Border Patrol agents apprehended just over 84,000 migrants crossing the U.S. southern border in June, the lowest monthly number since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, a Department of Homeland Security official told NBC News.
The number of apprehensions in June was nearly 30% lower than in May, when Border Patrol made over 117,000 apprehensions of migrants crossing between legal ports of entry. The Biden administration has attributed the decline to new asylum restrictions the president announced in early June.
CBS News was first to report the number of June migrant apprehensions, which was the fourth straight month of decline along the U.S.-Mexico border. Customs and Border Protection will not officially release the June numbers to the public until later this month.
The last time the number of migrant crossings was under 97,000 was the month Biden took office, January 2021, when the Border Patrol made just over 75,000 apprehensions.
Some U.S. officials who have talked to NBC News on the condition of anonymity say the lower numbers are also in part due to the high heat in June and the increased interdictions of U.S.-bound migrants by Mexican authorities.
NBC News was first to report that over the past year Mexico has tripled its interdictions of migrants coming through its territory on the way to the U.S.
Immigration, particularly migrants crossing the southern U.S. border illegally, has become a top three issue for voters heading into November’s presidential election. During the CNN-hosted presidential debate last Thursday, Biden noted that his executive action restricting who can claim asylum at the U.S. border has brought down illegal crossings by 40%.
