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FIRST ON FOX: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made nearly 200,000 migrant encounters in July, according to figures obtained by Fox News Digital, suggesting a still-ongoing migrant crisis despite a slight dip in the already-high numbers being encountered.
There were 199,976 migrant encounters at the border in July. That’s lower than the 213,593 encountered in July 2021, and a slight decrease from the 207,416 encountered in June 2022, and the lowest number encountered still February.
But the almost 200,000 encounters still represents a stubbornly-high number of migrants hitting the border and a continuing border crisis that has overwhelmed agents and border communities and dogged the Biden administration.
Migrants line up as they wait to be processed by US Border Patrol after illegally crossing the US-Mexico border in Yuma, Arizona in the early morning of July 11, 2022. – Every year, tens of thousands of migrants fleeing violence or poverty in Central and South America attempt to cross the border into the United States in pursuit of the American dream. Many never make it.
((ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images))
Two-thirds of all encountered were single adults, with 134,362 encounters in July, but just 74,573 encounters resulted in an expulsion under the Title 42 public health order — put in place during the Trump administration, and an order the Biden administration has sought to abolish.
Republicans have sought to blame the Biden administration for the crisis at the border, pointing to the rollback of Trump-era policies. The Biden administration, meanwhile, has pointed to the regional nature of the crisis and has sought to tackle root causes like poverty and corruption in Central America.
The administration has recently sought to slash asylum processing times with a new rule, and has made new immigration commitments after the Summit of the Americas — which has included a new crackdown on the smuggling industry, resulting in over 3,000 arrests in just three months.
This is a breaking news story, check back for updates.
