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The arrest tally marked a decline of more than 80% from an
all-time high of nearly 250,000 in December and casts doubt on
predictions of an increase ahead of President-elect Donald
Trump's inauguration Jan. 20.
U.S. authorities made about 700 arrests on the Canadian border
in November, down from 1,283 in October, according to a U.S.
Customs and Border Protection official who spoke on condition of
anonymity because the figures are preliminary and not made
public.
Last week, Trump promised sweeping new tariffs on Mexico and
Canada, as well as China, as soon as he takes office as part of
his effort to combat illegal immigration and drugs. He railed
against an influx of migrants entering the U.S. illegally,
eliciting a sharp response from President Claudia Sheinbaum of
Mexico, who highlighted the steep drop this year.
U.S. arrests on the Mexican border fell by about half after
Mexican authorities increased enforcement within their own
borders in December, then plunged by about half again after the
Biden administration introduced severe restrictions on seeking
asylum at the border.
The November tally was down 16% from 56,530 in October and the
lowest mark since July 2020, when there were 38,536 arrests. It
was also below each month from October 2018 to August 2019,
during Trump's first term as president.
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