The number of migrants crossing illegally into the US over the southwest border more than doubled last month to its highest level in the past 12 years, according to a new statistics that have border officials saying the system is at a “breaking point.”

There were more than 76,000 migrants who crossed the border without authorisation in February, more than double what was seen in the same period the year before. A total of 87 per cent of those crossing arrived between points of entry.

In announcing the new data, US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said that the US immigration system is facing considerable obstacles.

“The system is well beyond capacity, and remains at the breaking point,” Mr McAleenan said.

Many of the migrants have been turning themselves in at Border Patrol stations hours away from major ports of entry, forced into the deserts by Trump administration policies that critics say has helped to create the crisis that the president is now using to justify an emergency declaration to build out walls and fences along the border.

Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Show all 23 1 /23 Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A group of migrants climb the US border fence in Tijuana AFP/Getty Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A group of migrants cross the dried up Tijuana river AFP/Getty Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Mexico police emerge from a cloud of tear gas Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Mexico police work to keep migrants from getting over the border with the US AP Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border US border patrol agents stand guard as migrant seek to cross the border at Tijuana Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Adults help a child over the US border fence AFP/Getty Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants near the US border in Tijuana Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants climb the US border fence in Tijuana AFP/Getty Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants clash with riot police as they near the US border in Tijuana Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A migrant is detained by US border patrol officers after illegally crossing the border Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A group of migrants cross the dried up Tijuana river Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Tear gas is deployed at the border Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A group of migrants make their way to the US border fence Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A migrant man wears a homemade gas mask Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants stand on the banks of the Tijuana river opposite the US border fence Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A group of migrants cross the Tijuana river Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants gather at the border crossing in Tijuana AP Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Tear gas is fired by border police to deter migrants EPA Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A migrant covers his face as tear gas surrounds him Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrant families seek to cross the US border at Tijuana Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Mexico police try to stop migrants from crossing Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants force their way through the border fence at Tijuana Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants, part of a caravan of thousands traveling from Central America en route to the United States, run across the Tijuana river to reach the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico in Tijuana, Mexico November 25, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Reuters

The groups arriving at those outposts in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas have arrived in groups of 100 or more people, straining limited resources where just a handful of border agents are typically stationed. All told, 70 of those groups came across last month, compared to just 13 during the same month last year, and two the year before.

Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute think tank in Washington, told The Independent that the shift to non-points of entry suggested the Trump administration’s policy of metering — limits on the number of people who can claim asylum at a border checkpoint — and others have created circumstances that encourage illegal entry into the US.

“Today’s numbers suggest that the administration’s chaotic approach to southern border security is actually encouraging illegal migration,” she said.

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The department of homeland security's inspector general has similarly concluded that the Trump administrations' metering policy may have led to additional illegal border crossings.

The numbers outlined by officials showed that migrant families were not deterred by family separation policies, Ms Pierce said, and the end of the policy last year led to record numbers of families attempting to enter the US.