According to preliminary figures touted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), new measures deployed by the Biden administration have led to drastic reductions in illegal border crossings in the first month of 2023, setting January up for the lowest levels of monthly border encounters since February 2021.
The numbers were broken down by the nationality of those encountered. According to CBP, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans were encountered an average of 3,367 times per day, based on 7-day averages as of Dec. 11, 2022. Fast forward to Jan. 24, 2023, and those encountered had collapsed to just 115 on the same 7-day average. New border enforcement measures with greater consequences balancing out an expanded parole program for these individuals were unveiled on Jan. 5, 2023.
“These expanded border enforcement measures are working,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said. “It is incomprehensible that some states who stand to benefit from these highly effective enforcement measures are seeking to block them and cause more irregular migration at our southern border.”
The new measures were based largely on a model previously used for those fleeing Venezuela, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. CBP stated that the data shows that providing lawful and orderly means for people to access the country means fewer people are likely to turn to smugglers and make dangerous attempts to cross the southwest border.
That said, while encounters from the specific populations above have dropped, the agency noted that encounters with other noncitizens were returning to normal levels following typical seasonal holiday declines.