we ll continue to track it closely and thank you for joining us on set here this morning. thank you so much for the time. ana kaplan. thank you. and cnn this morning continues right now. the numbers we have experienced over the past two decades are markedly down over what they were prior to the end of title 42. we have communicated very clearly a vitally important message to the individuals who are thinking of arriving at our southern border. there is a lawful, safe, and orderly way to arrive in the united states that is through the pathways that president biden has expanded in an unprecedented way. and then there s a consequence if one does not use those lawful pathways. good morning, everyone. we are so glad you re with us on this busy monday morning. a lot of news to get to. the biden administration says illegal crossings of the southern border have plummeted 50% since the covid-era immigration policy title 42
much quieter scene with about 4,200 crossings reported on saturday. homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas was on state of the union with our dana bash yesterday. here s a clip. over the past two days, the united states border patrol has experienced a 50% drop in the number of encounters versus what we were experiencing earlier in the week, before title 42 ended at midnight on thursday. there is a lawful, safe, and orderly way to arrive in the united states that is through the pathways that president biden has expanded in an unprecedented way. joining us now, cnn chief political correspondent and co-anchor of cnn s state of the union, dana bash. dana, good morning. good morning, guys. that was a really important, interesting interview. the administration is happy the numbers are what they are right now. but you also had a republican congressman on after mayorkas, who said, look, that does not
southern border. there is sa lawful, safe and orderly way to arrive in the united states that is through the pathways that president biden has expanded in an unprecedented way. and then there s a consequence if one does not use those lawful pathways. border city officials say new asylum rules are partly why the numbers are down. but the mayor of laredo, texas, says he is still concerned. we haven t had a great amount of transfers. about 700 yesterday. we re still at high alert because brownsville and el paso still have a high number with them. we have to be cognizant about that. mayor saying he s especially concerned about medical care for children. cnn s polo sandoval is there. and showing us why migrants take the trip in the first place. reporter: step inside this shelter in the heart of el paso,
a remarkable change from last weekend, a far cry from the anticipated crush of migrants expected. the united states border patrol is experienced a 50% drop in the number of encounters versus what we were experiencing earlier in the week before title 42 ended at midnight on thursday. the reason he says, we have communicated very clearly a vitally important message. there is a lawful, safe, and orderly way to arrive in the united states. and then there is a consequence if one does not use those lawful path ways. with title 42 expired, federal authorities now leaning on title 8. a decade s old protocol for asylum seekers. there are more severe consequences for crossing illegally. a fife-year ban on re-entry and a possible criminal prosecution for subsequent attempts to enter
we were experiencing earlier in the week before title 42 ended on midnight thursday. there is a lawful, safe, orderly way to arrive in the united states, and this is through the pathways that president biden has expanded in an unprecedented wa way. back here on the area here in el paso, there is a matrix that figures are keeping a close eye on and that is the rate of release, and the rate at which the officials are releasing the detained individuals, and that is steady, and that is why we have not seen a heavy migrant flow here, and in fact, the folks behind me are largely single adults, and the families are inside of the shelters, but the pictures here as we get ready to send it back to you is