Apprehensions at Southern Border Decreased by Nearly Half from Last Year 2019, CBP Says

by Kaylee Greenlee

Nearly half as many individuals were apprehended at the southern border during fiscal year 2020 as in the previous year, Customs and Border Protection announced Wednesday.

A total of 400,651 migrants were apprehended between ports of entry at the southern border in fiscal year 2020, which ended with September, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced. In the fiscal year 2019, just over 851,500 individuals were apprehended.

In September 2020, over 2,900 migrants attempted to enter at ports of entry were considered inadmissible, with similar numbers reported in August and July 2020, according to CBP. In fiscal year 2019, over 126,000 individuals at the same ports of entry were deemed inadmissible.

Morgan: 53% reduction in apprehensions from FY 19 > 20 and
87% drop in family units apprehended at border. pic.twitter.com/JSZmiqnBmP

— Angelica Carrillo (@acarrillonews) October 14, 2020

Declines began soon after the Trump administration imposed a policy that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their court cases, The Wall Street Journal reported. Additionally, migrants have been prevented from crossing multiple borders south of the U.S.

The Trump administration announced a policy in March that allows border agents to immediately turn back migrants rather than formally apprehending and deporting individuals, the WSJ reported. The policy was designed to keep individuals out of detention centers where the coronavirus could spread.

Since migrants won’t face formal consequences for trying to cross the border under the policy, many are making multiple attempts, the WSJ reported. Around 34% of individuals attempted multiple crossings, according to the WSJ, though CBP has not released data on the instances yet.

– – –

Kaylee Greenlee is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.