SAN DIEGO – Arrests of migrants for illegally crossing the border from Mexico into the United States fell about 30% in July to a new low for Joe Biden’s presidency, U.S. officials said, raising prospects that a temporary asylum ban may be lifted soon.
The US Border Patrol continued to make arrests on Wednesday, the last day of July. But the monthly count is expected to be about 57,000 when all are accounted for, down from 83,536 arrests in June, the previous low mark of Biden’s presidency, according to two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials who spoke to Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the numbers had not been released publicly. It would be the lowest monthly number since 40,507 arrests in September 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic slowed movement across borders in many countries, including to the United States.
Even before the Democratic Biden administration invoked powers to suspend asylum on June 5, border arrests had fallen by about half a record 250,000 in December in the middle increased Mexican surveillance. Since June 5th, arrests halved againhelping the White House defend itself against attacks from former President Donald Trump and other Republicans that Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, allowed the border to spiral out of control.
A series of ads released on Tuesday highlights the importance of immigration as a campaign issue in the November elections.
Trump’s campaign launched its first television advertisement of the general election cycle, dubbing Harris the “border czar” for an early mission as vice president to address the root causes of immigration in Central America and blaming her for a rise in illegal crossings under Biden’s watch. After running headlines about crime and drugs, the video brands Harris as “Failed. Weak. Dangerously liberal.”
An announcement from Harris, posted online, highlights Trump’s opposition to a failed border bill earlier this year that would have, among many other provisions, increased funding for Border Patrol agents and fentanyl detection. “There are two choices in this election: the one that will fix our broken immigration system and the one that is trying to stop it,” the narrator says.
Neither announcement mentions the drop in border arrests this year, but the latest declines could play in Harris’ favor as many Republicans attack the Biden administration’s new asylum restrictions as too little, too late.
The asylum suspension would end if daily arrests fell below 1,500 on a seven-day average, a scenario Customs and Border Protection officials are preparing for, with arrests now hovering between 1,600 and 1,700 days. The suspension would be reinstated if arrests reached a seven-day daily average of 2,500, an “emergency border circumstances” threshold that was immediately reached when the restrictions took effect in June. Immigrant advocacy groups are challenging asylum measures in cut.
Under the shutdown, US officials deny a chance at asylum to anyone crossing the border illegally. Unaccompanied children are exempt, and others may seek asylum-like forms of protection that allow them to remain in the United States with higher standards and fewer benefits, such as the United Nations Convention Against Torture.
Asked to comment on the July numbers, the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday referred to a statement last week that arrests have dropped 55% since asylum restrictions took effect.
San Diego was again the busiest corridor for illegal crossings in July, followed by Tucson, Arizona, an official said.
The biggest drops occurred nationalities that are easier to deport, including Mexicans, but people from other countries are also showing up less as other travel restrictions apply, officials said. Chinese migration appears to have been slowed Ecuador’s new visa requirements and more deportations from the US to China.
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Follow AP’s immigration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/immigration.
