US authorities likely encountered 210,000 migrants trying to cross border illegally in July

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U.S. authorities likely encountered upward of 210,000 migrants attempting to traverse the southern border illegally in July, which would not just be a sharp increase from June but also the highest monthly number in more than 20 years.

Preliminary apprehension figures were disclosed by David Shahoulian, assistant secretary for border and immigration policy at the Homeland Security Department, preceding the release of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s numbers for the month in which the summer heat can prove deadly for those making the journey.

By comparison, in June, 190,000 were caught illegally trying to cross the border, a number of migrants arriving that was at the time the largest in years.

BORDER AUTHORITIES ENCOUNTERED 190,000 PEOPLE ILLEGALLY CROSSING BORDER IN JUNE, HIGHEST IN 21 YEARS

Shahoulian also revealed that the number of unaccompanied migrant children recovered by border officials likely hit an all-time high as more than 19,000 found themselves processed into the U.S. in July, exceeding a previous record of 18,877 in March. Around 80,000 people in family groups were apprehended by authorities, a number shy of the all-time record of 88,857 in May 2019, though exceedingly more than the 55,805 in June.

In the Rio Grande Valley sector alone agents stopped roughly 78,000 migrants. The area has quickly solidified itself as one of the epicenters of the border surge.

The staggering numbers were revealed by the federal government in a court filing after the American Civil Liberties Union moved to block the Biden administration from renewing emergency powers, dubbed Title 42, which would allow the U.S. to expel migrants without court hearings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, citing its authority under a health emergency, opted to continue the practice on Monday, despite pushback from the ACLU and other immigration advocacy groups.

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“Title 42 is not an immigration authority, but a public health authority, and its continued use is dictated by CDC and governed by the CDC’s analysis of public health factors,” the government body said in a statement.

Concerns have been raised in border states, predominately in Texas, over DHS officials releasing COVID-19-positive migrants in small towns pending their U.S. immigration court proceedings.

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