Rapid expulsions under Title 42 remain in effect, though the Biden administration is seeking to end the public health order in court. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that 44 percent of the individuals encountered were expelled under Title 42.
Chris Magnus, commissioner of CBP, commented on the June statistics in a news release.
“While fluctuations are normal from month to month, we saw a 14 percent decrease in encounters compared to the previous month,” Magnus said. “We are committed to implementing our strategy of reducing irregular migration, dissuading migrants from undertaking the dangerous journey, and increasing enforcement efforts against human smuggling organizations.”
CBP reported 207,000 encounters nationwide, which includes apprehensions by border patrol and enforcement actions by offices of field operation. 26 percent of the individuals encountered had at least one prior encounter in the last year, the agency stated.
Consequently, only 153,000 “unique individuals” were encountered on the southern border. CBP continued to ascribe this to the pandemic resulting in a “higher-than-usual number of migrants making multiple border crossing attempts.”
Despite an overall drop in enforcement encounters with illegal immigrants, there was still a four percent increase in encounters with unaccompanied minors.
The number of encounters in Texas sectors is comparable to last year’s total of 127,000.
Last month saw a historic increase in detected illegal immigration, reported to be the highest number of encounters ever recorded. Over 223,000 individuals were arrested by border guards and another 17,000 encountered at field offices.
There were 104,000 encounters in the U.S. in June 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic and the end of the Trump administration.
Members of Congress have recently sounded off on Governor Greg Abbott’s actions to combat illegal immigration, including characertizing it as an “invasion” under the U.S. Constitution and ordering state police and guardsmen to transport illegal aliens to ports of entry.
Reacting to the executive order, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16) remarked, “This is unconstitutional, dangerous, and irresponsible. This isn’t an invasion and he knows it.”
Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX-21), who has lambasted Abbott for not taking more aggressive action, recently redirected his ire at the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
López Obrador had criticized Abbott’s executive order in comments that the governor’s campaign took as an endorsement of Abbott’s opponent, Beto O’Rourke.
In rebuttal, Roy retorted, “Let me say something to President Obrador. If you want to come have a skirmish with Texas, you can meet us in San Jacinto, okay? We’re gonna secure the border of the United States and we’re gonna do it now.”
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Hayden Sparks
Hayden Sparks is a senior reporter for The Texan and a lifelong resident of the Lone Star State. He has coached competitive speech and debate and has been involved in politics since a young age. One of Hayden's favorite quotes is by Sam Houston: "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may."
