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A US official said that authorities stopped a daily average of over 6,700 migrants at the US border over the first 29 days in July. The assistant secretary for border and immigration policy at the Department of Homeland Security, David Shahoulian issued a statement. He said the daily average was 6,779 people including 616 unaccompanied children and 2,583 who came as families. The number of unaccompanied children likely hit an all-time high in July and the number of people as families likely hit its second-highest total on record. The final count for the number of total arrests made in July isn’t expected for another few days, but preliminary numbers are generally close. The sharp increases from June were striking because crossings usually slow during stifling and fatal summer heat.

Shahoulian said, the US authorities likely picked up more than 19,000 unaccompanied children in July, exceeding the previous high of 18,877 in March. The number of people encountered in families during July is expected at about 80,000. The US authorities stopped migrants about 210,000 times at the border in July, up from 188,829 in June. But the numbers aren’t directly comparable because many cross repeatedly under a pandemic-related ban. It expels people from the country immediately without giving them a chance to seek asylum but carries no legal consequences. The activity was overwhelmingly concentrated in the Border Patrol’s Del Rio and Rio Grande Valley sectors in south Texas, accounting for more than seven of 10 people who came in families.

The government disclosures came in a court filing hours after immigrant advocacy groups resumed a legal battle to end the government’s authority to expel families at the border on grounds it prevents the spread of the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention renewed those emergency powers, known as Title 42 and named for a 1944 public health law. The Homeland Security Department said it would continue to enforce the ban on asylum for single adults and families despite growing pressure from pro-immigration groups. The department said, “Title 42 is not an immigration authority, but a public health authority and its continued use is dictated by CDC and governed by the CDC’s analysis of public health factors”. The number of people stopped in families is expected to hit an all-time during for the 2021 fiscal year that ends September 30.