U.S. Customs and Border Protections has had more than 250,000 encounters with unlawful migrants at the southern border since the start of December, with the total number expected to be a record for a single month.
Ali Bradley, a correspondent for News Nation, reported this week that there have already been more than 250,000 encounters with unlawful migrants recorded in December, and the total is currently “[o]n pace to break the previous record set in September of 269,735.”
“The majority, 66k+ have entered through Arizona’s Tucson sector (Lukeville) this month—While 60k+ entered through Texas in the Del Rio sector (Eagle Pass),” added Bradley in a social media post.
There have also been multiple reports in December of record-breaking encounters for a single day.
Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez first addressed these historic numbers when he appeared on Fox News’ America Reports, claiming that on December 5, there were 12,000 encounters with unlawful migrants in a single day.
However, this record was quickly broken when there were 14,509 encounters with unlawful migrants at the border on December 18, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Since the record-breaking month of September, U.S. Customs and Border Protections (CBP) has reported more than 240,000 further encounters with unlawful migrants at the southern border in both October and November.
The revelation of this December estimate comes as the U.S. attempts to manage the crisis at the border as an unprecedented number of unlawful migrants enter the country.
CBP also reported in November that a large number of individuals from the terrorist watch list were apprehended in Fiscal Year 2023.
The CBP Terrorist Screening Dataset states that 172 individuals from the watchlist were encountered between the northern and southwest borders, the highest number of individuals in a single year.
Since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2024 in October, the CBP has already encountered 31 individuals on the list.
Federal and state governments have taken steps to address this crisis, with the U.S. sending multiple delegates to discuss the issue with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on December 27.
During the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other officials were set to “discuss unprecedented irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere and identify ways Mexico and the United States will address border security challenges, including actions to enable the reopening of key ports of entry across our shared border,” according to a statement from the U.S. Department of State.
Additionally, Gov. Greg Abbott has taken steps to help Texas manage the crisis, such as the implementation of new anti-climb barriers on the border. These barriers are meant to deter unlawful migrants from using ladders to cross over the border wall installed by the Lone Star State.
A news release sent to The Dallas Express states that the barriers will be placed behind the concertina wire along portions of the border.