Rep. Mike Levin announced Tuesday a significant achievement in border security, highlighting that the U.S. Border Patrol San Diego Sector has experienced six consecutive weeks of zero migrant street releases.
The weeks ending on July 5 through Aug. 9 all recorded no street releases, a development attributed to President Biden’s June 2024 slate of executive actions.
These measures are credited with bolstering border security and preventing street releases, which have historically strained local law enforcement and non-governmental organizations, according to Levin’s office.
Levin, who represents north coastal San Diego and south Orange counties, praised the progress in a statement, noting the positive impact of the President’s executive actions.
“The actions are working and migrant street releases have dropped to zero for the last six weeks,” Levin said.
However, he emphasized that more work is needed to create a lasting solution.
“Executive actions are not permanent. Congress must work together to pass a bipartisan border security and immigration bill,” Levin urged, calling for continued efforts to make the immigration system more efficient and effective.
Rep. Levin criticized former President Trump and his allies for blocking a bipartisan Senate border security bill earlier this year. Levin described the bill as the toughest border legislation in years and expressed frustration that it was opposed for political gain. He stressed the need for nonpartisan cooperation in Congress, advocating for comprehensive border security and immigration reform that would provide resources for border patrol, add more immigration judges and create legal pathways to citizenship.
In July, Levin visited the Otay Mesa soft-sided migrant processing facility in San Diego County to observe the effects of the executive actions firsthand. During his visit, he received assessments from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Border Patrol leadership. Notably, migrant encounters in San Diego dropped by 42% in July compared to the previous month and daily apprehensions in the San Diego Sector decreased from about 1,200 to 480.
