Over 8,000 people were apprehended on Monday for unlawfully crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, highlighting a surge in crossings not seen in months which is putting a strain on government resources.
Numbers this high haven't been seen since early May, when there were nearing 10,000 daily apprehensions, and the current rate is surpassing mid-April's roughly 4,900 unlawful crossings per day.
After Title 42 expired in May, numbers dropped dramatically when the Biden administration’s policies toughened for those seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border but made it easier to seek legal entry from their home countries.
However, border crossings are on the rise again, and officials say that a considerable portion of these crossings involve families.
"We remain vigilant and expect to see fluctuations, knowing that smugglers continue to use misinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals," a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told NBC News. "CBP is working according to plan and as part of our standard processes to quickly decompress the areas along the southwest border and safely and efficiently screen and process migrants to place them in immigration enforcement proceedings consistent with our laws."
This report comes as Mexico's biggest railway operator announced that 60 trains were temporarily halted in the northern region due to migrants climbing onto freight cars and sustaining injuries.
Ferromex Railway, owned by Grupo Mexico, said in a statement that "there has been a significant increase in the number of migrants in recent days," with over 4,000 individuals either climbing onto freight cars or congregating around rail yards in Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, and Ciudad Juarez.
"In recent days, nearly half a dozen cases of injuries or deaths have been recorded among groups of people who, individually or in families, including girls and boys, boarded freight trains on their route to the north, despite the serious danger that this implies," Ferromex said in a statement.
Migrants have historically used trains, often referred to as "The Beast," to travel from Mexico to the U.S. border.
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