October southern border encounters see 129% increase over last year

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square

Border Patrol agents encountered 129.7% more people at the southern border this year than last, according to new data published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The greatest number of encounters was in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and the greatest percentage increase was in Yuma, Arizona.

Illegal border crossings have skyrocketed since President Joe Biden took office in January.

In October 2021, there were 158,575 encounters with foreign nationals entering the U.S. illegally compared to 69,032 in October 2021. The majority, 104,441, were single adults, a 74.9% increase from the previous year.

The next largest number was 41,487 individuals in a family unit, representing a 795.3% increase.

Unaccompanied children and single minors totaled 12,647, a 169.8% increase compared to last October.

The majority of single adults that entered the U.S. illegally were from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

The majority of unaccompanied minors came from Honduras.

Consistent with past months, the Rio Grande Valley in Texas sees the most traffic. In October, 45,324 people were encountered illegally entering the country in the valley. The next greatest number came through Del Rio, Texas, followed by Yuma, Arizona.

All southern border sectors saw increases except for Laredo, which had fewer encounters this October than last October. The sector with the largest percentage increase was Yuma – 2,647.5%. The next highest was Del Rio – 232 percent.

Along the southwest border, agents processed 12,268 people for expedited removal. They also processed 1,851 for reinstatement of prior removal, and 2,303 for voluntary return.

The majority were apprehended under Title 8: 66,736.

Title 8 enforcement refers to apprehensions of individuals who were determined to be inadmissible for a range of reasons, sought humanitarian protection under the law, or withdrew an application for admission and returned to their countries of origin within a short timeframe.

Apprehensions refer to “the physical control or temporary detainment of a person who is not lawfully in the U.S. which may or may not result in an arrest,” CBP explains.

The next largest number processed by agents in October was 20,092 people who were given Notices to Appear and were detained.

The next largest number, 17,126, were given a Notice to Appear/Order of Recognizance and released into the interior of the U.S. until their immigration hearing, which has not yet been scheduled and often takes years.

Under the previous administration, those waiting for a hearing were required to remain in Mexico, a policy the Biden administration halted, but was ordered to reinstate by a federal judge.

In addition to apprehensions of people entering the U.S. illegally, CBP agents perform a wide range of other duties.

On a typical day this past calendar year, agents processed 650,178 passengers and pedestrians traveling legally nationwide, including people driving 187,049 privately owned vehicles. Agents also processed 77,895 truck, rail, and sea containers.

They also conducted 1,107 apprehensions between U.S. ports of entry, arresting 39 wanted criminals on a typical day.

Also on a typical day, they encountered 634 inadmissible people at U.S. ports of entry, intercepted 269 fraudulent documents, and seized 3,677 pounds of narcotics.