Slight drop in migrants at border last month
The number of migrants apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border and presenting themselves at ports of entry decreased only slightly in July, despite the Trump’s administration’s crackdown on illegal entries and restrictions on asylum-seekers.
The number of Border Patrol apprehensions at the Southwest border decreased 8 percent, to 31,303 migrants, from June to July, statistics U.S. Customs and Border Protection released Wednesday show. It’s the second month of declines in apprehensions.
Similarly, the number of migrants, including asylum-seekers, whom cus-
toms officers processed at ports of entry declined by 93. The decrease for the fifth straight month corresponds with long lines for asylum-seekers waiting to talk to immigration officers.
On the Arizona border, the number of migrants also decreased across the board, except in Yuma, where the number of families the Border Patrol apprehended rose again in July.
Since July 2017, the number of migrant families crossing the border illegally through Yuma has been growing steadily. It’s the second-busiest crossing point along the border, trailing only Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.
In the past few months, other sections of the border have seen large increases in family apprehensions. But the numbers in Yuma continue to rise. In July, agents apprehended 1,047 migrants, up from 914 the month before.
That increase is especially notable given that it was the first full month after President Donald Trump ended enforcement of a “zero tolerance” policy on illegal entries for families, which resulted in thousands of children being separated from their parents.
At Arizona’s ports of entry, customs officers processed almost 200 fewer people in July compared with June, with the number of families and unaccompanied minors decreasing, too.
Nogales, by far the busiest of the state’s ports, had for most of the summer seen lines up to 100 people long of asylum-seekers waiting outside the DeConcini crossing to file claims with an immigration officer.
They waited up to two weeks for that opportunity. But in mid-July, customs officers accelerated the processing of asylum-seekers, clearing the two-week wait in less than a week.