Record number: 1.6 million arrests at the US-Mexico border

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(CNN) -

The U.S. Border Patrol made nearly 1.66 million arrests for illegal border crossings with Mexico in the past year, the highest annual number of arrests on record, according to data released by the agency on Friday.

In September, the border agency made 185,515 arrests, bringing the total to 1,659,206 during the 2021 fiscal year, which runs from October to September, data shows.

The previous record was in 2000 with 1.64 million arrests at the border, based on available data from the southern border dating back to 1960.

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Since taking office, Joe Biden's administration has struggled to manage the unprecedented number of migrants crossing into the United States, who from the beginning faced an influx of children that overwhelmed resources and, more recently, the thousands of migrants arriving in a matter of days in the unprepared region of Del Rio, Texas.

The number of monthly border arrests - a measure of illegal crossings - soared under the Biden administration, although it began to rise during the administration of former President Donald Trump.

Biden, when asked during the CNN forum why he hadn't visited the southern border, said, "Well, I guess I should go."

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"I've been there before and I haven't, I mean, I know that well. I guess I should go down, but the point is, I haven't had much time to go down," added Biden.

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Biden drove across the US-Mexico border more than a decade ago while on the campaign trail in 2008, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.

Arrest figures have declined since July, when Border Patrol arrests topped 200,000, a monthly level not seen in decades.

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Since March 2020, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been enforcing a public health order known as Title 42, which allows for the swift removal of migrants that has been linked to an increase in the number of people who have crossed repeatedly and with a high number of arrests.

"CBP encounters along the southwestern border decreased in September from the previous month, and the majority of non-citizens encountered were expelled under Title 42," the acting CBP commissioner said in a statement. , Troy Miller, acknowledging the stress associated with operating during a global pandemic that has claimed "too many lives" among CBP's front-line personnel.

Immigrant rights advocates and some lawmakers have criticized President Joe Biden for maintaining the Trump-era pandemic policy, calling it violating human rights.

Biden's choice to head U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chris Magnus voiced support for the Trump-era public health order during his confirmation hearing earlier this week, telling them to the legislators that, as a paramedic for 10 years "public health has always been one of my main concerns ... Title 42 is an authority of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and I think it helps with this" .

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The agency is still waiting to confirm a leader, nine months since Biden took office.

Magnus, who currently serves as the chief of police in Tucson, Arizona, recognized the "significant challenges" at the border.

"The numbers are very high and it is something that needs to be addressed. Clearly, we have a broken system," he said Tuesday.

Most of the hard narcotics seizures by CBP also skyrocketed last year, according to year-end data, which includes illegal ports of entry and border crossings.

Fentanyl seizures more than doubled from 2,173 kilograms in fiscal 2020 to 5,080 kilograms last year.

Methamphetamine and cocaine seizures also increased.

The heroin went down a bit.

Marijuana, however, decreased, from 264,169 kilograms seized to 144,898 kilograms.

International air travel fell further in fiscal 2021 amid the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, although CBP notes that it has started to rise significantly in recent months.

There were about 44.4 million travelers last year compared to 62.1 million in fiscal 2020;

In both years the numbers dropped significantly from more than 135 million in fiscal year 2019, according to CBP data.

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