Federal agents arrest, turn back record 188,800 immigrants at southern border, report

Federal border patrol agents last month arrested or denied entrance to 188,800 immigrants – the highest monthly total at the southern U.S. border in roughly a decade, according to a news report. 

The number is being reported by CNN and based on what the news outlet says is a Department of Homeland Security official familiar with the figures and to previously published data.

The number last month compares to 180,034 in May, bringing the fiscal year total so far to more than 1 million Customs and Border Protection encounters. 

The number of immigrants trying to enter the country at the U.S.-Mexico border has increased since May 2020, when roughly 23,000 people were encountered by Customs and Border Protection. This June was the highest monthly number since President Biden took office.

The number of unaccompanied minors arriving at the border also spiked after Biden took office, overwhelming federal government resources, CNN also reports.

That increase appeared to largely be based upon an assumption the Biden administration would ease federal restrictions on immigration the previous Trump administration enforced during the pandemic.