U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported during the month of April agents and officers had encountered 211,401 illegal immigrants, making it one of busiest months this calendar year.
Of the 211,401 that were encountered, Border Patrol were the ones who apprehended 182,114 of them. In March, the total number was 191,956 and in February, it was 155,656. As always, this does not include the number of gotaways.
In just one week in April, Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz reported there had been almost 17,000 people who managed to avoid being caught by his agents. The week before, that number was around 12,000.
Week in Review...
— Chief Raul Ortiz (@USBPChief) April 28, 2023
- 1 Agent Assaulted
- 51,560 Apprehensions
- 16,985 Approx. Gotaways
- $31,000 Seized
- 614 lbs. Cocaine
- 540 lbs. Marijuana
- 246 lbs. Meth
- 54 lbs. Fentanyl
- 19 lbs. Heroin
- 10 Firearms
- 17 Sex Offenders
- 5 Gang Members
Impressive work! pic.twitter.com/2YroNKbas6
Fox News National Correspondent Bill Melugin also noted CBP reported 16 people on the FBI’s terror watchlist were arrested by Border Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico border in April.
NEW: CBP reports 16 people on the FBI’s terror watchlist were arrested by Border Patrol at the Southern border in April alone.
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) May 17, 2023
That single month is more than all four years of FY17, FY18, FY19, and FY20 - combined (11).
The increase in illegal crossings was due to the weather being warmer than the winter months and with Title 42 expiring in May. Border Patrol had been apprehending 10,000 people a week in May, leading up to Title 42 expiring on May 11.
"Much better than you all expected," President Joe Biden said in response to being asked about the situation at the southern border during the weekend.