Central American migrants are taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents in El Paso on Feb. 1. (John Moore/Getty Images)U.S. border officials said Friday that they saw an abrupt drop-off in illegal crossings during the holiday season, but the number of Central Americans arriving in family groups has returned to record levels since then. A CBP official told reporters Friday that about 75 percent of the family members detained in January arrived during the second half of the month. The arrival of large groups of Central American families is once more placing strains on Border Patrol stations, officials said Friday. Typically, the troops do not interact with migrants, but CBP officials said service members have provided some transportation and medical support to assist busy border agents.

Source: Washington Post February 08, 2019 22:18 UTC