Border Sheriffs Skeptical as Illegal Immigrant Crossings Drop After End of Title 42

A Customs and Border Protection officer keeps watch as immigrants are transported from a makeshift camp between border walls between the U.S. and Mexico in San Diego on May 13, 2023. Mario Tama/Getty Images

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO—The White House has been touting a drop in illegal immigration at the U.S.–Mexico border after Title 42 border restrictions ended last week. Still, sheriffs along the border have not been convinced the decrease in illegal crossings will last.

“Since May 12 the U.S. Border Patrol has experienced a steady decrease in daily encounters, with our daily average since May 12 just over 4,400 including less than 4,000 encounters each of the last two days. This represents a decrease of 56 percent or less than half of the average encountered in the lifting of Title 42 when the border patrol encountered an average of 10,100 individuals each day,” said Blas Nuñez-Neto, the assistant secretary for Border and Immigration Policy at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday during a virtual press conference.