CBP: Arrests of migrants illegally entering U.S. plummet in June

July 15 (UPI) -- Arrests of migrants illegally crossing the U.S. southern border plummeted nearly 30% last month, marking the lowest monthly total of the Biden administration.

According to data released Monday by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there were 83,536 arrests between ports of entry last month, a decline of 29% from May and the lowest monthly total since January 2021.

The decline is being attributed to resources freed up by President Joe Biden 's proclamation issued early last month that suspends the entry of migrants into the country at the southern border when the daily average is more than 2,500 over a seven-day period.

"Recent border security measures have made a meaningful impact on our ability to impose consequences for those crossing unlawfully," Troy Miller, CBP senior official performing the duties of the commissioner, said in a statement .

He said the measure not only led to the monthly decline but also to a more than 50% drop in the seven-day average, doubling the rate at which they remove noncitizens of border patrol custody last month.

Customs and Border Patrol said the seven-day average has decreased to below 1,900 encounters a day.

"We are continuing to work with international partners to go after transnational criminal organizations that traffic in chaos and prioritize profit over human lives," he said.

Since Biden's rule went into effect on June 5, the Department of Homeland Security has removed more than 70,000 people to more than 170 countries, involving more than 150 international repatriation flights.

Among those flights was one to China , which occurred early this month, marking the first repatriation flight to the Asian nation since 2018.

Biden as been dogged for much of his tenure at the White House by Republican criticism of his handling of the southern border, which saw a high of nearly 250,000 arrests between ports of entry in December.

The president has enacted a plethora of policies in response, including the new rule last month, which seemingly have attributed to the drop of migrants entering the country since, though some of the restrictive moves have attracted criticism from human rights organizations and members of his own party.