ON THE RISE

Border Crossings by Migrants Soared to New High of 234,000 in April

According to Justice Department filings, the number of migrants trying to cross the Southern border increased by 5.8 percent between March and April.

U.S. authorities encountered 234,088 migrants on the Mexican border in April according to a Justice Department filing, marking a 5.8 percent increase from the March numbers and a new high. As NBC News reports, tallied encounters include those who report to authorities at legal ports of entry and those who are caught crossing illegally. The total number of entries in April includes some 23,000 migrants who went through a border crossing in San Diego, many of whom were Ukrainian refugees admitted via humanitarian parole. According to internal Customs and Border Protection data obtained by NBC, the number of reported encounters in May is thus far consistent with the April data. The rise in entries comes as the Biden administration prepares to lift Title 42, a COVID restriction on claiming asylum at the border and will likely boost pressure from some lawmakers to keep the order in place.