The United States reported a 42% drop in January
in migrant encounters with Border Patrol at the southern border compared to the previous month, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office reported this Friday.
The registered figure of 128,410 crossings represents a 42% decrease compared to the 221,675 people who arrived in December through the ports of entry, the agency said.
It is the lowest number since February 2021.
The total number of meetings was also reduced from 251,978 registered in December, to 156,274 in January, that is, almost 40% less.
This includes “individuals who requested an exception to Title 42 based on certain vulnerabilities and scheduled an appointment to appear through the CBP One app,” CBP detailed.
[Biden slows the arrival of Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans to the southern border by 97% after tightening measures]
This drop in statistics “clearly illustrates that the new border control measures are working,” said Troy Miller, acting CBP commissioner.
“
Those trends have continued into February
, with plummeting meetings of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans,” he added.
At the end of January, the Joe Biden Administration reported that, after the expansion of the humanitarian parole program for people from Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti, added to that of Venezuela, encounters with migrants of these nationalities plummeted by 97% at the border. south.
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The measure extends express deportation to Mexico to citizens of these countries under the Title 42 health measure, which remains in effect pending a Supreme Court decision after lawsuits from 19 Republican states.
During the month of January,
11,637 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans entered the United States
under this humanitarian permit that grants them legal stay and a work permit for two years, after meeting a series of requirements, detailed the CBP.
[Biden expands Title 42 at the border to expel more migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua]
The agency also insisted that "
current restrictions at the US border have not changed
: single adults and families on the Southwest border will continue to be removed" under Title 42, the policy imposed in 2020 by former President Donald Trump that It has allowed the expulsion of more than 2 million migrants, despite criticism from human rights organizations that consider that it leaves them in a dangerous situation on the Mexican side and violates US asylum law.
Immigrants, mostly from Venezuela, are escorted by Mexican immigration agents after being expelled from the United States on January 9, 2023.John Moore / Getty Images
Of the total number of encounters in January, 69.5% were with adults traveling alone.
The figure of 108,573 represented a decrease from the 33% reported in December, according to official data.
Appointments through the CBP One app
Some 21,661 people were considered exceptions to Title 42 "based on an individual vulnerability assessment."
Between January 18 and 31, 9,902 migrants scheduled an appointment to have their cases evaluated through the CBP One mobile application.
[New York is paying for bus tickets for migrants traveling to the Canadian border to seek asylum there]
“While the high demand has meant that
not all people seeking appointments have yet been able to schedule them
,” the agency said, “CBP One allows for more open access and has provided immediate benefits in reducing the exploitation of vulnerable people.” added.
A few days ago, the mobile application was criticized by migrants in Mexico who said it did not work correctly and crashed when they tried to formalize a procedure.
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According to the CBP's January report,
64,499 migrants were expelled to Mexico under Title 42,
that is, 41.3% of all recorded encounters.
Another 91,775 cases were handled under Title 8 which stipulates that "those who attempt to enter the United States without authorization and cannot establish a legal basis for remaining in the country will be promptly removed."
Title 8 is one of the measures that the Government plans to use at the border once the end of Title 42 is decided, the validity of which must be evaluated when the United States stops considering COVID-19 as a national emergency in May.
Resistance is expected from red states that could file another lawsuit to keep it in effect.
[What does the Supreme Court decision on Title 42 mean for migrants?]
These drops in border encounters with Mexico come as Latino migrants from countries like Venezuela try to reach Canada in search of better employment, health and legal status opportunities.
Some try by plane, others take a bus from New York City, where thousands were flown from red states like Texas, to the city of Plattsburgh about 30 minutes from the Canadian border, where they have encountered cold weather. and more difficulties than they expected, as confirmed by Noticias Telemundo.
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From there they must travel to the rural area of Roxham Road to seek asylum on the Canadian side.
In 2022, more than 39,000 people used that route to enter Canada, some 4,700 arriving in December, Canadian network CBC News reported.