Migrant apprehensions have dropped over 40% since Biden announced asylum restrictions, DHS says

CNN —

The seven-day average of migrant apprehensions has dropped more than 40% to less than 2,400 encounters per day since President Joe Biden’s executive action barring asylum at the US southern border went into effect about three weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Border authorities apprehended about 1,600 migrants along the US southern border on Monday, a drop from about 1,900 apprehensions on Sunday, a source familiar with the data said.

Despite the significant drop, Biden’s executive order remains in effect, DHS said. Senior administration officials have said the measure would be lifted when there’s a daily average of less than 1,500 encounters between ports of entry.

The latest figures, coming on the heels of Customs and Border Protection statistics that also found a sharp decrease in encounters since the asylum restrictions went into effect, are a promising sign that Biden’s actions to address the ongoing crisis at the border are working, the administration said.

“We indeed have seen a tremendous success early on, and I should emphasize that it is early on in our implementation of the president’s proclamation and our accompanying regulation,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on “CNN News Central” Wednesday, adding that the executive order is “no substitute for congressional action.”

Under the rules of the sweeping executive order, migrants who cross the US-Mexico border illegally are barred from seeking asylum once a daily threshold is met. And unless they meet certain exceptions, they could be returned to Mexico or to their country of origin.

DHS has removed or returned more than 24,000 people in more than 100 repatriation flights to more than