US undocumented border crossings from Mexico near 60-year low

Submission Statement: Illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border stopped by US agents hit its lowest level this year since 1968, according to US data, after tougher policies under President Donald Trump transformed migration across the Americas. The US Department of Homeland Security on Friday reported 98,708 apprehensions of people crossing the southern US border between ports of entry in the year to the end of September.

That is down from more than 2mn people in 2022 and 2023 under Joe Biden. Experts and migrants say that under the previous president people saw a more welcoming environment as an opportunity to escape political, economic and security crises in countries including Haiti and Venezuela.

The fall in crossings began at the end of Biden’s presidency after he put in place rules that made it harder to claim asylum, with Mexico’s government also deploying increased forces in a crackdown.

But under Trump the decline quickened. He largely dismantled the US asylum system for those arriving at the southern border and accompanied the policy with an aggressive deportation campaign inside the country.

Many migrants are not leaving their countries of origin, while others are choosing to stay in Mexico, which takes a tough stance on economic migrants but has a relatively broad policy for asylum seekers.

Declining migration into the US has caused the issue to fall down the ranks of voters’ priorities ahead of November’s midterm elections, with polls showing the economy and the cost of living among the top concerns.