(The Center Square) – At least 1.78 million people were apprehended or evaded law enforcement after [unlawfully] entering Texas in fiscal 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by The Center Square from a Border Patrol agent.
Texas saw over half of more than 3.3 million [unlawful] entries reported by Border Patrol for all nine southwest border sectors in the fiscal year.
Border Patrol agents apprehended at least 1,428,108 foreign nationals and reported at least 353,606 known and recorded gotaways in the five Texas sectors of Big Bend, Del Rio, El Paso, Laredo and Rio Grande Valley.
Texas shares the vast majority of the southern land border with Mexico, 1,254 miles out of 1,954. Two each of the four other sectors along the southwest border are in California and Arizona.
To put the number of [unlawful] entries in perspective, at least 1,781,714 people known to Border Patrol agents who [unlawfully] entered Texas from at least 150 countries in one fiscal year was greater than the population of every individual city and town in Texas except Houston. The number of people was greater than the individual populations of San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, El Paso, Arlington, Corpus Christi and Plano, the eight largest cities in Texas after Houston.
Put another way, the numbers were enough to populate six Planos, nearly six Corpus Christis, nearly 4.5 Arlingtons and over 2.5 El Pasos.
The number also dwarfed the population of Texas counties in each sector.
In the west Texas sector of Big Bend, Border Patrol agents apprehended 35,663 [unlawful] foreign nationals and reported 18,644 gotaways for the fiscal year, according to an analysis of the data by The Center Square.
Combined, the 54,307 people who [unlawfully] entered this sector was at least 54 times greater than the population of Terrell County, whose Democratic judge, now a Republican, declared an invasion July 5.
In neighboring Big Bend to the east, Del Rio Sector agents apprehended 494,465 foreign nationals and reported 171,056 gotaways. Combined, the 511,621 people who [unlawfully] entered this sector was 170 times greater than Kinney County’s population. Its judge was the first to declare an invasion in July.
El Paso sector agents, working in two west Texas counties and all of New Mexico, apprehended 312,207 foreign nationals and reported 90,236 gotaways. Combined, the 402,443 people who [unlawfully] entered the sector was 122 times greater than Hudspeth County’s population in west Texas and greater than the individual populations of all of New Mexico’s cities except for Albuquerque. In November alone, apprehensions and gotaways in the sector were greater than the individual populations of all but four New Mexico cities and all but five of its counties.
In the middle of the Texas-Mexico border, Laredo Sector agents apprehended 111,677 foreign nationals and reported 26,293 gotaways. Combined, the 137,970 people who [unlawfully] entered this sector was nearly 10 times greater than the population of Zapata County.
Its Democratic sheriff Raymundo Del Bosque Jr., has been working with Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star to thwart cartel-driven criminal activity coming into his small rural community. He says doing so “is not a red issue, a blue issue. This is a red, white and blue issue.”
In the farthest south sector of Rio Grande Valley, agents apprehended 474,096 foreign nationals and reported 47,377 gotaways in the fiscal year. Combined, the 521,473 people who [unlawfully] entered the sector was 74 times greater than the population of Goliad County. Its judge, Mike Bennett, was among the first to declare an invasion in July. Its sheriff, Roy Boyd, was the first to launch an OLS Task Force to thwart cartel-driven criminal activity impacting the rural community.
The data evaluated only includes information compiled by Border Patrol agents and excludes Office of Field Operations data. If OFO data were included, the numbers would be higher.
Gotaways is the term used by Border Patrol to categorize those who [unlawfully] enter the U.S. in between ports of entry to evade capture by law enforcement. U.S. Customs and Border Protection doesn’t publish the gotaway data. The Center Square obtains it from a Border Patrol agent who, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job, has access to CBP’s internal tracking system. The total is believed to be significantly higher because not all gotaways who evade capture are tracked or caught.
Law enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents have expressed the most concern about them because federal, state and local authorities don’t know who or where they are. These individuals, mostly single men of military age, didn’t enter seeking asylum or making other immigration claims. They also actively evade law enforcement as they make their way north. Many are believed to be working with cartels and gangs, engaging in human and drug trafficking, and intent on committing other crimes in the U.S., law enforcement officers have told The Center Square.