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In May, Border Patrol agents arrested close to 2,000 more immigrants trying to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border compared to April, per statistics released by the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday.

Also up is the number of unaccompanied children — in April, 4,302 crossed illegally, while 6,405 did so in May. In March, April, and May, more than 50,000 immigrants attempted to enter the U.S. at the southern border each month. DHS spokesperson Tyler Q. Houlton said the number of people trying to cross remains high, but shows "that while the Trump administration is restoring the rule of law ... no one expects to reverse years of political action overnight or in a month."

David Leopold, former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, disagrees, telling NBC News it appears President Trump's tough talk regarding the border isn't scaring people away. "I think it's desperation," he said. "They think it's better to spend time in detention than face what they're facing in the Triangle." The Triangle refers to the countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.