(Bloomberg) -- Mexican migrants attempting to cross into the US without adequate documentation outnumbered those from Central America in the first six months of this year, a reversal after a slowdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  

US Customs and Border Protection encountered Mexican migrants 66,557 times in June, 15% more than Central Americans from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, according to data released Friday. The officials have had 627,764 encounters with Mexicans since October, versus 655,594 for the 12 months through September 2021. 

The US government’s policy of expelling undocumented migrants on its southern border to Mexico during the pandemic also boosted the frequency that migrants attempted to recross into the US.  

Of the 207,416 encounters along the US Southwest border in June, 26% of individuals had previously come into contact with border officials in the last 12 months, according to the statement from CBP on Friday. That number was closer to 15% in the past.

“The only way to address the migration crisis is doing it jointly with Mexico,” U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said Friday. “We need them to participate with us, an effort that has many different pieces.”

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