December migrant surge at Southern border largest in more than two decades as mayors call for action

A new surge of migrants at the US-Mexico border is overwhelming already-stretched resources and prompting urgent talks with Mexican officials as December border crossings reached a record monthly high.

Border authorities encountered more than 225,000 migrants along the US-Mexico border this month, marking the highest monthly total recorded since 2000, according to preliminary Homeland Security statistics shared with CNN. Over the course of the month, authorities dealt with more than 10,000 migrants crossing daily until more recently, when the numbers began to drop.

More than 11,700 migrant children are also in federal government custody, according to data released jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security.

The number of migrant children in Health and Human Services custody has jumped 6.5% since December 1, prompting the department to issue a news release Friday saying additional capacity is “urgently needed to manage the increasing numbers of unaccompanied children” arriving at the US southern border.