
Border Patrol arrested roughly 72,000 migrants at the southwestern border in July, according to statistics published Thursday by Customs and Border Protection.
The latest statistics represent a 24 percent drop compared with June and mark the second month in a row in which border arrests declined.
The drop-off comes after border arrests soared earlier this year to levels not seen in a decade.
The Trump administration has experimented with a range of strategies to deter migrants from trekking to the border, including a “remain in Mexico“ policy that requires some migrants to wait in that country while their bid for asylum is considered. Since that initiative launched in January, roughly 30,000 non-Mexican migrants have been forced to wait in Mexico pending the outcome of their cases, according to CBP officials.The Trump administration also struck an agreement with Mexico to deploy thousands of troops from its newly formed National Guard to intercept migrants traveling north. The U.S. also negotiated a “safe third country“ asylum deal with Guatemala, though that pact must clear several procedural hurdles before it takes effect.
Border Patrol picked up roughly 42,500 family members in July, a 26 percent drop compared with the previous month.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan addressed the border numbers during a press conference Thursday at the border in San Luis, Ariz.
Although "the situation is improving,“ he said, illegal immigration remains at “crisis levels.”
McAleenan also fumed about the recent mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, which killed 22 people. Authorities have investigated a possible link in that case between the suspect and a racist manifesto posted online before the attack that spoke of a “Hispanic invasion of Texas.
”"This attack and this ideology offends all of us, and we must address it with moral clarity,” he said. “It is hate, it is domestic terrorism, and it must be fought together by Americans of all races, ethnicities and faiths."
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine