New data reveals July was the busiest month for illegal border crossings in over 20 years.
The number of migrants detained along the southern border last month exceeded 200,000 for the first time in 21 years. It includes nearly 83,000 family members and about 19,000 unaccompanied minors, which is an all-time high. The July arrest total is a 13% increase from June. Biden officials predicted earlier this year that the volume of people crossing the border would decline with the summer heat. Instead, Central American adults and children are crossing again in large groups of 300 or more, and U.S. border facilities are jammed with migrants shoulder-to-shoulder in detention facilities, according to the Washington Post.
In recent months, border officials have also reported more than 1,000 daily “got-away” incidents, in which authorities are able to detect an illegal entry — often using cameras and sensors — but do not make an arrest.