Arrests at the southern border dropped 28 percent in June

Migrant children at the southern border.

(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

published 10 July 2019

Southern border crossings dropped for the first time this year last month, falling 28 percent from May to June, the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday.

Typically, more people cross during the cooler spring months, with the numbers dipping as it heats up. The Department of Homeland Security said in June, 104,344 undocumented migrants were detained at the southern border, a sharp drop from 144,278 in May. June was still the fourth month in a row with more than 100,000 arrests, and more than double the 43,180 migrants detained in June 2018, The Washington Post reports.

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Trump forced out most of the Department of Homeland Security's leaders this spring, and threatened Mexico with tariffs if more wasn't done to combat the flux of migrants; Mexico in turn deployed more national guard troops to its borders. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say there are about 10,000 migrants now in custody, living in detention centers designed to hold half that amount. Lawmakers and attorneys who visited facilities in Texas say the conditions are filthy and children are not receiving adequate food or hygiene products.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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