The number of undocumented immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has dropped 40 percent since President Trump took office. “About 840 people a day were caught trying to cross the border or deemed inadmissible after presenting themselves at a port of entry in February, down from about 1,370 a day in January, according to new figures released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” says the LA Times.
Trump’s team is saying the new numbers show that his tougher stance on immigration is working. “The early results show that enforcement matters, deterrence matters and that comprehensive immigration enforcement can make an impact,” Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said, citing it as “encouraging news.”
Others outside the administration have pointed out that it’s typical for immigration numbers to drop any time new measures are imposed, only to rebound later to some degree, says the Times.
“What we’re seeing is really about perception,” said Faye Hipsman, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C.: “The orders offer the possibility of very meaningful changes at the border — increased detentions, more people subject to rapid deportations — so that creates a perception that it’s more difficult to reach the United States. More importantly, there’s a lot of fear inside the U.S., and those feedback loops reach people who are thinking about making the journey.”
Some advocates have also expressed concern that much of the decrease is in immigrants seeking asylum from violent countries like El Salvador. It’s unknown where they are going instead.
It’s estimated that one half of farmworkers are undocumented immigrants. As immigration has slowed in recent years, it has been harder for farmers to find new employees to work in their fields.