McALLEN, Texas (AP) 鈥 A recent decline in arrests for illegal crossings on the U.S. border with Mexico may prove only temporary. The drop in January reflects how the numbers ebb and flow, and the reason usually goes beyond any single factor.
After a record-breaking number of encounters at the southern border in December, crossings , authorities reported Tuesday. The largest decrease was in the Del Rio sector that includes Eagle Pass, Texas, the main focus of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott鈥檚 recent border enforcement efforts. Mexico also increased enforcement efforts during that time with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration.
A look at the numbers and what's behind them:
WHAT DO THE NUMBERS SAY?
Overall, arrests by U.S. Border Patrol dropped in January by 50% from 249,735 in December, the
Tucson, Arizona, was again the busiest sector for illegal crossings with 50,565 arrests, down 37% from December, followed by San Diego. Arrests in the Border Patrol鈥檚 Del Rio sector plummeted 76% from December to 16,712, the lowest since December 2021. Arrests in Texas鈥 Rio Grande Valley, dropped 60% to 7,340, the lowest since July 2020.
A significant decrease was noted whose arrests dropped by 91% to 4,422 from 46,920. But those numbers could change soon. Panama reported that 36,001 migrants traversed the dangerous in January, up 46% from December. The vast majority who cross the Panamanian jungle are Venezuelans headed to the United States, with considerable numbers from Haiti, China, Ecuador and Colombia.
WHAT IS MEXICO DOING?
Mexico has been that they sometimes use to cross the country to get closer to the U.S. border. Immigration officers in Mexico also have been busing migrants to that country's southern border and to their countries.
That enforcement effort began after a visit from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Mexico City on Dec. 28.
Mexican border states such as Coahuila partnered with Mexico's federal government. By January, members of Mexico's military and national guard were patrolling the banks of the Rio Grande. Officers filled buses with migrants and drove them away from Piedras Negras, which is on the Mexican side of the river across from Eagle Pass.
WHAT IS TEXAS DOING?
the Texas 春色直播 Guard took over a city-owned park along the river. Texas has denied U.S. agents since Jan. 10. It also installed additional razor wire and anti-climbing fencing in the area.
Border Patrol agents had previously used the park for monitoring and patrols, as well as to process migrants who made it across the river to U.S. soil. Migrants who are seeking asylum are released to await that can take years.
鈥淲hat you have is this magnet," Mike Banks, Texas' border czar, said. "You鈥檙e basically saying, `Cross the river right here. Get across and we鈥檒l process immediately and release you.' So again, that鈥檚 a pull factor. So we鈥檝e taken that pull factor away.鈥
WHAT ELSE IMPACTS THE NUMBERS?
The number of people trying to make the journey often increases when the weather is warmer in the U.S. and decreases during the colder months. Since 2021, crossings on the southern border increase by an average of 40% from January to March, according to federal data from the last three years.
Another factor last year was in May. The use of a public health policy known as Title 42 allowed the Trump and Biden administrations to turn asylum-seekers back to Mexico, even if they were not from that country.
Crossings for a month after Title 42 ended and the Biden administration enforced new rules.
Under Title 42 migrants were denied asylum more than 2.8 million times starting in March 2020 on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. When Title 42 expired, the Biden administration launched a policy to deny asylum to people who travel through another country, such as Mexico, to the U.S., with few exceptions.
However, the numbers until reaching December's record high.
