US Says Migrant Numbers Unexpectedly Fell in Recent Days

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden says the number of migrants crossing the southern U.S. border with Mexico has unexpectedly fallen.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said border agents reported a 50 percent reduction in the number of migrants crossing the border since Thursday.

On that day, public health emergency measures in the U.S. came to an end.

Mayorkas spoke¹ on national television Sunday. He told CNN: "The numbers we have experienced in the past two days are markedly down over what they were prior to the end of Title 42."

Title 42 is the part of U.S. law that deals with public health. Measures in that law permit public health officials to limit or stop entry into the United States by people who are not citizens if a disease is spreading in the country.

Myorkas credited criminal punishments for illegal migrants for the decrease in illegal entry. He said there were 6,300 encounters at the border on Friday and 4,200 on Saturday. But he warned that the new system has just started.

The earlier rules were put in place under former President Donald Trump² when the spread of COVID-19 created a public health emergency. Trump also put in place limits on migrants seeking asylum³ in the U.S.

President Joe Biden told reporters in Rehoboth, Delaware, that he believed the border situation was "much better" than critics expected.

The Biden administration is requiring migrants to plan a visit with immigration offices through an app. They can also seek protection in one of the countries they are passing through on their way to the U.S. border. Those who do not follow the process, and are caught, will not be permitted to try again for five years.

Myorkas said: "There is a lawful⁴, safe and orderly way to arrive in the United States. That is through the pathways that President Biden has expanded in an unprecedented⁵ way."

Officials from communities near the U.S. border with Mexico say they had not seen the large numbers of migrants that they had feared would appear. However, in the weeks before the end of emergency powers, tens of thousands of migrants flooded border areas. Victor Trevino is mayor of Laredo, Texas. He said hospitals in his city were nearly full and an emergency declaration was in effect.

It remains⁶ unclear if Congress will pass any new legislation on the issue. Republican Party members in the House approved legislation that would continue the building of a border wall and require asylum seekers to first request protection outside the U.S. But the Republican bill is unlikely to be taken up by the Senate which is controlled by the Democratic Party.

Words in This Story

prior –adj. taking place earlier

encounter –n. (specific to government agency) the detention⁷ of a noncitizen who cannot be permitted to enter the country

app (application) –n. a computer program for a special purpose

unprecedented –adj. not done or experienced befor

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

4 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

5 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。