Arrests of Illegal Border-Crossers From Mexico Go up 237 Percent

The number of illegal immigrants arrested attempting to enter the United States from Mexico has spiked by 237% since April, in spite of a clampdown on illegal crossings by the Trump administration to curb the spread of coronavirus.

According to Customs and Border Protection, border patrol agents in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California have arrested more than 38,000 people in July.

By contrast, fewer than 16,200 people went into custody at the border in April, the first full month border agents were sending illegal border-crossers back into Mexico. In July, more than double that number were taken into custody by border patrol.

In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged border patrol agents not to detain immigrants. CBP then began expelling anyone who entered the country illegally. That included people who claimed asylum from their home country. In all, more than 90% of illegal crossers were sent back.

In 2019, more than 100,000 people illegally crossed the border each month. Over the past 12 months, those numbers have fallen drastically. But the recent spike indicates the efforts to control illegal crossings at the border may be reversing.

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