Is drop in Florida's illegal immigration related to surge at southern border?

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The immigration debate is heating up at the U.S.-Mexico border, but in South Florida, migrant encounters have actually gone down.

In February 2023, Customs and Border Protection reported a 661% increase in migrant encounters across South Florida.

This year, however, agent Adam Hoffner with Border Patrol's Miami Sector said the agency is seeing about a 100% decrease in encounters.