Number of arrests for illegal border crossing in February hits lowest level of Biden’s term

The number of people arrested for illegally crossing the U.S. southern border with Mexico rose slightly in February from the previous month. But at a time when immigration has become a growing concern for voters, the numbers are still the lowest of Joe Biden’s presidency.

In February, Border Patrol agents apprehended 140,644 people trying to enter the country at legal crossings, according to Customs and Border Protection.

The numbers are part of a monthly series of data released by CBP related to immigration, trade and fentanyl seizures. Immigration-related data is a closely watched indicator amid intense political scrutiny over who is entering the United States and whether the Biden administration can handle the issue.

Republicans accuse Biden of policies that encourage immigrants to try to come to the United States and that the border is out of control. The Biden administration counters that Republicans have failed to work with Democrats to fund a key border security bill and views what is happening at the southern border as part of a global phenomenon in which more people are fleeing their homes in search of safety.

The figure comes after Border Patrol apprehended 249,785 people in December, a record that heightened immigration tensions, before the number plummeted to 124,220 in January.

Officials attributed the December-January and February declines to Mexican law enforcement efforts and seasonal fluctuations that affect when and where migrants attempt to cross the border.

“The main reason is the Mexican government’s increased law enforcement,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said when he traveled to Brownsville, Texas, with Biden on February 29. But he said encounters in Arizona persist in part because Sonora, the Mexican state directly south of Arizona, is difficult to patrol.

In February, the Tucson, Arizona, area was by far the busiest for migrants crossing between ports of entry, followed by San Diego and El Paso, Texas.

Separately, 42,100 migrants used an app called CBP One to make appointments to seek entry into the United States at official border crossings.

The app is a key part of the Biden administration’s efforts to reduce chaos at the border, encouraging migrants to wait for an appointment rather than wading across a river or hiking across the desert and seeking to surrender to Border Patrol agents.

The government also uses the government’s humanitarian parole powers to allow 30,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela into the country each month. Immigrants must have a financial sponsor in the United States and fly to a U.S. airport. According to figures released on Friday, 386,000 people from the four countries have been allowed into the country since the scheme was announced in January 2023.