WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, U.S. officials provided the latest statistics regarding border crossings, indicating that the Biden administration is likely to conclude its term without experiencing the anticipated increase in illegal crossings.

In December, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded 47,300 illegal crossings, marking a slight uptick from November’s count of 46,612, but still approaching the lowest levels noted since July 2020. According to senior CBP officials, the first half of January has shown a significant decrease, with approximately 45% fewer crossings compared to December.

The highest surge in border activities was reported in South Texas, where arrests doubled from about 5,000 in November to slightly over 10,000 in December within the Rio Grande Valley area. This increase occurred despite Republican-led initiatives to enhance border security, including the implementation of Operation Lonestar.

Interestingly, the number of arrests in December surpassed those seeking asylum at designated ports of entry via the CBP One application, which allows migrants to book a limited number of daily appointments. Since its inception in January 2023, nearly 936,500 individuals have utilized the CBP One app. Despite comments made by President-elect Donald J. Trump in September about discontinuing CBP One appointments, a senior CBP official affirmed that the scheduling continues.

Overall, the crossings indicate a downward trend from the high figures observed under the Biden administration, especially when comparing to December 2023, where arrests approached 250,000. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas attributed this decline to a proclamation made by the Biden administration in June 2024, which temporarily halted asylum processing at the border during times of overwhelming circumstances. “This is a consistent trend we have seen since the president’s proclamation was enacted last summer,” Mayorkas explained. “Since then, encounters at the southwest border between ports of entry have decreased by 60%.”