Biden's heavy hand at the border kept immigration detention down in February

The United States reported a drop in the number of migrants detained after trying to cross the southern border for the second consecutive month, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office reported Wednesday.

CBP recorded 128,877 encounters in February, 36 less than the 128,913 in January, where there was a 42% drop compared to December, after the Joe Biden Administration tightened measures to expel asylum seekers to Mexico with policies such as Title 42 or the humanitarian

for people from Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti.

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“The new border control measures kept the global encounter numbers for February about the same (with those for January),” said Troy Miller, acting CBP commissioner.

Of the total number of encounters, 25% (39,206) were people who had already tried to enter the country and 61% (94,124) were migrants trying for the first time.

Mexicans protest at the border against a Republican proposal and diplomats confront him in Washington DC

March 14, 202301:53

71.4% of all encounters (110,722) were single adults, an increase of 1.5% compared to the previous month.

Expulsions: Title 42 and Title 8

46.8% of the meetings (72,591) were processed under Title 42, the health policy that could come to an end on May 11 when the national emergency due to COVID-19 ends and renders it ineffective.

This regulation established by former President Donald Trump in 2020, allows the express expulsion of asylum seekers to Mexico and, with it, 7,215 families were sent to the neighboring country in February, according to the CBP.

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Although the majority of family nuclei, 78.3% (25,976), were prosecuted with Title 8 with which "those who try to enter the United States without authorization and cannot establish a legal basis to remain in the country will be quickly expelled," he warned. the agency.

In total, 82,407 files were processed under this regulation, detailed the CBP.

Title 8 is being considered as an alternative to the possible end of Title 42, which could trigger migration across the southern border, as happened in December.

People deported with Title 8 "

," including "the prohibition of receiving immigration benefits in the future," the agency alerts.

A Venezuelan migrant bundles up against the cold in El Paso, Texas, on January 8, 2023. John Moore / Getty Images

One of the few rising figures in CBP's monthly report was that of unaccompanied minors, which increased 16% after 10,870 encounters were recorded in February compared to 9,382 reported in January.

The percentage of these children in agency custody also rose to 438 per day, compared with the average of 332 in January.

Although it is still less than the average of 570 daily in December.

The drop in crossings of migrants of nationalities of the humanitarian 'parole' continues

For CBP, the "continued decline in encounters with Border Patrol demonstrates the effectiveness of the measures announced by the Administration on January 5," referring to the expansion of the humanitarian

to include Nicaraguans, Haitians, and Cubans in a program established to Venezuelans in 2022.

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Since then,

, from 1,231 a day in January to 46 on February 28, highlighted the agency, which said that "single adults and families who are at the border Southwest will continue to be expelled."

CBP reported that

22,755 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans entered the country in February with this humanitarian permit that grants them legal stay and a work permit for two years, after meeting a series of requirements.

The number was almost double that reported in January: 11,637.