PHOTO CREDIT: © Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters
Federal officials have logged more than 1.1 million apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border this fiscal year, after another busy month in June, Customs and Border Protection said in a news release Friday.
Many who were taken into custody have attempted to cross the border more than once, officials said.
Apprehensions last reached the 1 million milestone in 2006. But far fewer attempted to cross that year during the searing-hot summer months, when the journey across the Rio Grande or vast ranches is especially dangerous. Approximately 68,000 migrants were taken into custody in June 2006 — compared to 188,829 apprehensions last month, which was a 5 percent increase from May.
Border apprehensions have risen every month since President Biden took office, presenting political and logistical concerns for the new administration as Democrats seek to pass legislation that would allow the 11 million undocumented immigrants already living in the United States to apply for citizenship.
Single adults are the largest group of those attempting to cross, though their numbers dipped 3 percent in June, and most were expelled. Apprehensions of unaccompanied minors and migrant families — groups that provoked a border crisis in fiscal 2019 — increased in June, the agency said.
Apprehensions of unaccompanied children rose to 15,253 in June, an 8 percent increase over May. The number of migrant families taken into custody at the border jumped 25 percent, to 55,805, still “well below” the peak of 88,587 in May 2019, officials said.