Border crisis: Encounters rise by 33% at southern border

In July, Border Control had 33% more encounters with migrants trying to cross the southern border. In what was the second full month since the end of Title 42, there were 132,652 recorded apprehensions, according to data released by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The number of encounters was lower than in July 2022. The same was true in June, which was the first month since 2020 to have fewer encounters compared to the same month of the previous year.

CBP celebrated that the number of single adults detained "remained flat.” According to the agency, “[It] is indicative of the success of our work to maximize the use of Expedited Removal after the end of the Title 42 public health order, which was initially focused primarily on single adults.” However, Border Patrol data shows that during the same period encounters with unaccompanied minors increased from 7,334 to 10,742.

These results confirm the conclusions from preliminary data released weeks ago: this represents a major setback for the new measures implemented by the Department of Homeland Security after the end of Title 42. This comes along with hang ups in court and Americans’ opinion that border management is one of the main problems facing the nation.