WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — Arrests for crossing the U.S. border illegally fell slightly in March, authorities said Friday.
U.S. Border Patrol made 137,480 arrests of people entering from Mexico, down 2.3% from 140,638 arrests in February, the first time since 2017 that arrests fell in March from the previous month. Crossings typically rise as temperature rises.
Mexico detained migrants 240,000 times in the first two months of 2024, more than triple from the same period of 2023.
Although Mexico hasn't released figures for March, U.S. officials have said Mexican enforcement is responsible for most of the recent decline.
Tucson, Arizona, again was the busiest of the Border Patrol's nine sectors on the Mexican border in March, a position it has held since summer 2023, followed by San Diego and El Paso, Texas. Texas' Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings for much of the last decade, is fifth-busiest.
The March arrest tally is one of the lowest of Joe Biden's presidency after a record high of nearly 250,000 in December 2023.
Biden still is considering executive action to suspend asylum at the border if crossings reach a specific threshold.
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