The number of migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has plummeted 40 percent since President Joe Biden clamped down on asylum earlier this month, administration officials said Wednesday.

Arrests for illegal border crossings dropped more than 40% during the three weeks asylum processing has been suspended, the Homeland Security Department has said.

Border Patrol's 7-day daily average arrests have fallen below 2,400, the lowest number since 17 January 2021, according to Homeland Security.

President Joe Biden suspended asylum processing with an executive order to "gain control of the border" on June 5.

Border arrests had decreased 25% as of last week according to Biden, and have now fallen further.

The White House is taking a victory lap after the number of migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico dropped 40% since President Joe Biden's executive order, though the numbers remain high.

The Biden administration said daily crossings have fallen below, 2,400, the lowest level since the final days of the Trump administration.

Biden's executive order shut down asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border once the number of daily encounters hits 2,500 between ports of entry, with the border reopening once that number declines to 1,500.

Arrests for illegal border crossings have dropped more than 40% during the three weeks that asylum processing has been suspended, the Homeland Security Department said Wednesday.

The announcement comes just one day before President Joe Biden is set to debate former President and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in what is expected to be a crucial moment in the election campaign.

A group of migrants walked into Mexico on Saturday against pedestrian traffic on the international bridge between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez minutes after being deported from the United States under the Biden administration's new asylum ban.

The mainly twenty-something Venezuelan men were ejected under the June 5 proclamation fast-tracking deportations of most people crossing the border illegally.

The administration is shaking up federal immigration detention and enforcement amid a push to cut costs systemwide and increase detention capacity to implement President Biden’s new asylum policy.

The bombshell cost-cutting plan came out Monday, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the closure of the South Texas Family Residential Center, a 10-year-old detention facility better known as Dilley.

On Tuesday, President Biden issued a proclamation that gives the Department of Homeland Security the authority to temporarily block migrants from seeking asylum between ports of entry at the United States-Mexico border. This means that the only people who are able to apply for asylum at the border are those who can secure an appointment through the government’s CBP One app, in flagrant violation of immigration law.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration will block migrants from claiming asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border until attempted crossings fall under new actions rolled out on Tuesday.

The asylum ban goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT) on Wednesday, barring any legal challenges that might block it.

WHAT DOES THE BIDEN ASYLUM BAN DO?

It wasn’t hard to foresee Joe Biden’s attempt to recast himself ahead of the November election as a reluctant but nevertheless ruthlessly effective border hawk. The president has been advertising his intention to pull off something like this throughout the year.

The U.N.'s migration and refugee agencies expressed concern over Biden administration plans for new asylum restrictions in the United States and said the right to asylum is fundamental.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled plans to enact immediate significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border as the White House tries to neutralize immigration as a political liability ahead of the November elections.