removal proceedings.
Illegal immigrants who cross between ports of entry or show up at a port of entry without making a CBP One appointment are subject to the “lawful pathways rule,” which states that people can’t seek asylum if they don’t use legal methods. However, there are some exceptions to this rule.
In order to disrupt supply chains involved in the development and movement of fentanyl, CBP initiated two new interagency operations in June: Operations Artemis and Rolling Wave.
Operation Artemis, which began on June 5, has already made more than 130 seizures, including 21 pill presses, 54 pill molds, over 5,000 pounds of precursor chemicals, over 300 pounds of methamphetamine, and over 5,000 pounds of other drugs.
Concurrently, the U.S. Border Patrol is running Operation Rolling Wave, which has seized more than
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