Border crossings so far in May drop by more than half from December's record highs

Unlawful crossings at the southern border so far in May have decreased by more than half compared to December's record-highs, according to government internal figures reported by CBS News.

Concretely, authorities encountered an average of 3,700 people a day between official ports of entry during the first three weeks of may, a 54% drop compared to the 8,000 seen in December, when figures reached an all-time high and reached a quarter of a million in a single month.

The stats also mean that May is on track to represent the third monthly consecutive drop in encounters. Should the month end with the mentioned average, it would total about 111,000 apprehensions, compared to March's 137,000 and April's 129,000.

This is not only significant because of the sustained drop, but also due to the fact that it continues bucking a seasonal trend, as encounters typically increase during the spring and as the summer approaches in the Northern Hemisphere.

In an interview with the outlet in El Paso on Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the drop is a result of a "number of actions that we have taken, not only strengthening our enforcement, not only attacking the smugglers, but also building lawful pathways that enable people who qualify for relief to reach the United States in a safe, orderly and legal way."

Increased enforcement by Mexican authorities has been credited as a key factor for the drop. A report by NBC News last week showed that Mexico is stopping nearly three times as many migrants within its territory compared to the previous year. Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena has said the country committed to helping the U.S. reduce the flow of migrants to its southern border to 4,000 a day at most.

At the request of the U.S., the country is using military patrols and highway checkpoints, intercepting roughly 8,000 U.S.-bound migrants per day, according to officials from both countries.

The Biden administration is also reportedly finalizing a new executive action that would allow the president to temporarily shut down the border if considered necessary, and is discussing this with Mexican authorities.

The presidential authority, known as Section 212 (f), would let the president unilaterally "suspend the entry" of specific groups of migrants when the number of attempted crossings is deemed to large. The government expects to implement the measure in June and is seeking Mexico's cooperation.

The country's collaboration could be tricky, as their displacement of migrants have already been costly for the country. Asking Mexico to take back even more migrants could be more burdensome for them, the news outlet explains.

The administration is also weighing a series of other steps that could be rolled out over several weeks, including at least one action that would further limit who can seek asylum at the border.

The potential decision comes just a week after another change allowing authorities to bar migrants from getting asylum within days, or even hours, rather than the years it can take at the moment. The rule could target people considered national security risks.