The rate of arrests at the United States' southern border has dropped to its lowest point since President Biden took office.
Three sources familiar with the situation reportedly told The New York Times that arrests for the month of July dropped below 60,000.
A source familiar with the Department of Homeland Security's border data told Fox News Digital that the number of arrests is approximately 57,000.
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It is a significant development for the Biden administration, but whether the declining arrest rate reflects a more broad decline in illegal immigration is difficult to determine.
The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) told Fox News Digital that the declining arrest rate hardly reflects overall positive trends for border security.
"Biden Administration claims that it has reduced the number of illegal border crossings are nothing but an attempt to obscure its deliberate refusal to secure the border and enforce the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act," said IRLI Director of Investigations Matt O’Brien, a former immigration judge.
"Border crossing numbers always drop in the summer because it becomes too hot and too dry for safe passage through Mexican deserts," he continued. "This happens every year."
O’Brien also pointed to programs overseen by the Biden administration to facilitate ease of entrance for those seeking asylum.
"Team Biden is deliberately hiding the fact that it is unlawfully importing thousands of inadmissible aliens through its CBP One app," O'Brien said. "So, while the number of aliens illegally crossing the border on their own may have dropped, the Biden Administration is busy running the biggest illegal alien smuggling operation in history, at the expense of American taxpayers."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection describes CBP One as "a mobile application that serves as a single portal to a variety of CBP services. Through a series of guided questions, the app directs each type of user to the appropriate services based on their needs."
Biden assigned Vice President Kamala Harris to tackle the root causes of Central American migration, from poverty to violence, in early 2021. Harris traveled to Mexico and Guatemala that June and negotiated a deal that saw the U.S. send $4 billion to Central American countries, with private companies kicking in an extra $5.2 billion. She also visited El Paso, Texas, in 2021 amid mounting pressure from Republicans.
However, Harris' focus faded from immigration after that, and she has not visited the southern border or any Central American countries since January 2022.
Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Heckman contributed to this report.
