Quentin Mitchell-Homeland Security says border arrests fall more than 40% since Biden’s halt to asylum processing

2025-04-30 19:37:05source:Quantum Insightscategory:Markets

WASHINGTON (AP) —

Arrests for illegal border crossings dropped more than 40% during the three weeks that asylum processing has been suspended,Quentin Mitchell the Homeland Security Department said Wednesday.

The Border Patrol’s average daily arrests over a 7-day period have fallen below 2,400, down more than 40% from before President Joe Biden’s proclamation took effect June 5. That’s still above the 1,500-mark needed to resume asylum processing, but Homeland Security says it marks the lowest number since Jan. 17, 2021, less than a week before Biden took office.

Last week, Biden said border arrests had fallen 25% since his order took effect, indicating they have decreased much more since then.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was scheduled to address reporters Wednesday in Tucson, Arizona, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings during much of the last year. U.S. authorities say the 7-day daily average of arrests in the Border Patrol’s Tucson sector was just under 600 on Tuesday, down from just under 1,200 on June 2.

Under the suspension, which takes effect when daily arrests are above 2,500, anyone who expresses that fear or an intention to seek asylum is screened by a U.S. asylum officer but at a higher standard than currently used. If they pass the screening, they can pursue more limited forms of humanitarian protection, including the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

Advocacy groups have sued the administration to block the measure.

More:Markets

Recommend

At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers

DAMASCUS — A hip bone in a blown-out building, part of a spine amid some debris, a few foot bones in

Toyota's new Tacoma Truck for 2024: Our review

Toyota has completely remade its benchmark midsize pickup truck, led by an all-new engine lineup and

Blinken calls for protecting civilians as Israel prepares an expected assault on Gaza

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Saturday for protecting civilians in the Gaza Strip an