"Unprecedented support" from Mexico and Central America helps stop illegal crossings



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The senior US border official celebrated another major slowdown in the number of people attempting to cross the US-Mexico border illegally and paid tribute to the Trump administration's efforts to secure partners south of the border.

In August, just under 51,000 people were arrested for illegally crossing the southwestern border, while just over 13,000 people showed up at the entry points, announced Monday after – Interim US Commissioner for Customs and Border Protection, Mark Morgan, at the White House. The total figure of 64,006 registered is down 56% from the peak of 144,000 recorded at the height of the border crisis in May. It was 82,000 in July.

Mr Morgan said that "unprecedented support" from Mexico and Central American countries was an important factor in explaining the steady decline in the number of meetings, which the government uses as an indicator of the number of people tempting to enter the territory.

"The countries of the North Triangle, in particular, as well as the Government of Mexico, have really joined the United States as true partners for the first time," Morgan said. "They really see this as a real regional crisis that requires ongoing cooperation and coordination efforts, not just an American problem, but a regional crisis that requires support. and regional solutions ".

Mexican authorities said the Mexican authorities had deployed 10,000 troops on their southern border with Guatemala since early June, after President Trump threatened to impose tariffs if Mexico did not deter more people. traveling across the country to travel to the United States.

Since 1 January, 134,000 people have been arrested by Mexican authorities while illegally crossing the country, more than the total of 83,000 people arrested in the 2018 calendar year.

"We are absolutely encouraged by the downward turn of [U.S.] apprehension figures, but we know that these numbers can still climb, "said Morgan, referring to historical trends that show a slight increase from summer to fall. We can not rely solely on on the Government of Mexico or our partners in Central America to solve the pull factors created by our broken system.Unless the laws change, these numbers will increase again next year, as we have seen it in the past. "

Morgan attributed the migration protection protocols for contributing to the slowdown in the number of people attempting to enter the United States from non-contiguous Latin American countries. Since the program began earlier this year, CBP officers working at ports of entry along the southwestern border have returned more than 42,000 people awaiting asylum decisions in Mexico. .

the Washington Examiner Wednesday reported the number of arrests, ahead of the announcement on Monday, showing that the number of people arrested declined for a third consecutive month in August.

The figure of 50,693 was the lowest since January, when the number increased dramatically as tens of thousands of families began to arrive.

The fears concern asylum seeking families who surrendered to agents as well as others who tried to avoid capture but who were arrested in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, but do not include those who have come to the points of entry.

The August figure is now more likely with the average number of people brought in per month over the past five years. Morgan did not answer if the crisis was officially over.

"It's tricky," Morgan said. "If I could see every day [apprehensions] about 500 a day, it's reasonable, I think … The magic number is zero, right? But we must be realistic. "

As of August 31, FY 2019, the Border Patrol had arrested 811,016 people between official crossing points along the southwestern border. About 660,000 people, or 81%, came from countries other than Mexico.

More than 72,000 of the 811,000 arrests involved children under 18 who arrived without an adult. In August, only 3,726 children showed up at the border, the lowest number in a month in more than 11 months.

In addition, 4,017 immigrants were arrested along the Canadian border between October and August. Along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, 3,328 arrests of illegal entry were reported during the same period.

Overall, illegal crossings have increased since the beginning of the Trump administration. In March 2017, they reached their lowest level in 17 years, while only 12,500 people were apprehended. That number began to increase in mid-2017, from 20,000 to 30,000 arrests each month. It exceeded the average number of arrests of 40,000 per month in the spring of 2018 and continued to climb to around 50,000 each month last fall. In February, arrests rose to 66,000, then increased dramatically to 99,000 in April, reaching their highest level in 13 years in May.

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