Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said Friday that it appears there will be a 25% decrease in June in numbers of migrants crossing at the US-Mexico border.
More than 144,000 migrants had been encountered or arrested at the US-Mexico border in May, the highest monthly total in 13 years.
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McAleenan credited Trump administration initiatives, especially the increase in interdictions by Mexico over the past three weeks and the return of some asylum seekers to Mexico for the duration of their immigration proceeds, a program McAleenan says is being expanded.
That program, however, is being fought in court, including by a union representing asylum officers which opposes the initiative.
McAleenan told reporters he expects to be able to tell by late July if these initiatives will have a sustained impact, and downplayed the role of seasonal trends in migration.
Spotlighting the risks and tragedy on the border, McAleenan said the young girl who drowned beside her father trying to cross the Rio Grande River into the US was the fourth child to die in the past week attempting to cross in the past week.
The "situation should not be acceptable to any of us," he said.
McAleenan lauded the Hill's bipartisan passage of the funding bill which he said he hopes the President will sign next week. He noted he has warned of overcrowding in border facilities for months, but also pushed back strongly on what he termed "unsubstantiated" reports about the Clint, Texas, facility where he says children are receiving supplies such as blankets and toothbrushes, despite claims to the contrary.
This story is breaking and will be updated.