Ap
The newspaper La Jornada
Tuesday, September 17, 2024, p. 15
Washington. Apprehensions for illegal crossings at the U.S. southern border rose slightly in August, officials said yesterday, ending a five-month streak of declines.
The Border Patrol made 58,038 arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border in August, the lowest number in nearly four years but a 2.9 percent increase from the 56,399 arrests in July, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The total is in line with preliminary estimates.
Troy Miller, acting commissioner of CBP, said the restrictions implemented since June to suspend asylum grants once the number of illegal entries exceeds a certain threshold demonstrate that the government will comply with strict consequences for illegal income
.
A decline from a record high of 250,000 apprehensions last December — thanks in part to increased immigration enforcement by Mexican authorities at home — is welcome news for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as they try to fend off accusations from Republicans that they allowed the situation at the border to spiral out of control.
The Biden-Harris administration has taken effective action, and Republican authorities continue to do nothing
said Angelo Fernandez Hernandez, a White House spokesman.
Many Republicans have criticized Biden for launching new and expanded avenues to legally enter the country, which they describe as facade
to reduce the number of illegal border crossings.
