CBP reports 22 percent decline in people apprehended at Southern border

The number of people apprehended or found to be inadmissible at the Southern U.S. border declined by 22 percent in August, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The number apprehended or turned away was 64,006 in August, down from 82,055 in July. The August totals mark a 56 percent decline since the peak of 144,255 in May.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we’ve been able to utilize a number of tools to help begin to mitigate, but not end, the national security and humanitarian crisis at the southern border,” Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said. “The continued drop in enforcement actions is encouraging, but make no mistake, we’re still in a crisis and more must be done. Until Congress makes targeted changes to immigration laws, we will continue to see stark challenges.”

Traditionally enforcement actions are higher in August than they are in July as that has been the case in six of the past eight years. Last year, August apprehensions were 16 percent higher than they were in July.

CBP officials say domestic policy initiatives and international agreements to address legal and illegal immigration have contributed to the decline. This includes agreements with Guatemala to address irregular migration, the Migrant Protection Protocols with Mexico, the final rule regarding non-Mexican asylum seekers at the southern border, interior enforcement operations, and international cooperation between the United States and Central American countries.