Border apprehensions fall for second month

Apprehensions of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border dropped for the second consecutive month, dipping below 200,000 for the first time since February.

According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) numbers, 199,976 migrants were apprehended by U.S. authorities at the border in July. While still unusually high, the total represents a 3.8 percent decrease from the 207,933 apprehended in June.

The number of migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras dropped almost 17 percent month to month, but unauthorized migration from other countries spiked 15.4 percent from June to July.

That shift reflects a growing trend of migration led by citizens of other countries in the Western Hemisphere, including Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba, who seek refuge in the United States.

Just under 75,000 people were repatriated under Title 42, the pandemic-era policy under which U.S. authorities can summarily expel foreign nationals without screening for asylum claims.

About half of those expelled under Title 42 were Mexican nationals, and the other half from the so-called Northern Triangle countries — Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

The rise in migrants from other countries and the decrease in migration from the United States’ nearest southern neighbors meant that nearly half of all people apprehended in July came from countries beyond Mexico and the Northern Triangle.

While the majority of those apprehended — 134,362 — were single adults, apprehensions in that demographic dropped 4.5 percent from June, continuing a downward trend from a high of 170,023 in March.

Family unit and accompanied minor apprehensions, however, have remained steady since April.

In July, CBP apprehended 52,315 people traveling with relatives, a slight uptick from 51,993 such apprehensions in June.