Why US-Mexico border crossings are at a record low

President Joe Biden imposed asylum restrictions one month ago to “gain control of the border” ahead of the November elections. Migrant encounters subsequently crashed by 40%, with the White House boasting this week that they’d hit a record low.

Anecdotal stories from the Mexican side of the border suggest many migrants and the smugglers are taking a wait-and-see approach with the new executive order, which restricts asylum claims after encounters reach 2,500 between ports of entry. As a result, shelters along stretches of border regions have run out of space as asylum seekers are returned to Mexico. Other migrants have preferred to try their luck with an application known as CBP One, which allows them to request appointments for entering at ports of entry and presenting asylum claims.