U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released new statistics showing that land encounters with migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border were halved in January.
Illegal border crossings have surged in recent years, reaching an all-time high last year. A bipartisan bill intended to bolster border security recently failed in Congress after former President Donald Trump demanded that Republicans kill it, with GOP criticism of President Joe Biden‘s immigration policies increasing as the November presidential election draws closer.
Troy A. Miller, CBP’s senior official performing the duties of the commissioner, acknowledged in a press release on Tuesday that “serious challenges” remain at the border while saying that the improved numbers were the “result of seasonal trends, as well as enhanced enforcement efforts by the men and women of CBP and our international partners.”
Read the rest of the story at Newsweek, here.