EXCLUSIVE: Migrant Apprehensions at Border Continue Decline Post-Title 42

The daily apprehension of migrants by Border Patrol agents along the southwest border with Mexico declined for the fourth straight day. The apprehension of migrants fell from more than 10,600 on May 10 to less than 4,300 on Sunday — three days after the end of the CDC’s Title 42 program.

In the two weeks leading up to the end of Title 42, Breitbart Texas reported the daily migrant apprehension rate increased from about 7,400 during the last three days in April to 10,605 on May 10 — one day before the end of Title 42.

FACTS ON STATS: On 5/12/23 (Day 1 of Title 8), RGV #USBP agents apprehended 1,133 migrants, representing a 66% decrease as compared to this fiscal year’s high water mark of 3,300 apprehensions on 5/8/23. pic.twitter.com/hXiYOjINJe

— Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez (@USBPChiefRGV) May 14, 2023

By Sunday, that number fell to 4,268, according to a law enforcement source — a decrease of nearly 60 percent from the May 10 peak. Since Friday, May 12, migrant apprehensions on the southwest border fell to 6,441 on Friday to 4,494 on Saturday, and 4,268 on Sunday.

Before the end of Title 42, the Rio Grande Valley Sector had been the busiest of the nine southwest border sectors. Following a peak of 3,291 on May 8, the number of apprehensions fell to 507 on Sunday.

Responding to an inquiry from Breitbart Texas, the law enforcement source credited the decline in apprehensions to several factors. Among those are increased enforcement activity by Texas law enforcement and military forces, increased cooperation on the southern side of the border from the Government of Mexico, and migrants’ increasing use of the CBP One mobile app.

The source said migrants using the CBP One app are showing up at ports of entry to cross where they are released with a notice to appear. Many of these notices provide court dates four to ten years out, Breitbart News reported.

.@TxDPS & @TXMilitary have been working tirelessly in clearing out brush & placing concertina wire along the Rio Grande River in #Brownsville to repel illegal crossings between the ports of entry. Through Gov. @GregAbbott_TX’s Operation Lone Star, Texas is taking unprecedented… pic.twitter.com/R3TiLtzpbL

— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) May 11, 2023

Early last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott deployed the state’s new Tactical Border Force to the Rio Grande Valley where migrant apprehensions surged to more than 3,000 per day.

On Thursday, the Texas Tactical Border Force’s use of troops and razor wire created a barrier that forced migrants to turn back from crossing the Rio Grande near Brownsville, Breitbart Texas reported. In a video produced by Breitbart’s Cartel Chronicles Project, migrants can be seen confronting the soldiers and troopers standing behind the concertino wire barrier.

The San Diego Sector is currently the busiest of the sectors with the apprehension of 1,351 migrants on Sunday. This is followed by Tucson (704), Del Rio (607), Rio Grande Valley (507), and El Paso (388).

DHS officials previously predicted a post-Title 42 surge that could lead to more than 18,000 migrants per day crossing the border from Mexico. So far, that prediction has failed to come to fruition.

On Sunday, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas credited “the criminal penalties for migrants who illegally enter the country, which resumed under existing law after Title 42’s expiration, for the decrease in crossings,” Reuters reported.