Customs and Border Protection data shows the numberof apprehensions made by immigration officers along the U.S.-Mexico border topped 200,000 last month for the first time this fiscal year.
The agency's March data shows almost 210,000 border encounters, including some 27,000 apprehensions by Border Patrol in the Tucson Sector and almost 30,000 in the Yuma Sector. Data also shows a rise in the number of Ukrainians at the border, some 3,200 arrived throughout the month.
Just over half of those apprehended were returned to Mexico or sent to their home countries under the pandemic-era protocol Title 42. Like in other months during Title 42's more than two year run, many of the migrants encountered at the border had tried to cross before. CBP says almost 30% of those encountered in March were on at least their second crossing in a year.
The protocol has been used more than 1.7 million times over the last two years and places broad restrictions on migrants’ legal right to seek asylum. It’s scheduled to end May 23 but that date faces growing backlash from some lawmakers — who argue that ending it will drive more people to migrate.
