Credit: Nick Oza/The Republic
Syndication: Phoenix
New York (77WABC) – Statistics from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection released Wednesday show that the agency encountered over 180,000 people trying to enter the country through the Southwest Border. This represents a one percent increase over the month of April this year.
The CBP reported that they apprehended over 530,000 migrants between January and April, compared to just under 350,000 during the same time period in 2019.
In May, CBP encountered more than 180,000 persons attempting entry along the SW border. This total represents a 1% increase over April.
Press release: https://t.co/IoniQDIuHT
Enforcement stats: https://t.co/AcdShCXjDS
SW Land Border Encounters: https://t.co/i3vbVkLjpB pic.twitter.com/ATyXFDOe5T— CBP (@CBP) June 9, 2021
“Single adults continue to make up the majority of these encounters,” the CBP said in a statement. “CBP continues to expel single adults and family units that are encountered pursuant to CDC guidance under Title 42 authority.” Title 42 authority refers to expelling migrants to prevent a larger spread of COVID-19.
Despite the increase overall, the statement from the CBP also says that unaccompanied children and single minors from Northern Triangle countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras) dropped 23 percent with 10,765 encounters in May compared to 13,940 in April. Families from those countries also dropped by 31 percent to 22,630 in May, down from 32,674 in April.
“Thirty-eight percent of encounters in May 2021 were individuals who had at least one prior encounter in the previous 12 months, compared to an average one-year re-encounter rate of 15 percent for Fiscal Years 2014-2019,” the CBP added in the statement.
Border guidance and sentiment from the White House has been somewhat unclear in the last few weeks. Vice President Kamala Harris has made statements telling migrants not to come to the border, while the Department of Health and Human Services, which is overseen by the Biden administration, has threatened to sue if Texas Governor Greg Abbott were to close migrant detention centers.
