June data on illegal immigration across the southern border indicates that total encounters along the Southwest border were the lowest in over two years, dropping nearly a third from the level it was at in the month of May.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released its operational statistics for June 2023, showing the substantial and continuing decline in migrant encounters, according to a July 18 press release.
The agency attributes this decline to enforcing consequences under Title 8 authorities and expanding lawful pathways and processes. Additionally, CBP reported successful drug interdiction efforts, which have resulted in a significant increase in narcotics seizures.
The U.S. Border Patrol recorded 99,545 encounters between ports of entry, representing a 42 percent decrease from May.
The total Southwest border encounters, including those who presented at ports of entry with or without a CBP One appointment, were 144,607, marking a 30 percent decrease from the previous month. These figures represent the lowest monthly Southwest border encounter numbers since February 2021.
CBP Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner, Troy A. Miller, credited the agency’s efforts to enforce consequences under Title 8 authorities and the expansion of lawful pathways for the decline in illegal migrant encounters.
He stated, “Our sustained efforts to enforce consequences under our longstanding Title 8 authorities, combined with expanding access to lawful pathways and processes, have driven the number of migrant encounters along the Southwest border to their lowest levels in more than two years. We will remain vigilant.”
CBP has made a lot of progress in stopping dangerous drugs from being moved across the border, in addition to slowing illegal immigration. The agency has added more non-intrusive scanning tools and put forward working labs in place to quickly find potential drugs and spot trends.
The seizures of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana combined, by weight, increased 7% nationwide in June compared to May. Of particular concern is the surge in fentanyl seizures, with CBP having already seized more than 22,000 pounds in Fiscal Year 2023, compared to 8,300 pounds during the same period in FY 2022.
Recent CBP Changes
CBP processes all migrants in accordance with Title 8 immigration laws and places illegal border crossers into Expedited Removal or Section 240 Removal Proceedings.
Illegal migrants who cross between ports of entry or show up at a port of entry without making a CBP One appointment are subject to the “lawful pathways rule,” which says that people can’t get asylum if they don’t use legal methods. There are some exceptions to this rule, though.
In order to disrupt supply chains involved in the development and movement of fentanyl, CBP launched two new interagency operations in June: Operations Artemis and Rolling Wave.
Operation Artemis, which began on June 5, has made over 130 seizures, including 21 pill presses, 54 pill molds, more than 5,000 pounds of precursor chemicals, more than 300 pounds of methamphetamine, and over 5,000 pounds of other drugs.
Concurrently, the U.S. Border Patrol is running Operation Rolling Wave, which has seized more than 1,500 pounds of fentanyl, more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine, more than 8,000 pounds of marijuana, and more than 6,500 pounds of methamphetamine.
The agency also asserted in its press release that it would continue to enhance technology deployment to improve the traveler experience while maintaining high-security standards. Trade volumes have reportedly rebounded from pandemic lows, and CBP processed over 3.1 million entry summaries valued at more than $278 billion in June 2023.
CBP has also taken significant measures to protect consumers and eradicate forced labor from supply chains by assisting with the implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
To that end, the agency reviewed nearly 4,300 shipments valued at nearly $1.4 billion and stopped 405 shipments worth over $239 million for further examination based on the suspected use of forced labor. Additionally, CBP seized 1,709 shipments containing counterfeit goods valued at more than $120 million in June.
How Statistics Are Reported
One possibility for the stark change could involve how illegal entries are reported after the end of Title 42.
According to Republicans, the Biden administration altered how illegal entries into the United States are reported to the American people.
During a June 6 hearing of the House Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee, a satellite of the Homeland Security Committee, Chairman Clay Higgins (R-La.) stated that immigration officials are changing their method in a way that is “misleading by design.”
Specifically, the administration has redefined some illegal crossings as “those that have entered by legal pathway”; Republicans accuse the administration of aiding and abetting this process through the CBP One app.
The CBP One app permits illegal aliens to schedule an appointment with U.S. officials at the border and obtain entry to the United States based on asylum claims. During the hearing, Republicans were harshly critical of the controversial application, which allows illegal aliens to cross the boundary via a “legal pathway,” as defined by the administration.
“Despite what [Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas] and other officials at DHS are advising the American public regarding the numbers being down, what we’ve come to observe is rather a shell game in the way numbers are documented and reported,” Mr. Higgins said.
Higgins characterized the action as an overreach by the executive branch against Congress.
From The Epoch Times
