The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency on Friday reported a huge drop in arrests along the Southwest border, a likely result of President Trump's aggressive effort to stop illegals from entering the nation and deport those with criminal records.

The agency said that apprehensions dropped 53 percent from a year ago. The number also includes those deemed inadmissible.



What's more, said the agency, since the fiscal year began in October, arrests are down two-thirds, from 66,712, a six-year record high, to 21,659 a six-year record low.

Still, said the agency, June saw a slight increases of 1,697 arrests over May.

Since Trump became president, the number of apprehensions at ports of entry for every month has been at a record six-year low.

"These numbers represent a 53 percent decrease as compared to June of 2016, and year-to-date totals for FY 2017 are 19 percent lower than the same period in FY 2016," said Customs.

The agency is seeing the usual spring and summer uptick. It said, "In June, a total of 16,089 individuals were apprehended between ports of entry on our Southwest Border, compared with 14,533 in May and 11,126 in April. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, USBP apprehended 408,870 individuals along our Southwest Border, compared to 331,333 in FY15, and 479,371 in FY14."

As for the additional inadmissables, the agency said, "In June, a total of 5,570 people presenting themselves at ports of entry on the Southwest Border were deemed inadmissible compared to 5,429 in May and 4,649 in April. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, 150,825 were deemed inadmissible compared to 114,486 in FY15 and 90,601 in FY14."

It describes them this way: "Individuals encountered at ports of entry who are seeking lawful admission into the United States but are determined to be inadmissible, individuals presenting themselves to seek humanitarian protection under our laws; and individuals who withdraw an application for admission and return to their countries of origin within a short timeframe."

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com