(Bethany Blakley, The Center Square) – Southwest border encounters in July, including those who arrived at ports of entry with or without a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol OneTM appointment, totaled 183,503.
This number is consistent with the preliminary data The Center Square reported on earlier this month, which only included data reported by Border Patrol agents. Official data is always higher because it includes Office of Field Operations data. The preliminary data does not include OFO numbers.
The official data excludes over 27,000 known, recorded gotaways reported last month by Border Patrol agents. Gotaways is the official term used by CBP to describe those who illegally enter between ports of entry and don’t return back to Mexico or Canada. They seek to avoid getting caught, and don’t make asylum or any other immigration=related claims. Many have criminal records, law enforcement officers have found when they’ve been able to apprehend those who’ve gotten away at the border but are caught farther into the interior of Texas, for example.
When including the preliminary gotaway data, total people encountered, apprehended or reported evading capture last month after illegally crossing the southwest border totaled more than 200,000. This includes official CBP data and preliminary data obtained by The Center Square from a Border Patrol agent.
As The Center Square has also previously reported, the Biden administration has shifted movement of people from illegal entry between ports of entry to encouraging them to arrive at ports of entry using the CBP One app. Last month, encounters at ports of entry accounted for 28% of all Southwest Border encounters, nearly three times what it was in July 2022 of 9%.
Since fiscal 2020, apprehensions at ports of entry are up 300%. Office of Field Operations apprehensions are on track to reach a record of more than 1 million this fiscal year alone.
Last month, CBP processed more than 44,700 people who used the CBP One app at ports of entry. Since the app was introduced in January, and through July, more than 188,500 people have used it to schedule appointments to arrive at ports of entry, CBP says.
The agency has been sued over the app, and a federal judge in California ruled its use is illegal. However, the app is still being used and the administration is fighting the ruling.
The majority of people using the app are coming from Haiti, Mexico and Venezuela, CBP says. As of July 1, CBP announced it was expanding the number of available appointments for noncitizens using the app from 1,250 to 1,450 per day.
When announcing June apprehension data, DHS maintained, “The CBP One mobile application remains a key component of DHS efforts to incentivize migrants to use lawful and orderly processes and disincentivize attempts at crossing between ports of entry.”
As was the case for the previous month, CBP’s announcement doesn’t provide basic apprehension data by demographic. This data can be found here. The statement also says the numbers represent decreases compared to July 2022. What it excludes is the numbers are higher than the previous month despite record high temperatures.
As has been the case nearly every month since January 2021, according to CBP data, the majority of people being apprehended are single adults. Last month, they totaled over 86,500, up from 81,235 in June. Temperatures hovering over 110 degrees didn’t stop illegal border crossings.
This fiscal year through July, single adults account for nearly 65% of all encounters, totaling over 1.2 million, according to the data.
Last month, there were also over 86,000 individuals in a family unit apprehended – up from nearly 56,000 in June. Last month’s total was the highest number of people apprehended in this category of any month this fiscal year. Overall, this group represents roughly 30% of those apprehended this fiscal year.
Last month, nearly 11,000 unaccompanied minors were apprehended illegally entering the U.S., up from 7,281 in June. Fiscal year through July, nearly 110,000 have come through.
