As Border Apprehensions Decline For 5th Consecutive Month, Migrants Change Too

As Border Apprehensions Decline For 5th Consecutive Month, Migrants Change Too Enlarge this image toggle caption Elliot Spagat/AP Elliot Spagat/AP The number of people apprehended by U.S. authorities, either attempting to cross the southwest border illegally or presenting themselves at a port of entry, declined for the fifth consecutive month, according to new figures released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "For the first time in nearly 18 months, Mexico was the country of origin for the majority of apprehensions, rather than the Northern Triangle countries," said Mark Morgan, acting CBP Commissioner in a White House briefing. Morgan said that Trump administration initiatives to deter border-crossers are having an impact, especially one dubbed Migrant Protection Protocols, which requires asylum-seekers to go back to Mexico to await their court hearings in the U.S. Morgan called reports of violence against the asylum-seekers "anecdotal," and he insisted that a delegation of U.S. officials who recently visited the border region determined that the migrants in shelters received adequate food and medical attention and that "the safety was okay."