About 192,000 migrants were caught trying to illegally cross the US border from Mexico in September, a decline from the levels seen earlier in the summer but far higher than the same month last year.
Migrants were stopped 192,001 times last month, a 9 per cent decrease compared to August, US Customs and Border Protection said on Friday.
In September 2020, there had been just under 58,000 migrants.
The number of people apprehended per month has been very high by historical standards recently. In July, for example, it had risen to the most in just over 20 years with around 213,000 people.
In the entire US fiscal year, which ran from October 2020 to September, 1.73 million people were apprehended, the highest count ever for the 12-month period. In the same span last year, there had been 458,000.
Immediately deported
Most migrants are immediately deported again by US authorities. Many then try their luck again.
The US Border Patrol said about a quarter of all migrants apprehended in September were repeat offenders who had already been caught at least once in the previous 12 months.
The number of apprehended unaccompanied children and minors dropped 24% in September from the previous month to about 14,400, it added.
President Joe Biden has come under increasing pressure over the large number of migrants arriving at the southern border. Republicans accuse Biden, a Democrat, of creating a crisis with his more liberal migration policies.
