11/14/2023

October Sees Major Decline in U.S. Illegal Border Crossings

They had increased in the previous 90 days

In October, illegal border crossings from Mexico fell 14 percent from a month earlier, U.S. authorities said Tuesday, ending a three-month streak of big increases.

U.S. officials highlighted the resumption of deportation flights to Venezuela on Oct. 18, shortly after Venezuelans replaced Mexicans as the largest nationality appearing at the border. Customs and Border Protection said Venezuelans were stopped 65 percent fewer times in the second half of October compared with the second half of September, though that figure includes Venezuelans who made asylum appointments through a mobile app as well as those who crossed the border illegally.

Arrests for illegal crossings totaled 188,778 for all nationalities in October, down from 218,763 in September, which was the second-highest month on record. Arrests had more than doubled over the previous three months as migrants and smugglers adjusted to new asylum regulations introduced in May.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Associated Press.