Mexico Witnesses 14% Decline In Illegal Border Crossings

Mexico saw a 14% decline in illegal border crossings in October in comparison to September.

This comes after the Latin American country witnessed a three-month surge in such activities.

U.S. officials said on Tuesday that they started deporting people to Venezuela on Oct. 18 after citizens from the said country were found to have replaced Mexicans as the leading nationality caught at borders.

Arrests involving Venezuelans dropped by 74% in the second half of October compared to September. Total arrests for illegal crossings were 188,778 for all nationalities last month, while the number of people nabbed in September was 218,763, according to AP News.

Aside from citizens from Latin American countries, 4,247 Chinese nationals were also arrested while crossing the border illegally.

"We continue to enhance our border security posture and remain vigilant," Troy Miller, acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner, said.

Considering border-related expenses, Miller asked Congress to approve President Joe Biden's supplemental budget of $13.6 billion.

The surge in migrants increased after the Biden administration's move earlier this year to launch an online appointment system that would allow migrants to claim asylum. More than 44,000 people have reached Mexico with the appointment since January.

Meanwhile, around 270,000 migrants from various Latin American countries including Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela have entered the United States by applying online with the help of a financial sponsor.

Last week, Mexico's immigration agency revealed that 123 migrants hoping to reach the United States, including 34 children, had been rescued from a locked trailer.

As the number of migrants increases, cases of kidnapping and extortion also go up. This is because desperate individuals resort to paying local gangs to ensure their safety.

The situation got so bad that around 3,000 migrants blocked Mexico's main southern highways on Nov. 8, demanding that the government provide them with transit or exit visas so that they could reach the United States border.

"We know we are causing discomfort for Mexicans, and we apologize," activist Irineo Mújica, one of the organizers of the group blockade, said. "But the drug cartels are kidnapping us, killing us."

Alicia Barcena, Mexico's secretary of foreign affairs, said last month that 1.13 million migrants had reached Mexico's southern border with Guatemala while 1.75 million migrants had arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border.