The number of migrants crossing the Texas border has fallen sharply - but has shifted to Arizona and California, federal government figures suggest.
In December, illegal crossings along the US-Mexico border soared to a record high.
However, the latest figures show that Arizona and California now cover around 60 per cent of all unlawful border crossings.
Over recent weeks, border control regions in the Tucson sector in Arizona and the San Diego sector in California have seen a surge in numbers, CBS News reports.
The number of migrants crossing the Texas border has fallen sharply - but has shifted to Arizona and California, federal government figures suggest
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Border Patrol recorded 125,000 migrant interceptions in between ports of entry along the southern border in January - a reduction from nearly 250,000 in December.
In both Arizona and California, more than 1,000 migrants have been entering the US illegally each day.
Migrants have reportedly taken advantage of gaps in border walls in remote desert areas such as Lukeville, Arizona, and Jacumba Hot Springs, California.
Border Patrol estimates that there were 1,816 daily migrant apprehensions in the Tucson sector and 1,213 in the San Diego sector during the week ending on February 4.
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Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas who has repeatedly clashed with President Biden over US immigration policy, said: "The cartels have rerouted their routes to cross the border because Texas is the only state that's putting up any resistance.
"Despite the fact that Texas represents more than 60 per cent of the land miles of the border, the overwhelming majority now of people crossing the border are crossing in Arizona and California, two states that are putting up no resistance to illegal immigration."
Eagle Pass, a small Texas border city in the Del Rio sector, now features layers of razor and concertina wire, shipping containers and other barriers to deter migrants.
On Sunday, Abbott hosted more than a dozen Republican governors in Shelby Park and credited the marked decrease in migrant crossings near Eagle Pass to his state's actions.
In both Arizona and California, more than 1,000 migrants have been entering the US illegally each day
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Valeria Wheeler, the director of Mission Border Hope, the only migrant shelter in Eagle Pass, said the number of migrants she received from Border Patrol started dropping sharply around the start of 2024.
In December, her shelter was receiving as many as 1,200 migrants each day.
"The Mexican government has made it very difficult for migrants to come to the border in this area," she said.
