Biden, a Democrat who took office in January 2021, has vowed to reverse many of the hard-line immigration policies of his Republican predecessor, former President Donald Trump, but has struggled both operationally and politically with the high number of attempts to crossing.
Republicans, who hope to win control of the US Congress in the midterm elections on November 8, say Biden’s loosening of Trump’s policies has encouraged irregular immigration.
Migrants in Mexico ask for an opportunity like that of Ukrainians who enter the US
Biden officials have warned that migration could increase further after US health officials said they will end a border order imposed due to the pandemic on May 23. The order, known as Title 42, allows asylum seekers and other migrants to be quickly removed to Mexico to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Although more than half of the migrants found at the US-Mexico border in recent months have come from countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, more and more migrants are arriving from places farther afield, such as Ukraine and Russia.
US authorities are preparing to screen as many as 18,000 migrants a day in the coming weeks, but are also bracing for smaller increases.
The 210,000 migrants apprehended in March, a figure made public in a court filing Friday night, is the highest monthly total on record since February 2000, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics dating back to the year 2000.
Another 11,000 immigrants tried to enter through a legal crossing at the southwest border in March without a valid visa or permit, according to the court filing.
About half of the migrants found in March were removed under the Title 42 order, according to the court filing.