Migrant arrests down in Texas

California’s arrest numbers rise due to combination of factors

A new pattern emerged along the nation’s southern border last month: Migrant arrests plummeted at the Texas border in January compared with the same month a year ago. At the same time, similar arrests soared year-over-year at entry points in California and Arizona.

Experts say a combination of factors is likely causing the shift, leading to several thousand migrants entering California each week while awaiting court dates for immigration proceedings.

Stepped-up enforcement efforts by the governments of Mexico, Panama and Colombia, and heightened violence by cartels on the Mexican side of the Texas border have likely slowed expected migration into that state.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s restrictive new immigration policies, including installing razor wire along some parts of the border and a new state law that could take effect next month, also could be playing a role.

“For something to change that much that quickly, it’s either word of mouth among migrants or some change among smuggling patterns, or both,” said Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, a research and advocacy organization.

He said some migrants and smugglers may already be changing routes ahead of the Texas law, which would authorize local police to charge migrants with illegal entry and reentry, punishable by six months in jail or up to 20 years in prison, respectively.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office blamed Republicans for sabotaging attempts at progress on border security.

“In the absence of any political courage from the Republican Party, California has once again stepped up,” spokeswoman Erin Mellon wrote in a statement.

Last month, Texas lost a fight against the Biden administration over its use of barbed wire along the border. By a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court said Border Patrol officers may remove barbed wire installed by Texas authorities that prevented the federal agents from monitoring areas along the Rio Grande.

A federal judge in Austin will decide whether the new Texas law making illegal border crossings a state crime can go into effect March 5.

According to the latest Border Patrol figures, the regions of El Paso and Del Rio, Texas, each had fewer than 18,000 arrests in January. That’s nearly half the number from the same month a year earlier.

Meanwhile, migrants trying to enter the country illegally in the San Diego region were arrested nearly 25,000 times in January, a 60 percent increase over January 2023, Border Patrol figures show. Arizona witnessed an even larger increase. Tucson had more than 50,000 arrests, up from 20,000 last year.