Venezuelans surpassed Mexicans in the largest group of nationals arrested for illegally crossing the U.S. southern border in September for the first time on record.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded 218,763, according to its latest monthly report released Saturday Encounters of people of all nationalities between ports of entry along the southwest border in September 2023, a 21% increase from the 181,084 illegal immigrants in August.
Venezuelans were arrested by Border Patrol 54,833 times after entering Mexico in September, more than double the 22,090 arrests in August and significantly higher than the previous monthly high of 33,749 arrests in September 2022. For decades, Mexicans made up the vast majority of illegal border crossings But over the last decade, immigration flows have shifted to Central Americans and, more recently, to people from South America, Africa and Asia.
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Mexicans were arrested 39,733 times while crossing the border in September, significantly fewer than Venezuelans. Guatemalans, Hondurans and Colombians rounded out the top five.
High migrant numbers break several records and represent a new blow to Biden’s border strategy
President Biden looks at a large “Welcome to Mexico” sign hanging over the Bridge of the Americas as he tours the El Paso port of entry on January 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
The Biden administration recently announced temporary legal status for nearly 500,000 Venezuelans already in the United States as of July 31, while promising to deport those who enter illegally after that date and do not receive asylum. Deportation flights to Venezuela were recently launched as part of a diplomatic thaw with the government of Nicolás Maduro, a long-time opponent. The U.S. “deployed a significant amount of resources and personnel to the border” in September, said Troy Miller, acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.
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“We are continually working with domestic and foreign partners to address historic hemispheric migration, including large groups of migrants traveling on freight trains, and enforce the consequences, including by preparing direct repatriations to Venezuela,” Miller said.
CBP recorded 53,296 encounters with Mexican nationals along the southwest land border, a decrease from 55,493 Mexican migrants in August 2023 and 63,431 in September 2022. This includes both people apprehended crossing the border illegally and people arriving at ports of entry along the border between the USA and Mexico were processed.
Migrants entering the United States from Mexico are confronted with concertina wire along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, on September 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
There were 4,042 encounters of Chinese nationals along the southwestern land border in September, compared with 2,379 in August.
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White House funding request includes $14 billion for Border as crisis reaches new records
In September 2022, there were only 399 encounters with Chinese nationals.
CBP recorded 1,779 encounters of Russian nationals in September, compared to 2,099 in August. In September 2022, there were 2,617 encounters between Russians on the southwest border.
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According to CBP statistics, there have been nearly 2.5 million encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border so far this year, and about 1.5 million of those people have been single adults.
President Biden speaks with Border Patrol agents as they walk along a section of the U.S.-Mexico border on January 8, 2023 in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
According to CBP, the September total approached the all-time high of 222,018 encounters in December 2022. According to the Associated Press, the number of arrests topped 2 million for the second straight year in the government’s fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, a 7% decline from the all-time high of more than 2.2 million arrests in the year corresponds to the same period of the previous year.
About 43,000 migrants entered the country in September through land crossings with Mexico through a mobile app called CBP One, bringing the total to nearly 278,000 since the online appointment system was launched in January. Additionally, as of September, more than 265,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela entered airports after applying online to financial sponsors. Including these routes, the number of intersections reached a new all-time monthly high of 269,735 in September and a new fiscal year high of nearly 2.5 million.
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The Biden administration has proposed about $14 billion for the border in a $106 billion spending package announced Friday.
Border officials arrested 18 people on the FBI’s terror watch list in September, making FY023 a record year for such encounters at the southern border.
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According to CBP statistics released Saturday, 169 people on the FBI terror watch list were encountered between ports of entry on the southern border over the past 12 months, a number that exceeds not only the record number of FY22 (98), but also the last one six financial years together.
Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.