President-elect Donald Trump has promised to crack down on border crossings, but the number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border has dropped significantly in the last few months, reports the New York Times.
According to Customs and Border Protection, unauthorized apprehensions at the U.S. southern border have decreased significantly in the past six months — by more than 70% compared with the same period in 2023.
In November, more than 46,000 people crossed the border illegally. December saw a bit more — 47,000 — compared with roughly 250,000 in December 2023.
The dip, says the U.S. government, is due to an executive order President Joe Biden issued last summer in which he severely restricted asylum requests from migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border with no authorization.
Still, illegal crossings remain higher than during Trump’s first presidential term.
Enrique Serrano Escobar, who leads the Chihuahua State office responsible for receiving migrants, told the Times there is no longer a border crisis.
“The flow of migration from the south of Mexico toward the border has diminished in the last few months,” he said.
“There is no crisis,” he said of Ciudad Juárez. “There is no problem.”
Lucio Torres, who oversees a shelter in Nuevo Laredo, across the Rio Grande, said capacity has significantly decreased, a sign migration flows are easing.
“Normally, we would have around 150,” he told the Times.
Incoming "border czar" Tom Homan told Fox News on Saturday that "targeted enforcement operations" would quickly pursue some of what he said were 700,000 migrants who are in the U.S. illegally and under deportation orders. He indicated the efforts would occur in several cities.
"President Trump has been clear from day one ... he's going to secure the border and he's going to have the deportation operation," Homan told Fox News ahead of Trump's inaguration on Monday.