Jan 17, 2025
The year ended with the lowest number of migrant encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border in a long time, with San Diego no longer the busiest crossing route in December as traffic spiked in Texas, according to the latest data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It’s an outcome that the Biden administration on Friday took one last opportunity to tout — days before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House and is expected to issue orders cracking down on the border. In December, the number of migrant encounters between ports of entry along the Southwest border dropped to about 47,300 — the lowest level since August 2020, said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a press call Friday. Mayorkas said the decline has been a “consistent trend” since Biden’s executive order to restrict asylum eligibility for those who cross the border illegally went into effect in June. The number of migrant encounters within the U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego sector dropped 60% from June to December, and 72% from April, when the sector was the busiest along the U.S.-Mexico border for the first time last year. Last month, the Rio Grande Valley sector took over as the busiest crossing corridor — just barely — with 10,128 encounters, 11 more than San Diego.  Overall, the Tucson sector logged the most Border Patrol apprehensions in calendar 2024, with some 290,000, according to an analysis of CBP data. San Diego ranked second, with more than 263,000. So far this month, Border Patrol encounters are down nearly 50% along the U.S.-Mexico border compared to the same period in January 2021, according to CBP. “We have shown that it is possible to dramatically decrease illegal immigration at our southern border, provide humanitarian relief for those who truly need it and deserve it under our law, and limit the reach of human smuggling networks worldwide upholding our core national values,” Mayorkas said. The outgoing secretary outlined some of the actions taken by the Biden administration at the border, including enhancements to the screening and vetting process and expediting removal proceedings for migrants without a legal basis to stay, he said. DHS recorded 700,000 removals and returns in fiscal 2024, which ended on Sept. 30. That includes more deportations to countries other than Mexico than in any previous fiscal year, officials said. Mayorkas insisted that the border is “safer, more secure and more orderly.” But South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem — Trump’s pick to succeed him — disagreed during a Senate confirmation hearing on Friday. “In just three days we will have a new president in this country … and he will secure our border,” she declared. Thousands of asylum seekers have been waiting, often for months, for one of the daily 1,450 available appointments to present themselves at a designated port of entry through a mobile app called CBP One, as required by the U.S. government since January 2023. Trump pledged on the campaign trail to end CBP One, and Noem reiterated the plan during Friday’s hearing. “If confirmed and I have the opportunity to be secretary, on Day One CBP One will be shut down,” she said. Anxiety has risen among asylum seekers in Mexico who have yet to secure appointments, as well as those who have appointments set for Monday and beyond. When asked Friday about the fate of individuals who have already applied, Mayorkas said it would “be at the discretion of the incoming administration.” “If they end that, it will be up to them to determine what they wish to do with respect to individuals who have already applied and received appointments,” he said.
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