Illegal immigration along the southwest border of the US has halved since hitting historic highs in December 2023, according to official statistics.
“In January 2024, the U.S. Border Patrol recorded 124,220 encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border, a decrease of 50% from December 2023,” the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in its January monthly update. By contrast, there were 249, 785 such encounters in Dec. 2023, the CBP said in its December 2023 monthly update. The decrease reportedly was reached in the first two weeks of January.
“CBP’s total encounters along the southwest border in January 2024 were 176,205, a decrease of 42% from December 2023,” the CBP added. There reportedly were 302,034 such encounters in December 2023.
The Border Patrol encounters of 249,785 in December 2023 comprised “the highest monthly total on record, easily eclipsing the previous peak of about 224,000 encounters in May 2022,” according to Pew Research.
Meanwhile, illegal migrant encounters at the CBP’s Del Rio Sector in Texas plummeted 76% in January following 71,048 arrests made in December, the Washington Post reported. Migrants reportedly appeared to prefer southern Arizona and San Diego sectors in Democrat-run Arizona and California respectively. Both sectors are the busiest hotspots for illegal immigration, according to the report.
“Our stiff resistance is working. Texas will continue to hold the line,” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas tweeted last Saturday.
“Under the U.S. Constitution, states have the right to defend from invasion,” Gov. Abbott tweeted Friday. “The cartels smuggling people & deadly fentanyl pose a danger to Texas & the U.S. Texas will continue to do the job Biden has failed to do—secure our southern border.”
“Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 501,300 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 39,800 criminal arrests, with more than 35,800 felony charges,” Gov. Abbott also said in a statement Friday. Gov. Abbott launched the operation on March 6, 2021, in response to the immigration crisis at the southern border, according to a separate press release. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Video Appears To Show Migrants Tucked Away In Hidden Room Under Military Guard At Major US Airport)
Illegal border crossings into the United States have fallen 50 percent since the end of December, the month when historic numbers of migrants surged.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is taking credit for the change. https://t.co/oPtZU13KZ9
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 23, 2024
Texas lined its border with Mexico with razor wire and garnered support from 13 governors for its efforts against illegal immigration. The state has bussed 103,600 illegal immigrants to other out-of-state locations since 2022, with 38,200 having been transported to New York City and 31,700 to Chicago, Gov. Abbott said in his Friday statement.
“Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps created by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border,” Gov. Abbott added in his Friday statement.
However, CBP and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials attribute the decrease to seasonal changes and a firmer response from the Mexican government after US government officials met Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador last December, according to the Washington Post report.
Border crossings reportedly spike in the spring.