News / Human Rights

Record 2.3 million migrants arrested at southern US border this year

Monday, 24 October 2022 6:11 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 24 October 2022 6:15 PM ]

Migrants from Venezuela walk between the southern border wall and the Rio Grande towards a temporary US Customs and Border Protection processing facility in El Paso, Texas, on Oct. 6, 2022. (Photo by Texas Tribune)

More than 2.3 million migrants were arrested at the southern border of the United States in the last 12 months, the highest number ever recorded, according to government data.

The annual tally of migrants crossing the border increased by 37 percent from 1.7 million arrests the year before, US Border Patrol data released this week shows.

This does not mean that the current fiscal year saw the largest number of people trying to cross the border without proper documents. Nearly 4 million people entered the US illegally in 2000, for instance, but only 1.6 million were counted, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Immigration authorities in recent years have increasingly turned to enhanced security technology to be able to track movements of migrants at the southern border.

A growing number of people apprehended this year were from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, compared to more border-crossings from north Central America recorded in the previous years.

This presents a new challenge for the Joe Biden administration as the November midterm elections draw closer. Strained diplomatic ties with those countries as well as the cost issues have complicated the administration’s ability to return the apprehended migrants to their home countries.

Nearly a quarter of all border encounters were with families, while 6 percent involved children trying to cross the border without parents or guardians. Nearly 70 percent of all encounters were with single adults.

The fiscal year 2022, which ended on September 30, was also the deadliest 12 months for border-crossers, with more than 800 migrants dying while trying to get into the United States. Drowning and heat exhaustion were among the top causes of death, according to Border Patrol data.

The issue has given Republicans in Texas and elsewhere more fodder to criticize President Joe Biden and Democrats over their border policies and refusal to revive Trump-era immigration restrictions.

Texas Greg Abbott has made immigration a central theme of his reelection campaign through his signature mission, Operation Lone Star, a $4 billion endeavor designed to curb illegal border crossings.

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