San Diego, April 12 (RHC)-- More than 172,000 migrants were apprehended along the United States’s southern border with Mexico during the month of March, according to official records, a 71 percent increase from February.

According to data released by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), 569,879 migrants have been apprehended during the first three months of this year, already more than during all of 2020, when 458,068 migrants crossed into the United States.

The new numbers come as the administration of Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure for its handling of immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border.  Republican leaders accuse Biden of engineering the crisis by overturning the more restrictive border policies imposed by former President Donald Trump.

The new statistics also stirred more criticism about Biden’s decision to allow children traveling without a parent to enter the United States.  CBP’s statistics showed that 18,890 unaccompanied children were apprehended in March, double the rate in February.  Republican leaders have said Biden’s policies have encouraged families to send their children alone on long and often dangerous journeys.