EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — The number of migrant encounters along the Southwestern border has surpassed 1 million this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2023, federal sources tell NewsNation.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection sources told NewsNation correspondent Ali Bradley that approximately 1,003,575 migrants have crossed into the U.S. so far this fiscal year. During the same period last year, border officials reported 923,446 migrant encounters along the southern border.
CBP said the numbers included 19,833 Chinese nationals, the majority of whom crossed into the San Diego Sector. CBP reported 24,318 encounters with Chinese nationals in all of Fiscal Year 2023.
The number of migrant encounters at the Southwest border plummeted 42% from December to January, but it was still a record high to start the calendar year, according to data obtained by NewsNation. U.S. Border Patrol agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers encountered 176,294 migrants in January, compared to 302,034 in December, an all-time high for one month, according to CBP data. The number of migrant encounters at the Southwest border last January was 157,358.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has said that during the first two weeks of January, migrant encounters were down 50%, adding that the drop is “consistent with historical trends and enhanced enforcement,” and that a crackdown by Mexican authorities also contributed to the decline.
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