Decrease in December border crossings observed as Biden government nears the end

WASHINGTON – The latest border data announced by U.S. officials on Tuesday suggests that the Biden administration is on track to finish its term without the anticipated increase in illegal border crossings.

In December, Customs and Border Protection disclosed 47,300 illegal border crossings, slightly higher than the 46,612 reported in November, and approaching the lowest level since July 2020. The initial two weeks of January also show a decrease in activity, with approximately 45% fewer crossings than in December, as mentioned by senior CBP officials in a virtual press conference on Tuesday.

The surge in border crossing activity was most pronounced in South Texas, with numbers doubling from about 5,000 in November to just over 10,000 arrests in December within the Rio Grande Valley region. This increase occurred despite efforts led by Republicans to enhance border security through Operation Lonestar.

The number of border arrests in December exceeded the number of people processed for asylum at ports of entry through the CBP One app, which allows migrants to seek an appointment out of the daily 1,450 slots available at designated ports of entry. Nearly 936,500 people have used the CBP One app to schedule appointments since its introduction in January 2023. Although President-elect Donald J. Trump said in September that he planned to end CBP One appointments, a senior CBP official told reporters that they are still being scheduled.

Overall, the number of crossings demonstrate a downward trend from the high mark set under the Biden administration in December 2023, when arrests reached nearly 250,000. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas credited the Biden administration’s June 2024 proclamation that temporarily suspends asylum processing at the border when U.S. officials deem they are overwhelmed. “This is a consistent trend we have seen since the president’s proclamation went into effect last summer,” Mayorkas said. “Since then, encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border have dropped 60%.”