CBP Says 25 Percent Decline in Illegal Immigrants Since Asylum Restriction Order

The Biden administration’s new restrictions related to the southern border have been in place for two weeks.

The U.S. flag flies at half staff at a port of entry at the U.S.–Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, on Feb. 24, 2021. John Moore/Getty Images

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have reported a 25 percent reduction in apprehensions of illegal immigrants between ports of entry along the U.S.–Mexico border in the two weeks since the Biden administration imposed a cap on asylum eligibility.

President Joe Biden issued a proclamation on June 4 requiring the restriction to come into effect whenever encounters with unlawful border crossers exceed an average of 2,500 per day over seven consecutive days. Above that level, CBP agents can’t “deliver timely consequences,” a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fact sheet issued on June 4 states.