The Biden-Harris administration has received a major boost as U.S.-Mexico border arrests have plummeted by nearly a third in July to a new low under the current administration.
The drop in arrests raises the prospects that a temporary ban on asylum may be lifted soon.
Arrests for illegally entering the United States from Mexico plunged by 30 percent in July, to the lowest monthly level of the Biden-Harris administration, according to data seen by the Associated Press.
The figures help Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign fend off attacks by former President Donald Trump and Republicans on matters of immigration policy and border security.
U.S. Border Patrol is expected to arrest 57,000 migrants the month, down from 83,536 arrests in June, the previous lowest figure in Biden’s presidency.
San Diego, California, was the busiest corridor for unlawful crossings in July, followed by Tucson, Arizona.
Two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the figures had not yet been released publicly, provided the data to the Associated Press on Wednesday.
It would be the lowest figure since 40,507 arrests in September 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic impacted migration across the U.S.-Mexico border under the Trump administration.
Before Biden’s sweeping executive actions to halt asylum on 5 June, border arrests had fallen by about half from a record high of 250,000 in December.
The asylum halt would end if daily arrests dropped below 1,500 over a seven-day average; this is a likely scenario as arrests are now hovering at 1,600 to 1,700 per day.
The halt would be reinstated if arrests reach a seven-day daily average of 2,500, a threshold of “emergency border circumstances” that was immediately met when the restrictions took effect in June. Immigrant advocacy groups are challenging the asylum measures in court.
Under the legislation, U.S. authorities can deny a chance at asylum to anyone who crosses the border illegally. Unaccompanied children are exempt, and others may seek asylum in rare circumstances if they are victims of torture and persecution.
The biggest declines have been from people traveling from Mexico, but people from other countries are also showing up less as other travel restrictions take hold, officials said.
Chinese migration appears to have been slowed by Ecuador’s new visa requirements and more U.S. deportations to China.
Karoline Leavitt, Trump Campaign’s national press secretary, told Newsweek the “border bloodbath will get bloodier” under a Harris presidency.
“If dangerously liberal Kamala is President, our border will remain wide open to terrorists and criminals from around the world who will face no consequence for committing heinous migrant crimes, as Kamala has said she wants to decriminalize illegal immigration and has long supported soft-on-crime policies allowing violent criminals out of jail.
“The border bloodbath will get bloodier, and more Americans will lose their lives. The only candidate who will secure our border and put Americans first is President Donald J Trump.”
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment.
Republican lawmaker Mark Green told Newsweek: “Make no mistake––these numbers still reveal a historic border crisis. Even while the Biden-Harris administration continues its policy of mass catch-and-release between ports of entry, encounters at ports of entry are up more than 300 percent since 2021, meaning historic numbers of inadmissible aliens are still being released into our communities through unlawful mass-parole programs.”
“Even if not a single illegal alien entered for the remainder of Biden-Harris’ term, the millions released into our country since Jan. 20, 2021, have done damage that will take decades to undo. The fundamentals of this unprecedented crisis remain the same: illegal aliens know they will likely be released if they cross between ports of entry, and record numbers continue flocking to our ports of entry to take advantage of the Biden-Harris administration’s mass-parole schemes. Until that ends, neither will the crisis.”
Immigration is highly salient in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, as it remains one of the top five issues in voters’ minds heading into November.
Immigration policy is a key issue in the clash between Trump and Harris in the rigorous campaign for the nation’s highest office.
A new poll conducted by Morning Consult for Bloomberg found that Harris has surged ahead of Trump in Michigan. Data shows that the presumptive Democratic nominee was 12 points ahead of Republican Trump in the critical swing state.
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