Roughly 364,000 migrants eluded apprehension by the Border Patrol this fiscal year, which ends in September, according to a source within Customs and Border Protection. Nearly 60,000 got-aways were recorded in April alone.
The source says the number, recorded daily on an internal basis, includes evidence from technology systems and aerial drones registering migrants crossing the Rio Grande in Texas and other areas between ports of entry in New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The metric is usually not released by CBP. Agents also use traditional techniques to locate and count footprints.
Agents previously told Breitbart the numbers of got-aways are likely much higher due to reduced field patrols. The surge in border apprehensions mean agents are routinely relegated to administrative duties in migrant processing facilities.
According to the source, agents are increasingly spending most hours transporting, processing, and providing humanitarian care at border facilities instead of performing more important border security patrols. As a result, the source says, the absence of routine patrols is driving the got-away number.
The average migrant got-away count, recorded since the fiscal year began in October 2021, is more than 1,700 per day. The source informed Breitbart Texas the situation may worsen as a result of a projected migrant surge upon the expiration of the CDC’s Title 42 emergency COVID-19 order on May 23. A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order barring the action, pending a hearing on the matter scheduled for May 13.
Border communities are bracing for the impact of Title 42’s end. The emergency authority allows agents to also avoid the lengthy processing required for intaking formal asylum claims.
Border Patrol agents apprehended just over 201,000 migrants who illegally crossed in April.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.