Border Patrol Apprehensions of Illegal Immigrants Rise in August: CBP

Customs and Border Protection said there has been an increase in the percentage of illegal immigrants being removed from the United States since June.

Illegal immigrants walk on the U.S. side of the border wall in Jacumba Hot Springs, Calif., after crossing from Mexico on June 5, 2024. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Apprehensions of illegal immigrants at the U.S. southern border rose to 107,503 in August, up from 104,101 in July, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Border Patrol arrested 58,038 illegal immigrants between ports of entry along the southwest border in August, compared to 56,399 the previous month. However, it marks a 68 percent drop from the 181,054 arrests made in August 2023, CBP data show.

CBP’s Office of Field Operations recorded 49,465 apprehensions in August, up from 47,702 in July.

Apprehensions of illegal immigrants at the southwest border hit an all-time high of 301,982 in December last year.

According to CBP, the federal government’s June 4 proclamation and interim final rule (IFR), which halts asylum requests at the southern border when the average daily number of arrests exceeds 2,500, have led to a significant increase in the percentage of illegal immigrants being removed from the United States.

CBP said that since the IFR went into effect on June 5, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has removed or returned more than 131,000 individuals to more than 140 countries as of Sept. 10. Those figures include more than 400 international repatriation flights.

Troy Miller, a CBP senior official performing the duties of the commissioner, said the IRF has led to a decrease in the number of people released into the United States pending their removal proceedings.

“CBP continues to enforce the Securing the Border interim final rule and deliver strong consequences for illegal entry, and encounters between ports of entry remain at their lowest level in years,” Miller said. “In August, CBP’s counternarcotics surge efforts also led to the seizure of 30% more dangerous drugs than in July—keeping them out of our communities and enabling further enforcement against these criminal networks.”

It’s estimated that since 2021, more than 10 million people have crossed the southern border, according to the House Committee on Homeland Security. Soon after taking office, President Joe Biden terminated many policies enacted by President Donald Trump to curb illegal crossings, such as the Migrant Protection Protocols, which forced agencies to keep migrants in Mexico while they waited for their asylum-seeker applications to be processed.

White House Spokesperson Angelo Hernández said the number of illegal border crossings has dropped to its lowest level in many years.

“The data published today by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that since President Biden announced new, decisive executive actions to secure the border on June 4, encounters between ports of entry have dropped significantly and remain at their lowest level in years,” he said.

“Encounters in August 2024 were 68 percent lower than August 2023 and have decreased by more than 50 percent since President Biden announced the executive actions.”