According to a Border Patrol report, after a series of election-year maneuvers, migrant apprehensions along the Southwest border have fallen to Trump-era levels for the first time since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took office in 2021. The number of encounters by agents during July fell to just over 56,000, according to an unofficial Border Patrol report reviewed by Breitbart Texas.
According to an official U.S. Customs and Border Protection report, authorities encountered 97,643 migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico southwest border between ports of entry in February 2021, the first month of the Biden-Harris administration. The numbers continued to rise from there, peaking at 249,741 in December 2023. At that point, the Biden-Harris administration reached an agreement with Mexico to reduce the number of migrants reaching the U.S. southern border in the months leading up to the presidential elections in both countries, Breitbart Texas reported.
“As a result of executive actions and diplomatic efforts, border crossings are currently slowing, which is not a huge surprise,” a source inside CBP told Breitbart Texas. “We know the consequences will work. Unfortunately, this is an election year ploy, a farce that will end if the current administration wins in November.”
In late December, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security visited Mexico and met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), Breitbart News reported.
According to the article, the Mexican president suggested to the U.S. delegation that President Joe Biden would increase aid and support for Latin American dictators, which would reduce the flow of migrants to the U.S. Reports from Mexico said AMLO wanted to increase support for Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
An unofficial Border Patrol report revealed that agents encountered just over 56,000 migrants crossing the border illegally between ports of entry in July, the lowest number since September 2020, when agents encountered 54,771.
The busiest of the nine sectors of the Southwest border in July were San Diego (just over 15,000 people), Tucson (about 12,000 people) and El Paso (about 12,000 people).
Declining approval ratings for President Biden and Vice President Harris over immigration and border security, and steps taken by the Mexican government following a meeting between the Mexican president and two Biden administration cabinet members, led to a drop in migrant arrests by more than 125,000 in January. In December, arrests fell from nearly 250,000 to 124,215. For comparison, the highest number of migrants encountered under the Trump administration was in May 2019, when agents apprehended 132,856 migrants.
The July encounter report (about 56,000 encounters) marks the lowest number of arrests under the Biden-Harris administration. In contrast, the lowest number of encounters with migrants under the Trump administration was in April 2020, when agents arrested just 16,182 migrants.
In February, a CBP official told Breitbart Texas that Mexico’s efforts are not a long-term solution to the problem. “They are only slowing down migrants’ arrival at the U.S. border,” the source said. “They are being pushed further south, slowing efforts to achieve the goal of them seeking asylum in the U.S.”
Randy Clark He is a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol and prior to his retirement served as Chief of the Law Enforcement Operations Division, where he oversaw operations at nine Border Patrol stations in the Del Rio Sector, Texas.
Bob Price Price is deputy editor and senior news contributor for Breitbart Texas Border Team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a reporter for Fox 26 Houston. What is your argument? Sunday Morning He also serves as chairman of the talk show. Blue Wonder Cancer Care Products.
