Washington, DC - On August 8, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Press Secretary Tyler Q. Houlton released the following statement on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Southwest Border Migration numbers for July:

“Southwest Border Migration numbers dropped in July for the second month in a row.  This decrease shows that when there are real consequences for breaking the law, the conduct of those considering crimes will change.  In the month of July, we saw a decrease in illegal border crossings because human traffickers and Transnational Criminal Organizations were put on notice that this Administration was increasing prosecutions of those entering the country illegally.  Despite our terribly broken immigration laws, the administration has still been able to impact illegal immigration - but we need Congress to act to fix our system.

“At the same time, the number of family units apprehended at the border remains high and their percentage of total crossings has increased as court decisions prevent us from detaining and prosecuting family unit adults.  The inability to apply consequences to any law breaker ultimately threatens the safety and security of the nation and its communities.

“DHS is continuing to refer to DOJ single adult illegal border crossers for prosecution at historic rates.  Additionally, the Secretary has been engaging weekly with Mexican and Central American officials to more aggressively tackle the root causes of this crisis—and DHS has received commitments on specific actions that can be taken with and by our partners to confront the issue more decisively.”

CBP's Southwest Border Migration Numbers for July can be found here.