(NewsNation) — Border crossings have dropped following targeted enforcement in Los Angeles, an effort that sparked protests and the federalization of the state’s National Guard.
Department of Homeland Security data obtained exclusively by NewsNation shows the downward trend began in early June, the same time frame when Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement started stepping up deportation efforts in LA.
On June 8, the day after protests broke out in the city, there were 267 crossings. On June 20, only 108 people crossed and 168 on July 8.
During the enforcement operations, the San Diego Sector in California saw a noticeable drop, with as few as five crossings on some days.
Border Patrol El Centro Sector Chief Gregory Bovino, who is running operations on the ground, said it’s not a coincidence.
Bovino told NewsNation that the message is getting out: People who are in the U.S. illegally will be removed.
With word getting out, migrants are no longer willing to pay the cartels for a journey that ends in deportation.
Bovino says DHS is doubling down on efforts, even in the face of assaults on agents and officers.
“It’s not only at the border, it’s anywhere you go. There’s no safe refuge if you are an illegal alien and that word gets out,” he said. “We turn and burn, that means we go from one set of bad people and bad things right on to the next and the next and the next.”
He said the agency is not backing down.
“We are not going to quit, I’m not going to quit. Where my mindset is, we are going to go even harder now, and we are going to go in where we need to go in and do what we need to do,” Bovino said. “Legally, ethically and morally, of course, to ensure that this mission is completed.”
Enforcement has ramped up across the nation, not just in LA, which could also be contributing to the decline.
ICE New Orleans said Thursday that it arrested a member of Tren de Aragua, Yoendy Alvarez, who the agency said is a citizen of Venezuela with a long criminal history that includes an arrest for prostitution. He will be deported.
Since President Donald Trump took office, 2,700 members of Tren de Aragua have been arrested throughout the country. The administration has designated the group a foreign terrorist organization and has been working to arrest and deport anyone involved with the gang.
ICE New Orleans also announced a short while ago that it arrested a known suspected terrorist from Palestine.