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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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The number of migrants trying to cross into the U.S. illegally through one part of California has plummeted, a report says.
According to Mexico's National Institute of Migration (INM), crossings in the Jacumba area, east of San Diego, have decreased by 90 percent since December, WNTZ-TV reported.
The mountainous area around the Jacumba Hot Springs had become a busy crossing point for migrants last year, and immigration has become a major issue in this year's presidential election.
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But increased patrols on the Mexican side of the border are preventing many migrants from entering the U.S. via the Jacumba area, David Pérez Tejada, the head of the INM in Baja California, told the outlet.
"We have accomplished favorable results, seen a drastic decrease compared to the numbers from December to now," he said.
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A spokesperson for U.S. Border Patrol in San Diego did not confirm the number but told WNTZ-TV that crossings in the area "have slowed down significantly."
Pérez Tejada said migrants are now crossing in Campo, west of Jacumba, and in rocky terrain near a Sempra windmill facility.
Newsweek has contacted Pérez Tejada and Border Patrol for comment via social media and email, respectively.
In February, Newsweek reported that a group called Border Vets had taken border security into its own hands by repairing damage to walls and fencing along California's border with Mexico, primarily operating in the Jacumba area.
Meanwhile, a growing number of migrants have sustained traumatic injuries due to falls from walls along the California-Mexico border. Such injuries have increased significantly since the border wall was heightened to deter illegal crossings during Donald Trump's administration.
Advocates have also called out the Biden administration over an anti-climbing feature that has been added to sections of California's border wall.
In 2023, crossings on the U.S. border with Mexico skyrocketed, with arrests for illegal crossings hitting a record high of 250,000 in December. However, the number of arrests fell by half in January.
President Joe Biden has called for Republicans to join Democrats in passing a bipartisan border-security bill, which Republicans voted against after former President Donald Trump voiced his opposition to it. Biden and Trump are their parties' presumptive nominees in the 2024 election.
In his State of the Union address earlier in March, Biden accused Republicans of playing politics with the border.
"This bill would save lives and bring order to the border," he said, adding, "We have a simple choice. We can fight about fixing the border or we can fix it. I'm ready to fix it."
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