The United States experienced a drop in illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border over the past fiscal year, according to federal law enforcement.
Mark Morgan, the senior official performing the duties of U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, held a press conference on Wednesday to update the nation on how many immigrants security blocked from entering the country illegally since 2019.
“We saw our overall encounters along the southwestern border drop from almost 1 million last fiscal year to less than 458,000 this fiscal year. That’s a 53% reduction from one year to the next,” Morgan said.
He added, “Families, we saw 53%, I’m sorry, yes, families which were the driving force behind the crisis last year dropped from 530,000 to less than 80,000 this fiscal year. That in itself is an 87% reduction.”
Watch his comments below:
During this fiscal year from July to September, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported an uptick in the number of immigrants apprehended between ports of entry on the nation’s Southwest Border.
During September, 54,771 individuals were apprehended compared to 47,283 in August and 38,536 in July.
According to the agency, a total of 2,903 people presenting themselves at the border in August were deemed “inadmissible” compared to 2,731 in August and 2,393 in July.
The Office of Field Operations’ inadmissibility metrics includes: “individuals encountered at ports of entry who are seeking lawful admission into the United States but are determined to be inadmissible, individuals presenting themselves to seek humanitarian protection under our laws, and individuals who withdraw an application for admission and return to their countries of origin within a short timeframe.”
Morgan praised the Trump administration for creating policies to minimize illegal immigration.
“Make no mistake we are in a better position right now because of this administration’s immigration policies and initiatives,” Morgan said.
