Border Apprehensions Drop 73 Percent in Five Months

The apprehension of migrants who illegally cross the border between ports of entry by Border Patrol agents dropped by 73 percent during the past five months. The numbers fell by nearly 100,000 from the peak in May where nearly 133,000 to just over 35,000 in October.

The apprehension of migrants who illegally crossed the border fell from 132,856 in May to 35,444 in October, according to the Southwest Broder Migration Report released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Thursday. This represents a decrease of 73 percent in five months.

Border Patrol officials and line agents interviewed by Breitbart Texas this week credited actions from the Trump administration and the Mexican government for the dramatic drop. Those actions include the “Remain in Mexico” program for potential asylum seekers and the deployment of Mexico’s newly formed National Guard along the country’s northern and southern borders.

“When the Mexican National Guard deployed on the southern side of the Rio Grande, traffic across the border virtually stopped,” a Border Patrol agent told Breitbart Texas on Thursday. “We still see crossings along the river, but it has dropped from more than 1,000 per day to only about 200.”

Del Rio Sector Border Patrol officials also reported a significant drop in apprehensions over the past few months during an interview on Tuesday. The official credited the Migrant Protection Protocol which returns many migrants seeking asylum to Mexico where they must wait for their asylum hearing.