Illegal border crossings drop in May, but remain on track for 2 million this year

[RAY BOGAN]

Illegal border crossings continued a downward trend in May. According to Customs and Border Protection, 170,000 total people were encountered by border and customs officials, including 117,000 between ports of entry. It’s the lowest month of the 2024 fiscal year.

As a comparison, encounters hit their highest mark ever in December at 301,000. May’s numbers are 9,000 lower than April and 36,000 less than May 2023. 

“Our enforcement efforts are continuing to reduce southwest border encounters. But the fact remains that our immigration system is not resourced for what we are seeing,” Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement. “The dedicated men and women of CBP will continue to prioritize national security and disrupt criminal networks, while maximizing consequences for unlawful entry, including detention, prosecution, and removal under recently announced executive actions to further secure the border.”

But unless the numbers decrease even further, encounters remain on track to surpass 2 million for the third year in a row. President Biden is the only president with more than two million crossings in a year. 

“May’s numbers show that President Biden and impeached Secretary Mayorkas’ border crisis is never going to end as long as they are in charge,” House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said in a statement. “Border Patrol apprehensions at the Southwest border were roughly four times what Obama-era DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said ‘overwhelms the system.’” 

These numbers however do not show the impact of the President’s June 4 executive order, which shuts down asylum claims when daily crossings surpass 2,500 per day. It took effect immediately. The order is withdrawn once crossings are less than 1,500 per day for seven days in a row. CBP says since it’s been enacted, there has been a 25% decrease in daily encounters. 

CBS immigration reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez said the number of crossings on June 17 was 2,000, above the threshold to restart asylum claims. There are also thousands of known “gotaways” every week, or people who evade apprehension. Fox News reporter Bill Melugin said the average over the last week has been 515 per day.