Border Crossings See Biggest Drop Since Biden Took Office

The Biden administration could breathe huge sigh of relief on Tuesday, as national U.S.-Mexico border crossings dropped about 42 percent from December to January, according to new U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. The drop represented the biggest month-to-month decrease since Joe Biden took office.

Republicans have consistently criticized the president and his administration, notably Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, for the record numbers of migrants crossing into the United States. Total border crossings exceeded 988,900 individuals between October and December, following a record-setting number of migrant encounters in fiscal year 2023.

Mayorkas was impeached on Tuesday by the Republican-led House of Representatives, making him the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached since 1876. The move followed a failed impeachment vote last week. His case now goes to the Democrat-controlled Senate, which is unlikely to convict and remove him from his position.

In January, there were 242,587 total migrant encounters across the United States' northern and southern borders—a stark decrease from the 370,925 encounters documented in December. The number also shows a 65,000-plus decrease compared with October (309,065) and November (308,636).

Migrant encounters at the Southwest land border, a source of consternation for states like Texas and Arizona, fell from 301,983 in December to 176,205 in January.

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.

More than 2.4 million encounters took place at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from approximately 1.7 million in 2021.

Troy Miller, the CBP's senior official performing the duties of the commissioner, said Tuesday in a press release that while "serious challenges" remain in battling illegal immigration, progress is being made—notably at ports of entry.

"Southwest border encounters between ports of entry dropped by 50% in January," Miller said. "We continue to experience serious challenges along our border which surpass the capacity of the immigration system."

He went on: "CBP remains on the frontline in preventing fentanyl and other dangerous drugs from entering our country, enforcing our nation's laws and interdicting 34% more fentanyl and 68% more cocaine than the previous month."

The number of migrant encounters also fell dramatically in Texas, as total crossings fell from 155,737 in December to 73,750 in January. That's the lowest total so far this fiscal year, which began in October.

Southwest land border crossings also decreased dramatically from the six-figure encounters between October and December. Encounters from Mexico into the U.S. decreased from 149,806 in December to 68,260 in January.

Biden said Tuesday that House Republicans are "playing political games" by impeaching Mayorkas, adding that history "will not look kindly" on them.

"Instead of staging political stunts like this, Republicans with genuine concerns about the border should want Congress to deliver more border resources and stronger border security," the president said.

He continued: "Sadly, the same Republicans pushing this baseless impeachment are rejecting bipartisan plans Secretary Mayorkas and others in my administration have worked hard on to strengthen border security at this very moment—reversing from years of their own demands to pass stronger border bills.

"Giving up on real solutions right when they are needed most in order to play politics is not what the American people expect from their leaders," Biden said.