Homeland Security says border arrests fall more than 40% since Biden’s halt to asylum processing

WASHINGTON (AP) —

Arrests for illegal border crossings dropped more than 40% during the three weeks that asylum processing has been suspended, the Homeland Security Department said Wednesday.

The Border Patrol’s average daily arrests over a 7-day period have fallen below 2,400, down more than 40% from before President Joe Biden’s proclamation took effect June 5. That’s still above the 1,500-mark needed to resume asylum processing, but Homeland Security says it marks the lowest number since Jan.