In an unexpected trend, the number of migrants apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border dipped in March. The decrease is mainly attributed to an immigration crackdown by the Mexican government. Border Patrol agents apprehended over 137,000 migrants who crossed the U.S. southern border unlawfully in March, down from nearly 141,000 in February. This is the first time in seven years, and the only time during the Biden administration, that illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border did not increase from February to March.
Officials still expect to see an increase in migration in the spring, as has been the case historically. However, the lower-than-expected number of illegal crossings in March is a reprieve for the Biden administration, which has faced an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and a political firestorm as a result of the record numbers of migrants crossing the southern border.
U.S. officials believe Mexico’s increased actions to slow U.S.-bound migration have played a major role in the lower number of unlawful crossings recorded by American authorities. When migrant crossings soared to record levels in December, the Biden administration dispatched top officials to Mexico City to convince Mexican authorities to do more to reduce migrant arrivals near the U.S. border. Mexico has deployed additional authorities to prevent migrants from traveling to the American border via freight trains or buses. Mexican officials are also deporting some of the migrants they intercept on these routes further south. The drop in illegal crossings in March was most pronounced among non-Mexican migrants, whom Mexican officials can stop from moving within Mexico.
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