About 1 million migrants were arrested or considered inadmissible along the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2019, says CBP

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(CNN) - The number of migrants who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border skyrocketed last fiscal year, a period in which the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stopped and deemed inadmissible Almost one million people during the 2019 fiscal year of the government, according to the interim head of the CBP.

That's 88% higher than the previous fiscal year, Morgan told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, adding that "these numbers are figures that no immigration system is designed to handle the world, including ours."

The number of families that arrived at the border more than tripled the previous year, Morgan said. However, he noted that the numbers of "detention and inadmissibility" have declined in recent months, calling it an "unprecedented achievement."

There were a little more than 52,000 public order actions on the southern border in September, almost 65% since the peak of May. Public order actions generally include arrests by the U.S. Border Patrol, as well as people deemed inadmissible at legal ports of entry.

Morgan credited the Migrant Protection Protocols program, informally known as “stay in Mexico,” the coordination and efforts of Mexico and regional associations for the drop in numbers. He did his best to praise Mexico's efforts, saying that "it is really something for history books."

Morgan also said Tuesday that CBP is "instituting that IFR [Provisional Final Rule] of asylum this week."

The norm, of the Departments of Justice and National Security, prohibits migrants who have resided or traveled through third countries requesting asylum in the US. Therefore, it prohibits that people traveling through Mexico can request it.

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Last month, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration rule that dramatically limits the ability of Central American migrants to apply for asylum to enter into force throughout the country while the appeals process is taking place.

Morgan also mentioned the 71 miles (114 kilometers) of wall that have been built since Trump took office, but acknowledged that the wall has not expanded to land where there was no wall before, it is still a replacement wall.

"At this time, those 71 miles have not been new linear miles," he said, but added that CBP is preparing to build new linear miles in the Rio Grande Valley. CBP expects, he said, to have installed approximately 450 miles (724 kilometers) of wall by the end of fiscal year 2020.

When asked how Mexico would pay for the wall, Morgan said: “That is something political, for me, I don't care who pays the wall, all I care about is that it is being built. By the end of 2020 we will have 450 miles of beautiful new wall, ”he said.

Border wall