Has immigrant income to the US been reduced? from Mexico? This is what the figures say

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(CNN) - The interim commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, Mark Morgan, promoted a drop in border arrests on Monday at the White House and highlighted the construction of new sections of the border wall.

Morgan said 64,000 people had been arrested or considered inadmissible in August, compared with 82,000 in July and 144,000 from the highest peak in May this year.

Morgan attributes President Donald Trump's “network of unprecedented initiatives,” including the drive for Mexico to carry out greater border control, ensuring that 56% drop since May, said Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrad last Friday.

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August figures show a steady decline in arrests since spring, and they occur when the Trump administration has pushed numerous controversial policies aimed at helping stop the flow of migrants arriving at the southern border.

The number of crossings has traditionally decreased during the summer months, but Morgan said the reduction "has nothing to do with seasonal trends."

But citing the deployment of the National Guard in Mexico and the acceptance of asylum seekers waiting for their immigration procedures, Morgan said the support may not last until next year.

"I am worried if the Mexican government" and the Northern Triangle countries (Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras) "will be able to maintain the level of commitment they have," he said.

Border Patrol arrests, a measure of illegal crossings, fell about 30% from almost 72,000 in July to around 51,000 in August, according to the agency.

While it is a significant change with respect to the number of arrests earlier this summer, which was around 100,000 and depleted resources along the border, the monthly arrest figures still exceed the last two fiscal years.

In August 2018, for example, about 37,520 people were arrested for illegally crossing the border, compared to about 22,300 in that same period in 2017, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

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The interim secretary of National Security, Kevin McAleenan, who appeared alongside President Donald Trump in the White House last Wednesday, praised the "continuing partnership with Mexico" and the regional support of Central American countries to combat irregular migration and improve security on the border

In an interview with CNN, the Interim Director of Immigration and Customs Control, Matt Albence, also cited Mexico's help as a factor in reducing border detentions.

"Much of what we are doing and much of the success we are seeing is the result of our foreign partners, especially with what Mexico has done regarding putting the national guard on its southern border and its northern border," Albence said. . "Those efforts must be maintained to keep these numbers at a low level, especially in the absence of action by Congress."

In recent months, the government has expanded its program to return some asylum seekers to Mexico for the duration of their immigration procedures, introduced a rule that would drastically limit the ability of Central American migrants to apply for asylum in the United States, an agreement that put a 20-day limit to family detentions.

Immigrant advocacy groups have rejected the administration's initiatives, in some cases challenging them in court. Shortly before Morgan's press conference on Monday, a federal judge in California reinstated his decision to block the new asylum restrictions after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reduced the mandate last month.

Even so, administration officials have pointed to regional support as another reason for the fall of detentions.

"I am not saying that we are still out of the forest, but it talks about where we were where we are now," said a senior Border Patrol official, signaling the fall of detentions in the Rio Grande Valley that has been the busiest sector In recent years, as an example. "I would give more credit to Mexico than anything else."

The interim commissioner of CBP also promoted the border wall of the president. "This wall is absolutely necessary to safeguard our southern border," Morgan said.

Last week, Defense Secretary Mark Esper authorized the diversion of $ 3.6 billion in military construction funds for 11 wall projects on the southern border with Mexico, a measure that caused the bipartisan anger of lawmakers who saw each other affected.

In his letter, Esper told Congress that he had “determined that 11 military construction projects along the international border with Mexico, with an estimated total cost of $ 3.6 billion, are needed to support the use of the armed forces in relation to the national emergency. "

Defense Department officials say 127 military construction projects are being suspended to use the $ 3.6 billion to finance the construction of 280 kilometers of the southern border wall.

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