EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — The number of migrants arrested for crossing the border illegally in October rose slightly from the previous month, but remains among the lowest in years, according to newly released data.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered 56,530 migrants in October, the first month of the Fiscal Year 2025. The arrests rose about 5% percent from the 53,530 in September but fell more than 70% from 188,749 last October.
Department of Homeland Security officials credit the rules the Biden administration implemented on June 4 that deny asylum to migrants who enter the U.S. illegally and require asylum-seekers to request an interview at a designated port of entry using the CBP One app.
Migrant encounters at ports of entry shot up in mid-2023, going from about 28,000 in April to 45,000 in June. Those numbers have been hovering around 50,000 every month since and increased by about 2,000 from September to October.
According to a Department of Homeland Security issued Monday, the asylum restrictions have led to a more than 52% decrease in Border Patrol encounters. DHS also said that since that June 4 proclamation, through the end of October, DHS conducted more than 640 international repatriation flights to more than 155 countries, including the China, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Uzbekistan, and India.
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