U.S. authorities stopped asylum-seekers more than 234,000 times in April, one of the highest marks in decades as the Biden administration prepares to lift pandemic-era restrictions on claiming asylum.
The April total, disclosed in a court filing Monday, is 6% higher than March's.
It would have been lower without more than 23,000 people, many of them Ukrainian refugees admitted on humanitarian parole, who went through a San Diego border crossing.
The number of Ukrainians has dropped sharply since April 25, when the administration began directing those fleeing Russia’s invasion to U.S. airports from Europe, instead of through Mexico.