The number of illegal border crossings to the U.S. has dramatically decreased thanks to joint efforts by the U.S. and Mexico.
According to a new investigation by the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. saw about 57,000 illegal crossings in July, down from around 250,000 in December. The Journal also noted that July was the month with the fewest illegal border crossings since 2020, when migration was still low because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
These numbers were possible thanks to the unprecedented cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico. On the Mexican side, security checkpoints were placed in highways, and the National Guard was deployed on the Rio Grande’s southern banks to prevent mass gatherings. The Mexican government also suspended a program granting humanitarian visas for asylum seekers that traveled to the U.S. Border with a lower risk of detention.
In addition, Mexico has also deployed buses to relocate migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to the country’s south. Under this program more than 60,000 migrants have been relocated.
In the U.S., a new order by President Biden disqualifies migrants from winning asylum if they enter illegally, allowing for quicker deportations and reducing the number of releases into the U.S.
Experts have acknowledged the joint effort to curb immigration.
“This is just what the administration wanted,” Andrew Selee, president of the nonpartisan think tank Migration Policy Institute, told the Wall Street Journal. “Not that Democrats are going to win on this issue, but that chaos at the border won’t be on the front pages anymore.”
Mexico has been a key factor in the decreasing number of illegal border entries. Selee said the country acted both “as a barrier and as a sponge.”
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has been trying to capitalize on the matter, saying that his Operation Lone Star has been the one responsible for the decreasing number of illegal border crossings.
Some Republicans have acknowledged that Abbott’s efforts have done nothing to stop immigrants, and some have expressed doubts about his plan to build a wall that would cost $20 billion.
“I am, too, concerned that we’re spending a whole lot of money to give the appearance of doing something rather than taking the problem on to actually solve it, and until we do that, I don’t expect to see much happen,” state Sen. Bob Hall said.
