Migrant encounters in San Diego down 62%, DHS says

SAN DIEGO ( Border Report ) — The San Diego Sector averaged 460 encounters a day this last week, compared to more than 1,200 weekly encounters before President Biden issued an executive order to curtail migrant crossings along the southern border.

Border Report has obtained a “fact sheet” from the Department of Homeland Security detailing the number of migrant encounters since June 4, when President Biden restricted entry to most noncitizens.

Seven weeks since the order was issued, DHS reports the number of migrant encounters has decreased by 55% overall.

In the San Diego Sector alone, encounters are down by 62%, according to the DHS fact sheet.

It also states Border Patrol’s seven-day average has decreased to below 1,800 encounters per day, and that for the month of June, agents recorded a total of 83,536 encounters between ports of entry throughout the southern border, the lowest number since January 2021 and below the number of encounters in June 2019, before to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since June 4, when the executive order was issued, DHS is also reporting the following:

• DHS has removed and returned more than 65,000 individuals to more than 125 countries, including by operating more than 200 international repatriation flights.
• DHS has doubled the percentage of noncitizens processed through Expedited Removal while in CBP or ICE custody. Expedited Removal processing was already at record levels prior to the Proclamation.
• DHS has decreased the number of people released pending their removal proceedings by 70%.
• DHS continues to implement recently announced measures to increase the overall capacity of enforcement resources — including repatriation flights and detention capacity. ICE is optimizing air charter contracts to maximize the number of repatriation flights operated each week.
• Over the last year, the agency has removed individuals to a range of South American and Eastern Hemisphere countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Uzbekistan, and India, and in the last few weeks, DHS conducted a removal flight to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Efforts to expand the number of removal flights continue with the expectation of additional flights added to the schedule in the coming weeks.

DHS says migrants will continue to be eligible for asylum, including individuals who use the CBP One mobile app’s appointment system.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is making 1,450 appointments available per day at eight land ports of entry including Ped West at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego.

According to the DHS fact sheet, the majority of all Southwest border encounters during the past three fiscal years resulted in a removal, return, or expulsion from the U.S .

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