New data from Customs and Border Protection shows border officers encountered migrants more than 230,000 times in April. Data shows made less arrests between ports, more encounters overall and a similarly high instance of repeat crossings.
Border officers encountered migrants more than 230,000 times in April. Encounters include to border arrests and migrants who present themselves to immigration officers at ports of entry or between them. The number of arrests between ports decreased slightly, while the number of migrants presenting themselves to officers at ports rose. The agency says Ukrainians arriving at the border also contributed to that increase.
Like in previous months, repeat crossings were high. The agency says more than a quarter of all encounters were of people who were on at least their second crossing.
A little fewer than half of people were sent back to Mexico or their home countries under Title 42.
Analysts say the pandemic-era protocol has fueled higher apprehensions because it cuts off access to the legal right to asylum, and is also driving the number of repeat crossings up.
→ As the Title 42 debate rages on, asylum seekers in Nogales search for concrete answers
