Border Patrol agents along the nine southwest border sectors apprehended just over 128,000 migrants in February, according to unofficial Border Patrol reports reviewed by Breitbart Texas. This is down slightly from January’s reported 128,410 migrant apprehensions in January but is up more than 30 percent from February 2021 — President Joe Biden’s first full month in office.
The more than 128,000 migrants apprehended in February would have set a record for February apprehensions had it not been for last year’s record-setting 159,170 apprehensions, according to reports issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In contrast, agents apprehended only 30,077 migrants in February 2020 — President Donald Trump’s last full year in office.
While many of the southwest border sectors experienced month-to-month decreases in apprehensions last month, the San Diego, Tucson, El Paso, Laredo, and Rio Grande Valley Sectors experienced slight to significant increases.
- San Diego jumped from 15,426 to about 17,000
- Tucson jumped from 20,222 to about 23,600
- El Paso jumped from 29,719 to about 31,900
- Laredo jumped from 3,243 to about 4,100
- Rio Grande Valley jumped from 14,862 to about 15,000
Overall, the apprehensions along the nine southwest border sectors fell slightly from 128,210 in January to just over 128,000 in February, the reports reveal.
Other sectors away from the southwest border are experiencing significant increases in migrant apprehensions. While the numbers are small in comparison to the southwest border, the percentages of increases indicate a trend where human smugglers are developing new tactics to move migrants into the United States.
In the Swanton Sector, which covers the Canadian border in parts of northern New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, agents apprehended just over 400 migrants. This is up by nearly 945 percent over the 40 migrants apprehended in January. During the first five months of this fiscal year, the Swanton Sector reports an increase of about 870 percent over the same period last year with the apprehension of nearly 2,000 migrants.
The Blaine Sector, which covers the Canadian border in Washington State, reports a year-over-year increase of about 320 percent and apprehensions jumped from 97 last year to about 400 this year.
The largest increase in non-southwest border sectors came in the Miami Sector where agents apprehended more than 5,000 migrants so far this fiscal year. Apprehensions in this sector are up by about 420 percent compared to the same period one year ago. These numbers do not include the thousands of migrants apprehended at sea by U.S. Coast Guard crews and CBP Air and Marine Operations agents.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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.
Editor’s Note: All numbers reported above for February 2023 apprehensions come from an unofficial Border Patrol report obtained by Breitbart Texas. These numbers are subject to change when CBP releases the official Southwest Land Border Encounters Report later this month.