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Washington (CNN) -
In July, federal authorities arrested tens of thousands of migrants attempting to enter the United States from Mexico, likely topping June's figures, which were the highest in decades.
This has raised new health and safety concerns during the hottest days of the summer.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detained more than 176,000 migrants between July 1 and July 28, according to preliminary data obtained by CNN, marking the highest number of arrests in July since at least the year 2000.
The latest border arrest data represents an ongoing challenge to the Biden administration, which has struggled with an increase in illegal border crossings that has accelerated since President Joe Biden took office.
"We certainly have a challenge at the border," National Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday during an interview on MSNBC.
The rising numbers come amid the hottest weeks of summer, putting migrants in dangerous and sometimes deadly circumstances.
"It's the hottest part of the summer and apprehensions are skyrocketing!" Brian Hastings, US Border Patrol Chief of the Rio Grande Valley, tweeted on July 25.
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A CBP spokesperson declined to comment on the data until the agency officially released it, but told CNN that as temperatures continue to rise in the Southwest, the Border Patrol is still encountering large numbers of migrants who they cross into the United States.
"Migrants are often desperate for food and water as soon as they find them, as they underestimate the high temperatures and do not carry enough supplies. Border Patrol agents do everything possible to quickly rescue migrants and transport them to safety. "the spokesman said in a statement.
"The message from CBP to anyone considering entering the United States illegally over the southwest border is simple: don't do it," the spokesperson added, warning that when migrants cross the border illegally, they put their lives in danger and call the "extreme" summer heat.
Some migrants have died of dehydration, starvation and heat stroke, according to CBP.
The agency conducted more than 9,000 rescues in the current fiscal year, ending in September, compared to approximately 5,000 rescues in the entire last fiscal year 2020.
Migrants are urged to call 911 if they are in danger and need to be rescued, CBP said, which can start an intensive process of trying to locate the person who is missing.
In South Texas, the Border Patrol has also obtained GPS coordinates for more than 22,000 waypoints that a lost or distressed migrant can provide to help pinpoint their location.
The agency plans to expand the program along the entire southwestern border, according to the spokesperson.
Thousands of migrants flood Necoclí, a town in Colombia, on their way to Panama and the United States.
Hastings has been raising alarms about the danger facing migrants in South Texas, drawing attention to the large number of groups crossing the border.
On Sunday, he wrote that the migrants are "in dire need of medical attention as they are continually crossing into the United States," including two pregnant women who "were in labor pain on Saturday."
Last week, his agents discovered four migrants inside a plastic bag and another rolled up inside a padded carpet.
The temperature was 39 degrees Celsius.
Mexico-US border.