Migrant numbers exceeded 200,000 encounters again in May as Title 42 expired

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There were more than 200,000 Customs and Border Protection (CPB) encounters with migrants at the southern border in May as officials saw record daily highs before the end of Title 42 – followed by a sharp decrease once the public health order ended.

There were 204,561 encounters at the southern border in May. That’s down from the 241,136 encountered in May 2022 and higher than the 180,597 encountered in May 2021. It’s also down from the 211,159 seen in April.

May saw some of the busiest days at the border ahead of the end of the Title 42 public health order on May 11. The order had allowed for the rapid expulsion of migrants at the southern border since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and its looming end brought fears of a new migrant wave at the border -- even amid an already historic crisis.

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FILE: A U.S. Border Patrol agent leads a line of women to a van as they wait to apply for asylum between two border walls Thursday, May 11, 2023, in San Diego.  (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Those fears appeared to be justified as the border saw over 10,000 migrant encounters a day in the days before May 11. The Biden administration moved to release migrants into the interior without a court date due to overcrowding but was quickly blocked by a federal judge in response to a lawsuit from Florida.

As the order ended, the Biden administration broadened legal pathways for migrants, including setting up processing centers in Central America and encouraged the use of a CBP One app to allow for over 1,000 migrants to enter a day for an appointment to be processed in. It also stiffened Title 8 penalties for illegal re-entry and implemented an asylum rule that mostly bars migrants from claiming asylum if they enter illegally and fail to claim asylum in a prior country.

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Since May 11, numbers dropped sharply, with officials touting a 70% drop in encounters to above 3,000 a day. So far those numbers have appeared to have remained at around that level.

In its operational update, CBP said that half of all the encounters in May occurred between May 1-11. Almost two-thirds (65%) of all encounters were single adults, while there were 9,943 encounters of unaccompanied children.

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The Biden administration has been linking the sharp drop in encounters with the implementation of its policies and planning for a post-Title 42 border.

"As a result of comprehensive planning and preparation efforts, there has been a significant reduction in encounters along the Southwest border since the return to full Title 8 immigration enforcement on May 12," acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement.

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"As we continue to execute our plans –including delivering strengthened consequences for those who cross unlawfully while expanding access to lawful pathways and processes – we will continue to monitor changes in encounter trends and adjust our response as necessary," he said.

However, the asylum rule which forms the core of that planning faces multiple lawsuits from both Republicans and left-wing civil rights groups. Republicans have claimed the rule is a "smoke screen" to mask the numbers being admitted, while the American Civil Liberties Union says it limits migrants’ right to claim asylum.