Number of Venezuelans crossing US-Mexico border drop dramatically in October – down to 26,637 from September’s spike of 54,833 – as deportations start

The number of illegal border crossings by Venezuelans has fallen dramatically since the Biden administration began deportations to the crisis-hit country.

Arrests of Venezuelans fell 45 percent in October, from a record high of 54,833 in September to 29,637, as Venezuelans replaced Mexicans as the largest nationality to appear at the border.

The number of arrests of Venezuelans fell even more: by 74 percent in the second half of October compared to the same period in September. These figures do not include migrants who entered legally with an asylum appointment obtained through the CBP One mobile app.

Mexicans are back as the largest nationality crossing the border illegally, while Venezuelans are now in second place, followed by Honduran, Guatemalan, Colombian and Chinese migrants.

The Biden administration began deporting Venezuelans for the first time in years on October 18, after Nicolas Maduro’s regime struck a deal with the US government to allow the flights back to the socialist country.

Overall, the number of illegal border crossings has decreased over the past month. Border Patrol apprehended fewer than 189,000 migrants in October, down from nearly 219,000 in September.

Mexicans are back as the largest nationality crossing the border illegally, while Venezuelans are now in second place

While the number of crossings remains unusually high, the monthly decline is rare welcome news for a White House that has been criticized on the right and left for its immigration policies.

Border Patrol said: “Coupled with our resumption of removal flights into Venezuela, consistent with delivering consequences for those who cross the border unlawfully, CBP saw a 65 percent decrease in encounters at the southwest border in the second half of October of Venezuelans, compared to the second half of October. mid September.’

Earlier this year, Biden approved temporary protected status for nearly 500,000 Venezuelans who arrived before July 31, while pledging to deport those who come illegally after that date and are denied asylum.

Panama has not yet released figures for October on crossings through the infamous Darién jungle, which in the first nine months of the year had a total of more than 400,000 people, mostly Venezuelans.

The dangerous 575,000 hectare jungle connects Colombia and Panama and serves as a route to the US for desperate migrants. More than a quarter of a million asylum seekers have crossed the treacherous Darien Gap to reach the US this year.

The jungle is dominated by Colombian paramilitary groups and migrants are preyed upon by corrupt officials, gangs, thieves and sexual abusers throughout the crossing.

The migrants often stay in transit countries for weeks or months while they earn money to continue their journey. These migrants have filled refugee camps in countries such as Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico.

Tens of thousands of migrants who made the perilous journey to the US from South America have ended up in northern liberal cities after crossing the US-Mexico border.

Cities like New York and Chicago have been overwhelmed by a wave of migrants, with local governments running out of shelter space and spending millions of their budgets on setting up new shelters.

The Biden administration began deporting Venezuelans for the first time in years on October 18

Venezuelans are the largest external displacement crisis in the world – followed by Ukrainians and Syria

More than 200,000 Venezuelans have crossed the Darien Gap on their way to the United States this year, according to Panama’s National Immigration Service.

Manhattan’s historic The Roosevelt Hotel — dubbed “the new Ellis Island” by one city official — has become the migrant registration point and currently houses 3,000 asylum seekers.

Mayor Eric Adams has signed $5,056,744,415 in nearly 200 migrant services contracts since last year when he declared a state of emergency.

Many of the migrants were brought north by Texas Gov. Gregg Abbot in a campaign to advocate for what he calls Democrats’ open-border policies. They have arrived without housing or jobs, forcing New York to build emergency shelters and provide various government services, at an estimated cost of $12 billion over the next few years.

More than 200,000 Venezuelans have crossed the Darien Gap on their way to the United States this year, according to Panama’s National Immigration Service. They seek asylum because they say they are fleeing the social and economic collapse of the socialist nation.

Of the 248,000 migrants who traveled through the jungle last year, 40,438 were minors, UNICEF data shows. The agency also noted that more than 4,800 children and adolescents trekked through the dangerous rainforest in January, a sevenfold increase compared to the same period a year ago.

Venezuela has been in a political, economic and humanitarian crisis over the past decade, forcing more than seven million people to leave the country. They initially settled in nearby countries in Latin America, but came to the United States in the past three years, settling in New York, Chicago and other major cities.

Venezuelan migrants are searched before boarding a repatriation flight as part of an immigration enforcement process at Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas

A migrant family from Venezuela reacts after breaking through a barbed wire barricade into the United States

Migrants from Africa, Mexico and Venezuela line up outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan in August. The hotel has been given the name ‘Ellis Island’ because this is where the migrants are processed

Venezuelans are the largest external displacement crisis in the world – followed by Ukrainians and Syrians. It is a rare case of mass migration from a country that is not at war but has experienced one of the most extreme reversals in recent history following the socialist takeover more than two decades ago.

The US has struggled for years to deport people to countries with which it has strained diplomatic relations, including Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. After a hiatus of more than two years, Cuba allowed the resumption of U.S. deportations in April, with deportation flights occurring there only about once a month.

For decades, Mexicans were responsible for the vast majority of illegal crossings, but in the past decade the flows have shifted to Central America and, more recently, to people from South America, Africa and Asia.

The Biden administration has proposed about $14 billion for the border in a $106 billion spending package announced Friday, and has insisted that any long-term solution will require help from Congress.

The government is taking a carrot-and-stick approach to new legal avenues to seek asylum, with restrictions on those who don’t comply.

About 43,000 migrants entered the country through land crossings with Mexico in September through a mobile app called CBP One, bringing the total to nearly 278,000 since the online appointment system launched in January. More than 265,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela also entered the airports through September after registering online with financial sponsors.

Including these legal routes, the number of crossings in September reached a new monthly record of 269,735 and a new fiscal year record of almost 2.5 million.