The new year has seen a significant drop in the amount of encounters at the nation’s southern border between authorities and migrants.
2022 closed out with a record number of migrant encounters – about 251,000 in December alone.
But since the calendar flipped to 2023, Border Patrol has seen a drastic decrease in migrants looking to cross over into the U.S.
from Mexico.
How drastic? The number was nearly halved, dropping by approximately 100,000.
Border Patrol reported about 130,000 apprehensions at various entry-points along southern border. Combined with around 20,000 more at ports of entry, the total for January is right around 150,000.
That ranks as the lowest month in almost two years: February 2021 was the last month that saw even less encounters at the border.
Senior government officials credited the plummet in the number of illegal entries to the expansion of a strategy implemented by the Biden administration, according to CBS News.
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