Apprehension rates at the U.S. southern border have fallen to their lowest since President Biden took office.
Three sources familiar with the situation reportedly told The New York Times that the number of arrests in July was below 60,000.
A source familiar with Homeland Security border data told Fox News Digital that the number of apprehensions was about 57,000.
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Migrants walk along a highway through Suchiate, in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, on their way north to the U.S. border last month. (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente)
This is an important development for the Biden administration, but it is difficult to determine whether the drop in arrest rates reflects a broader decline in illegal immigration.
The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) told Fox News Digital that the drop in arrest rates hardly reflects an overall positive trend in border security.
“The Biden administration’s claims that it has reduced the number of illegal border crossings are nothing more than an attempt to hide its deliberate refusal to secure the border and enforce the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act,” said Matt O’Brien, a former immigration judge and research director at IRLI.
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security flag flies at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Washington, DC. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“The number of people crossing the border always drops in the summer when it gets too hot and dry to safely cross the Mexican desert,” he continued. “This happens every year.”
O’Brien also mentioned a program the Biden administration is overseeing to make it easier for asylum seekers to enter the country.
“The Biden administration is deliberately hiding the fact that they are illegally importing thousands of unauthorized aliens through the CBP One app,” O’Brien said. “So while the number of aliens illegally crossing the border on their own may have decreased, the Biden administration is relentlessly running the largest illegal alien smuggling operation in history, at American taxpayer expense.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection describes CBP One as “a mobile application that serves as a single portal to a variety of CBP services. Through a series of guided questions, the app directs each type of user to the appropriate service based on their individual needs.”
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A large group of Chinese migrants, including three from Bangladesh, crossed the US-Mexico border overnight in June and arrived in Jacumba Hot Springs, California. (Frederick J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden, in early 2021, tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with tackling the root causes of Central American migration, from poverty to violence. Mexico and Guatemala In June of that year, the United States negotiated a deal to provide $4 billion in aid to Central American countries, with private companies contributing an additional $5.2 billion. Visit El PasoAn election is set to take place in Texas in 2021 amid growing pressure from Republicans.
However, Harris’ interest in immigration issues has since waned, and she has not visited the southern border or Central American countries since January 2022.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Heckman contributed to this report.
