The White House this week reported a significant decline in migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border since President Joe Biden issued an executive order aimed at strengthening immigration enforcement.
Encounters with migrants in August were significantly lower than last year, White House spokesman Angelo Fernandez Hernandez wrote in a statement Monday.
Since Biden’s June 4 executive order, there has been a 50% drop in border encounters. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there were about 58,000 migrant encounters between ports of entry along the southern border in August, down nearly 68% from 181,000 in August 2023.
The total number of encounters at the southern border was about 63,000. That figure includes about 5,000 migrants who arrived at ports of entry without a CBP One record.
CBP One is a mobile app that allows migrants to schedule appointments at ports of entry instead of crossing illegally. U.S. border officials said the app has played a crucial role in streamlining border processes.
In August, approximately 44,700 people were processed through CBP One. Since its introduction in January 2023, more than 813,000 people have scheduled appointments.
U.S. border officials also said the June executive actions led to a surge in migrant deportations, with more than 131,000 people deported to more than 140 countries since June. About 400 international repatriation flights have taken place during this time.
But even with the latest numbers, some Republican lawmakers criticized the Biden administration during a hearing Thursday to discuss potential terrorist threats and national security issues related to illegal immigration.
Lawmakers argued that the perception of border agents as welcoming, rather than focused on enforcement, is contributing to the number of migrants arriving in the United States.
“Our border patrol, law enforcement officers were moved from their national security role, their law enforcement role [de] “repel illegal entry and capture those who were crossing illegally as much as possible to some sort of reception and care and transportation, feeding, etc. functions,” said Rep. Clay Higgins, an Alabama Republican, expressing concern about migrants crossing illegally and evading Border Patrol.
There is no indication that the Biden administration has officially changed the role of Border Patrol agents in law enforcement.
Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies at the Cato Institute, testified during the hearing that the primary reason migrants come to the United States, legally or illegally, is to work.
“It’s still the economy. That’s what draws people in, and the rapid economic recovery after COVID-19 may explain more than any other factor,” he said.
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