Border encounters drop in June to lowest point under Biden, GOP argues data doesn't tell full story

Southern border encounters dropped in June to the lowest point under President Joe Biden, but Republicans argue it doesn't tell the full story.

Border encounters with migrants totaled 83,536 in June, down from 117,901 in May, which is the lowest amount since January 2021, according to the latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Overall encounters across the southern border were 130,419 compared to 170,715 the prior month.

CBP said the drop could be attributed to the Biden administration's new rule that suspends asylum processing after daily encounters reach 2,500. 

House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn. argued that the Biden administration's usage of the CBP One smartphone application can be traced back to the drop in southern border encounters. The app allows migrants to schedule appointments and arrive at ports of entry instead of in between ports.

House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn. argued that the administration's usage of the CBP One smartphone application can be traced back to the drop in southern border encounters. The app allows migrants to schedule appointments and arrive at ports of entry instead of in between ports.

CBP does not publicly release the amount migrants who are released each month into U.S. communities after they are encountered at the border.

“Their strategy should now be plain to everyone: flood the country with as many illegal aliens as possible between ports of entry, and then create unlawful mass-parole programs like CBP One and CHNV to encourage otherwise-inadmissible aliens to still enter—just in a less politically embarrassing and damaging way," Green said in a statement, referring to Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

According to an Associated Press report, more than 41,000 migrants entered the U.S. through the CBP One app in June. In total, 680,500 migrants have scheduled appointments since the app rolled out in January 2023.

Green noted that some illegal immigrants committed crimes in June, such as the two illegal immigrants who were charged in Houston with the killing of a 12-year-old. 

"If Biden and Mayorkas want to take credit for the numerous devastating headlines about illegal alien crime and the floods of people coming across our borders in the last month alone, they are welcome to do so," he said.