US Border Patrol Saw Significant Drop in Migrant Encounters in January

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released new statistics showing that land encounters with migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border were halved in January.

Illegal border crossings have surged in recent years, reaching an all-time high last year. A bipartisan bill intended to bolster border security recently failed in Congress after former President Donald Trump demanded that Republicans kill it, with GOP criticism of President Joe Biden's immigration policies increasing as the November presidential election draws closer.

Troy A. Miller, CBP's senior official performing the duties of the commissioner, acknowledged in a press release on Tuesday that "serious challenges" remain at the border while saying that the improved numbers were the "result of seasonal trends, as well as enhanced enforcement efforts by the men and women of CBP and our international partners."

"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."

"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," he added.

Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House and the Republican National Committee via email on Tuesday evening.

CBP recorded a total of 124,220 migrant encounters between ports of entry on the border in January, a more than 50 percent reduction from 249,735 migrant encounters using the same metric in December.

The true number of migrants who may have crossed the border is unclear, as "encounters" refers to those who were intercepted by CBP. Most of those encountered by the agency do not remain in the country.

"The majority of all individuals encountered at the southwest border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled," Tuesday's CBP release states. "Total removals and returns since mid-May exceed removals and returns in every full fiscal year since 2013."

The number of "total encounters" along the southwest border—which refers to migrants who encountered CBP officers along the border and those who voluntarily "presented themselves at ports of entry"—also saw a sharp decline of 42 percent, going from 301,973 in December to 176,205 in January.

Border agents encountered a record high of around 2.5 million migrants along all borders during 2023, including about 1 million during the last three months of the year. While there have been far fewer encounters along the U.S.-Canada border than on the southern border, northern crossings have also surged in recent years—going from 27,180 in 2021 to 182,402 in 2023.

While a large majority of those attempting to cross the border illegally come from countries in Latin America, encounters with migrants from other parts of the world have also been on the rise. In California, border encounters with migrants from India increased from 2,516 in 2021 to 9,442 last year, with 3,732 encounters coming between October and December 2023 alone.

Update 02/13/24 6:37 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.