U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered more than 180,000 illegal border crossers in May, making the months March through May the worst for illegal crossing in the past 20 years. During this period, the CBP apprehended 532,225 illegal crossers. In the border surge during the same three months of 2019, the number was 357,262.
The percentage of families and children fell somewhat in May (from 38 percent in April to 32 percent), but more migrants overall were allowed to remain (38 percent), in spite of the CDC Title 42 protocol that is supposed to return them to Mexico.
One figure specifically mentioned by the CBP was the number of recividists, or violators who had tried to illegally enter previously. That number is going up, with 38 percent of encounters in May involving individuals who had at least one prior encounter in the previous 12 months. In 2019, the recidivism rate was just 7 percent.
For more, see the Washington Times.