Updates from Adam Isacson (January 29, 2024)
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This week's edition is as jam-packed as you'd expect from someone working on border and migration policy at this moment. There's a weekly Border Update, a podcast, nine charts explaining December migration data, links about organized crime-tied corruption in the Americas, and a Spanish podcast about the U.S. elections. And of course, upcoming events and some recommended readings.
Weekly U.S.-Mexico Border Update: January 26, 2024
- Read this week's edition here. See past weekly updates here.
- For 2024 - read our daily border links posts here. You can subscribe to the daily border links list here.
THIS WEEK IN BRIEF:
Republicans’ efforts to tie migration restrictions to Ukraine aid are sputtering in the Senate, as former president and likely Republican nominee Donald Trump has been calling conservative Republican senators and urging them to reject a deal. This is happening even after Democrats appear to have agreed to major curbs on asylum access, and after negotiators were voicing cautious optimism that legislative text might appear this week.
In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration and granted the federal Border Patrol permission to cut through razor-sharp concertina wire that Texas’s Republican-led state government has placed along the Rio Grande. The decision is limited in scope, not compelling Texas to do more than allow agents to cut or move wire. However, the state’s governor and some Republican legislators have invoked “invasion” rhetoric and even counseled ignoring the Supreme Court’s order.
Border Patrol appears to be apprehending 3,000 to 4,000 migrants per day border-wide, a sharp drop from an average of more than 8,000 per day in December. However, sector chiefs in Tucson and San Diego have reported increases following post-holiday lows. Migration levels in Honduras and Panama remain at their lowest in several months.
Support ad-free, paywall-free Weekly Border Updates. Your donation to WOLA is crucial to sustain this effort. Please contribute now and support our work.
WOLA Podcast: Understanding Regional Migration in an Election Year
![](https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CleanShot-2024-01-23-at-12.18.15@2x.jpg?resize=720%2C315&ssl=1)
Here’s a podcast about current regional migration trends that I recorded last Friday with Maureen and Stephanie from WOLA. They were brilliant. Here’s the text from the podcast landing page at wola.org:
As congressional negotiations place asylum and other legal protection pathways at risk, and as we approach a 2024 election year with migration becoming a higher priority for voters in the United States, we found it important to discuss the current moment’s complexities.
WOLA’s vice president for Programs, Maureen Meyer, former director for WOLA’s Mexico Program and co-founder of WOLA’s migration and border work, is joined by Mexico Program Director Stephanie Brewer, whose work on defense of human rights and demilitarization in Mexico has focused often on the rights of migrants, including a visit to the Arizona-Sonora border at the end of 2023.
This episode highlights some of the main migration trends and issues that we should all keep an eye on this year, including:
- Deterrence efforts will never reduce migration as long as the reasons people are fleeing remain unaddressed (the long-standing “root causes” approach). Such policies will only force people into more danger and fuel organized crime. “The question is not, are people going to migrate? The question is, where, how, and with who?”, explains Brewer.
- For this reason, maintaining consistent and reliable legal pathways is more important than ever, and the ongoing assaults on these pathways—including the right to seek asylum and humanitarian parole—are harmful and counterproductive.
- There can’t be a one-size-fits-all solution for the variety of populations currently in movement, and the focus should no longer be on ineffective policies of deterrence and enforcement. “It’s a long term game that certainly doesn’t fit on a bumper sticker for political campaigns,” Meyer points out.
- Organized crime is a huge factor in regional migration—both as a driver of migration and as a facilitator. Official corruption and impunity enable these systems, a point that migration policies often fail to address. Brewer notes that during her trip to Arizona’s southern border in December 2023, the vast majority of migrants she spoke to were Mexican, and among them, the vast majority cited violence and organized crime as the driving factor. In recent months, Mexican families have been the number one nationality coming to the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum.
- It is a regional issue, not just a U.S. issue, as people are seeking asylum and integration in many different countries. Mexico, for instance, received 140,000 asylum applications in 2023. This makes integration efforts extremely important: many people arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border had attempted to resettle elsewhere first. “It’s a twofold of the legal status itself, but then real integration efforts that are both economic and educational, but also addressing xenophobia and not creating resentment in local communities,” explains Meyer.
Download the podcast episode’s .mp3 file here. Listen to WOLA’s Latin America Today podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you subscribe to podcasts. The main feed is here.
Charts: Migration at the U.S.-Mexico Border through December 2023
Late on Friday the 26th, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) updated its dataset of migration at the U.S.-Mexico border through December. Here are some highlights, expressed as nine charts.
Migrants apprehended by Border Patrol (in border areas between ports of entry)
Between ports of entry, CBP’s Border Patrol component apprehended 249,785 people last month. That is probably a monthly record. It is at least the largest amount measured since October 1999, the earliest month for which Border Patrol makes monthly data available.
![Monthly U.S.-Mexico Border Patrol Apprehensions by Sector
Tucson Sector Rio Grande Valley Sector San Diego Sector El Paso Sector Del Rio Sector Yuma Sector Laredo Sector El Centro Sector Big Bend Sector
Oct-99 32384 8416 9046 6386 8161 5403 6962 13761 891
Nov-99 25767 7371 7620 5203 6812 5219 6058 11035 1111
Dec-99 30182 5808 5978 4651 5118 4964 4477 8882 1192
Jan-00 70632 15443 15363 14914 20354 12462 13794 21924 1093
Feb-00 73506 16814 20204 15049 24706 13557 14745 31072 1675
Mar-00 76245 17995 18279 16018 24416 16663 15549 33301 1597
Apr-00 65213 15005 16751 12883 18145 13073 11174 26534 1272
May-00 62555 12390 16615 10645 13443 12327 9707 27460 1154
Jun-00 44341 7764 13186 7637 7820 6953 6436 20071 885
Jul-00 46849 9842 10630 7533 9373 6228 6760 15820 921
Aug-00 47905 9073 9356 8106 10132 6753 6971 15018 998
Sep-00 40767 7322 8653 6671 8698 5145 6340 13248 900
Oct-00 30009 6634 8002 6095 7648 4534 5154 13712 844
Nov-00 25889 5975 5556 5401 5344 5039 3652 9979 874
Dec-00 20907 4280 5270 4683 3756 4348 2762 8299 776
1-Jan 43972 10102 11558 10862 11218 9632 8228 18672 846
1-Feb 54913 12298 12085 12369 16447 11003 10656 21412 1046
1-Mar 64779 12890 13510 15311 16833 11411 12604 21815 1427
1-Apr 52949 11366 12597 12738 11444 9843 9928 20699 1249
1-May 44573 11204 11270 11343 9005 7990 9216 17203 1123
1-Jun 33602 8152 8467 8035 7048 4798 6586 11385 1058
1-Jul 29550 9191 7580 8607 6069 3848 6475 11175 1107
1-Aug 28028 9426 8297 9945 6038 3705 7338 10965 906
1-Sep 20504 6326 5883 7468 4025 2234 4469 7536 831
1-Oct 11124 4784 4530 4441 2938 1582 3431 4069 913
1-Nov 10523 3744 3178 3483 2367 2134 2949 3318 810
1-Dec 9208 3843 3183 3784 2104 2175 2608 3720 876
2-Jan 25182 8035 7716 8185 8384 4084 7711 9670 826
2-Feb 32264 8438 9172 9393 10087 3584 10628 11118 1040
2-Mar 46094 10153 12832 11309 12068 5409 12270 15673 1184
2-Apr 47712 10310 11712 11783 8540 5569 10709 14274 1312
2-May 36333 9473 11222 9972 5404 4581 7861 11415 1163
2-Jun 30898 8109 9251 6931 3787 3562 6545 8870 702
2-Jul 30212 7523 9340 8044 3301 3766 5830 7897 748
2-Aug 30078 8762 10115 9018 4297 3414 6376 9557 940
2-Sep 24020 6753 8430 7811 3708 2794 5177 8692 878
2-Oct 21352 6024 7339 6545 3037 3698 4644 8399 754
2-Nov 17206 4218 5379 5303 1942 2697 4157 6107 722
2-Dec 11481 3814 4280 4008 2083 2723 3991 4572 872
3-Jan 26826 7630 10177 9255 6546 5816 7444 12369 862
3-Feb 33854 7905 10958 10000 7127 5155 7603 13293 974
3-Mar 37055 7498 11158 8883 6579 6694 7803 11632 1097
3-Apr 29099 6560 9082 7359 5020 5273 5990 6116 860
3-May 37847 7095 10680 8120 4973 5665 6683 6528 1099
3-Jun 32532 6153 9271 6998 2857 6085 5165 5791 678
3-Jul 34201 7042 10207 7618 2993 4752 5570 6128 773
3-Aug 36639 7737 11217 7538 3700 4341 6371 6076 867
3-Sep 29171 6073 11767 7189 3288 3739 5100 5088 761
3-Oct 26530 5414 10426 6451 2913 3033 4479 5438 707
3-Nov 24890 5053 7996 5244 2372 3160 4670 3799 710
3-Dec 17349 4636 5849 4030 2307 2246 3571 2802 824
4-Jan 34913 8102 13405 8768 5044 7227 6540 7826 696
4-Feb 45312 8732 13252 10584 6561 8847 8057 8417 907
4-Mar 72095 10149 17532 13483 7983 12188 9686 10761 1104
4-Apr 64563 9618 15962 12632 4960 11344 7069 8327 993
4-May 53132 8916 14976 10343 5177 10222 7421 7616 923
4-Jun 42013 7423 11548 8432 3709 8820 6149 5611 885
4-Jul 39114 8826 9530 8654 4242 10774 5376 4581 1068
4-Aug 38740 8542 9716 8321 4573 10768 6570 5086 930
4-Sep 33120 7536 8416 7457 3953 9431 5118 4203 783
4-Oct 31940 7813 6702 7472 3856 8872 4691 3723 844
4-Nov 27673 7512 5428 5801 2795 8418 3997 2798 713
4-Dec 17631 7214 4632 4464 2768 5836 3367 1772 722
5-Jan 35873 9136 9390 9898 6120 10507 6331 4963 802
5-Feb 45875 10147 10864 13033 7248 12039 7530 5926 1113
5-Mar 64096 13176 12750 13249 7935 15734 8112 6632 1364
5-Apr 52644 14635 16534 15274 7584 17062 9043 6010 1276
5-May 40764 14796 15114 11041 6270 14051 7569 5352 866
5-Jun 31694 13109 10921 8445 4947 11522 5699 3829 620
5-Jul 32390 12208 10010 11568 5873 11809 6623 3712 761
5-Aug 29178 12713 11798 12099 6498 11988 6635 5047 777
5-Sep 29321 11727 12761 10335 6612 10600 5749 5958 678
5-Oct 27316 10060 10145 11027 4840 9428 5014 5072 655
5-Nov 24270 9111 7730 8191 4016 8913 4323 3831 590
5-Dec 16447 7128 6531 5668 2910 6884 3544 2998 563
6-Jan 33229 9533 13959 11941 4839 13743 7415 5797 739
6-Feb 43153 10444 17160 14457 5854 17117 9554 6399 908
6-Mar 63583 13080 18361 18668 5636 21231 10179 9048 910
6-Apr 51588 11264 14736 15238 4555 13034 8530 6847 746
6-May 40190 11649 13888 12239 2633 11087 6866 6187 711
6-Jun 25049 7516 10597 7664 2106 6029 4815 4112 478
6-Jul 21187 7109 8683 6970 1947 5446 4667 3240 392
6-Aug 23256 7020 10009 5027 1683 3123 5525 3705 403
6-Sep 22806 6614 10305 5166 1617 2514 4408 4229 425
6-Oct 25135 5772 9494 6183 1618 3478 4286 4379 368
6-Nov 21323 4549 7764 5098 1701 3240 3810 3667 442
6-Dec 16136 3649 6591 4189 1051 2601 2890 3037 383
7-Jan 29459 5798 12489 6570 2044 5357 4678 4983 556
7-Feb 34148 6172 12997 7482 2421 4474 5855 5187 532
7-Mar 52692 8431 18044 10537 3314 5571 7673 7198 677
7-Apr 49044 7645 17999 8957 2699 4108 6428 6983 602
7-May 41789 7736 16136 6741 1858 3162 4928 5747 407
7-Jun 34103 5791 13283 5632 1579 2151 4595 3842 362
7-Jul 30373 6225 12941 5109 1862 1660 4338 3835 439
7-Aug 24388 6331 13312 4969 1440 1305 3858 3789 403
7-Sep 19649 5331 11410 3997 1333 885 3375 3236 365
7-Oct 21730 5989 9801 3605 1679 1094 3825 3230 386
7-Nov 18231 4695 9163 2648 1059 955 2658 2412 388
7-Dec 11721 3974 7773 2015 945 954 1969 2000 451
8-Jan 26347 5216 12877 3470 1961 1061 3907 3839 350
8-Feb 34309 6880 15091 3944 2462 1089 5001 4095 612
8-Mar 45239 8543 18869 3129 2667 751 5355 4604 613
8-Apr 45442 9417 20569 2808 2286 523 4904 5090 527
8-May 32845 7967 16015 2035 1745 447 3733 3860 586
8-Jun 24289 6308 12395 1811 1708 381 3432 3161 369
8-Jul 21093 5562 13127 1634 1482 366 3066 2726 416
8-Aug 18406 6103 13734 1615 1618 345 3310 2995 415
8-Sep 18044 4819 12976 1598 1149 397 2498 2949 278
8-Oct 18814 5092 10036 1469 1321 339 2709 2619 539
8-Nov 12844 4259 7954 1153 1064 406 2465 2176 459
8-Dec 9862 3341 6552 866 872 359 1932 1691 472
9-Jan 18649 4575 10246 1344 1604 612 3970 2969 533
9-Feb 20941 5207 11678 1435 1908 731 3718 2904 689
9-Mar 31432 5479 16472 1508 2231 951 4538 4141 590
9-Apr 28072 6107 12618 1344 1619 793 4168 3314 458
9-May 24083 5293 11000 1238 1426 656 3722 2955 511
9-Jun 20842 5094 10278 1208 1304 655 3283 2811 569
9-Jul 20146 5509 8655 1160 1383 545 3512 2449 484
9-Aug 20810 6025 6743 1181 1321 429 3671 2767 575
9-Sep 15178 5008 6489 1093 1029 475 2881 2725 481
9-Oct 23197 4236 5017 1007 1119 582 2613 2589 530
9-Nov 16986 3688 4738 894 897 649 2130 2412 421
9-Dec 10907 2987 4636 725 697 711 1802 2196 373
10-Jan 16122 3658 6413 1124 1234 586 2526 2688 433
10-Feb 21266 4845 6982 1140 1245 819 3173 2836 484
10-Mar 31197 7141 9061 1528 1874 1059 4433 4408 660
10-Apr 28579 7139 7115 1359 1791 732 4528 3419 575
10-May 22572 7477 5858 1380 1718 608 3813 3126 493
10-Jun 13160 5595 5092 1005 1326 447 3475 2440 415
10-Jul 10303 3832 5113 725 767 401 1857 2331 280
10-Aug 9280 5329 4528 732 1095 262 2819 2075 295
10-Sep 8633 3839 4012 632 931 260 2118 2042 329
10-Oct 11165 3628 4344 732 1043 391 2286 2201 375
10-Nov 9097 3625 3480 660 837 391 2174 1851 290
10-Dec 7354 3349 3233 622 704 354 1797 1734 282
11-Jan 10131 3485 3379 779 899 501 2285 2135 332
11-Feb 11790 4233 3977 911 1399 664 2943 2569 300
11-Mar 17056 6806 4811 1354 2132 940 4686 3772 457
11-Apr 13816 6502 4031 1380 1977 579 3891 3563 512
11-May 12088 5953 3474 904 1499 522 3168 3278 350
11-Jun 9585 5409 3109 816 1525 317 3205 2904 296
11-Jul 6923 5276 3016 794 1386 402 2913 2225 235
11-Aug 7270 5973 2863 711 1356 346 3262 2074 311
11-Sep 7010 5004 2730 682 1387 426 3443 1885 296
11-Oct 9306 6201 2439 647 1364 590 2835 1946 284
11-Nov 8361 5513 2185 662 1289 497 2846 1698 317
11-Dec 7100 4285 2136 534 871 515 1853 1401 288
12-Jan 10209 5514 2185 625 1204 819 3180 1655 323
12-Feb 12836 6709 2439 812 1788 676 3855 2041 423
12-Mar 16559 9622 3064 1151 2375 986 5154 2857 450
12-Apr 14095 11160 2879 888 2791 517 5100 2805 393
12-May 11343 11583 2787 823 2480 546 4478 2622 304
12-Jun 8636 10112 2170 840 2123 362 4019 2107 300
12-Jul 6856 9023 2165 793 1942 330 3670 1896 303
12-Aug 7116 9295 2020 984 1770 332 4306 1411 333
12-Sep 7583 8745 1992 919 1723 330 3576 1477 246
12-Oct 9224 8869 1922 977 1792 433 3829 1527 356
12-Nov 9185 8352 1924 860 1715 417 3537 1408 238
12-Dec 8481 6587 1795 629 1135 467 2835 1101 213
13-Jan 9871 7190 2150 776 1617 594 3280 1103 340
13-Feb 11831 10828 2227 1030 2223 535 4628 1340 400
13-Mar 14990 16115 3062 1176 2771 762 5903 2098 416
13-Apr 14051 18455 2833 1217 2778 812 5621 1972 473
13-May 12119 17522 2854 1163 2332 674 5338 1513 341
13-Jun 9357 14275 2324 857 1695 445 4029 1222 232
13-Jul 7014 15217 2313 852 2039 329 4212 1035 219
13-Aug 7278 16253 2069 852 1817 310 3944 1056 218
13-Sep 7538 14790 2023 765 1596 328 3593 931 238
13-Oct 9785 15192 2218 885 1587 498 3638 1193 316
13-Nov 8334 14170 2153 845 1586 445 3026 1077 260
13-Dec 7629 13540 2091 738 1360 375 2567 987 241
14-Jan 6825 12255 2548 813 1514 553 2756 1126 278
14-Feb 7566 16808 2469 1060 2133 642 3838 1365 522
14-Mar 8925 25398 3378 1278 2823 760 5087 1502 445
14-Apr 8473 28624 3035 1244 2616 549 5117 1441 403
14-May 8407 37510 2863 1371 3432 636 4737 1353 374
14-Jun 6867 38446 2438 1221 2857 470 3946 1203 414
14-Jul 5019 24938 2497 939 1830 348 3546 1250 341
14-Aug 5105 17273 2132 948 1279 294 2960 1095 302
14-Sep 4980 12239 2089 997 1238 332 2831 919 200
14-Oct 5261 12031 2133 904 1246 403 3276 894 302
14-Nov 5303 11466 1924 924 985 425 2540 842 232
14-Dec 5610 11035 2280 921 1051 439 2367 980 336
15-Jan 4869 8425 2111 874 985 339 2776 902 233
15-Feb 5553 9557 2466 859 1291 465 2864 991 330
15-Mar 6256 11817 2876 1455 1718 768 3093 1355 453
15-Apr 5543 12602 2284 1516 2100 526 3497 1244 438
15-May 6105 14103 2308 1335 2083 653 3127 1295 567
15-Jun 5081 13750 2081 1410 1928 659 2958 1063 373
15-Jul 4071 13719 1985 1417 1752 834 3110 1072 428
15-Aug 4733 14750 1883 1436 1918 789 3072 1058 600
15-Sep 5012 14002 1959 1444 1956 842 3208 1124 739
15-Oct 5899 15036 2081 1639 1873 1101 3146 1214 735
15-Nov 5791 15297 2022 1679 1798 1126 3249 1239 637
15-Dec 6263 17736 2196 2187 2185 1509 2995 1253 690
16-Jan 4572 9398 2525 1148 1531 681 2454 1061 388
16-Feb 5245 9660 2504 1399 1780 789 2895 1342 458
16-Mar 6142 13325 3108 2158 2022 974 3196 1775 616
16-Apr 5784 16688 3329 2408 2224 1166 3654 2097 739
16-May 6574 18291 3118 2481 2588 1391 3403 2000 491
16-Jun 5427 15972 2522 2369 1918 1325 2906 1719 292
16-Jul 4364 16519 2555 2503 1833 1289 2647 1669 344
16-Aug 4303 19155 2748 2708 1445 1428 2888 2047 326
16-Sep 4527 19753 3183 2955 1881 1391 3129 2032 650
16-Oct 5924 22642 2934 3973 2106 2117 3350 2441 697
16-Nov 5912 24686 2947 4105 1880 2034 3194 1850 603
16-Dec 4303 23418 3099 3948 1817 1859 2460 1870 477
17-Jan 3357 15580 2927 2779 1243 1156 2265 1796 473
17-Feb 2589 7855 1808 1575 1104 534 1710 1196 383
17-Mar 2148 4147 1356 978 746 336 1256 871 357
17-Apr 1487 3942 1392 906 589 245 1304 849 413
17-May 2199 4882 1724 1032 740 534 1722 1134 552
17-Jun 2632 5817 1652 1180 761 548 1839 1280 378
17-Jul 2177 7107 1764 1395 760 894 2120 1478 492
17-Aug 2913 8650 2241 1782 798 1318 2143 1880 563
17-Sep 3016 8836 2242 1540 932 1272 2097 1988 614
17-Oct 3854 9722 2377 1489 1046 1536 2451 2194 819
17-Nov 4562 11726 2760 1647 1186 1970 2283 2123 828
17-Dec 4400 11668 2764 1713 1113 2443 1982 2110 802
18-Jan 3925 9484 3171 1607 1083 1814 2296 2052 543
18-Feb 3824 9611 3107 1737 1306 1618 2671 1954 838
18-Mar 5785 14140 4101 2782 1466 2064 3652 2697 703
18-Apr 5012 15993 3644 2671 1451 2504 3370 2790 808
18-May 4760 17491 3418 3510 1486 3038 3210 2683 743
18-Jun 4146 14703 3014 3560 1462 1916 2586 2327 375
18-Jul 3241 13238 3098 2890 1365 1880 2600 2531 456
18-Aug 3627 16744 3507 3585 1506 2364 2785 2821 585
18-Sep 5036 17742 3630 4370 1363 3097 2755 2948 545
18-Oct 5828 20755 4227 7334 2002 3614 3448 3242 555
18-Nov 5062 20713 4577 8867 2088 4244 2669 3189 448
18-Dec 4912 18372 5816 9450 2024 4779 2059 2718 621
19-Jan 4096 17713 4122 9137 2524 4706 2632 2461 588
19-Feb 4911 25366 5448 14171 4013 5687 3123 3319 845
19-Mar 7257 33763 6881 22224 5563 8450 4192 3561 942
19-Apr 5921 36727 6197 27073 5848 9205 3975 3386 941
19-May 6875 49821 5882 38637 8563 13924 4115 3482 1557
19-Jun 5517 43207 4684 18882 8085 7195 3819 2885 628
19-Jul 4129 36854 3458 11594 6686 3558 2686 2214 799
19-Aug 4080 22355 3321 8078 5297 1883 2421 2327 922
19-Sep 4902 13489 3436 6696 4576 1024 3239 2354 791
19-Oct 6335 9740 3640 5234 3198 793 3811 1998 653
19-Nov 6514 8557 3679 5086 3119 778 3354 1911 526
19-Dec 6647 7825 4097 5099 3003 759 3125 1755 543
20-Jan 5158 6479 4209 4394 2348 696 3618 1699 604
20-Feb 5184 6703 4672 3366 2622 1002 3946 2020 562
20-Mar 5106 7208 4704 3414 2619 576 4024 2063 675
20-Apr 2615 3459 2268 1759 2027 298 1991 1258 507
20-May 3070 3698 3311 2617 2289 745 3355 1880 628
20-Jun 4703 5414 4951 3876 3471 948 4040 2773 660
20-Jul 5605 7571 5556 5091 4163 790 5445 3569 746
20-Aug 6766 10243 6032 6560 5129 684 7242 3507 1120
20-Sep 8373 13309 6163 7900 6354 735 7474 3059 1404
20-Oct 11469 17617 6953 8777 8446 787 9373 4089 1521
20-Nov 12189 17305 7722 8748 8714 990 8244 3636 1621
20-Dec 11146 17214 8510 11028 9196 1203 7746 3118 1980
21-Jan 10749 17056 9880 10617 11142 1624 8633 2946 2669
21-Feb 14750 28403 9725 13184 11094 5128 8486 3777 3096
21-Mar 19870 62685 13380 19456 20052 11882 11180 6211 4500
21-Apr 20283 60874 14680 19797 21779 13734 10925 7039 4588
21-May 19908 51146 14602 22219 27932 12180 12092 7525 5050
21-Jun 18405 59521 15119 21507 30707 12432 10272 6132 4554
21-Jul 17983 81006 15550 20550 33600 14846 8518 5172 3433
21-Aug 16721 81178 13599 20220 33062 17244 8167 4643 1680
21-Sep 17759 55072 12739 17815 43570 22438 8605 4943 2574
21-Oct 19189 45382 14339 14001 28213 21897 7444 5042 3606
21-Nov 21515 47999 13448 15538 30226 23062 8030 3889 3308
21-Dec 15758 43848 13624 19470 33260 29787 7305 4140 3410
22-Jan 17716 30232 12294 18039 31154 23858 7375 4830 2379
22-Feb 21208 33847 13517 20618 30815 20968 9501 5689 3007
22-Mar 27239 44072 16662 25618 41631 30927 13800 7567 3665
22-Apr 25281 41922 14616 29865 40931 28681 12577 6248 3383
22-May 25939 46011 17113 34643 44735 34371 11682 6996 2880
22-Jun 21270 44663 14037 26242 45610 22362 9886 6305 2024
22-Jul 16623 35189 15991 25024 49618 24460 6603 6707 1619
22-Aug 18506 27286 14751 29756 52735 24226 6299 6815 1400
22-Sep 21740 27673 15898 49030 52003 25495 6341 8150 1267
22-Oct 22938 28290 17875 53318 42767 25314 6012 7316 1304
22-Nov 23411 27832 16850 53529 48196 25006 4309 7024 1523
22-Dec 22131 28189 18952 55769 51701 30974 3353 9759 1190
23-Jan 20261 14913 15440 30038 28425 11537 3257 4563 1079
23-Feb 23560 14981 17030 32911 22939 10510 4114 3495 981
23-Mar 33898 17956 23286 40103 23904 13667 5210 4448 1200
23-Apr 33960 37881 25123 42552 20809 13672 5394 3349 1181
23-May 30139 38032 22858 26172 29971 15284 3464 4041 1421
23-Jun 24359 11435 12901 13231 24632 8969 1919 1680 412
23-Jul 39215 26527 15032 16466 24505 6599 2436 1458 404
23-Aug 48752 46537 18985 25234 29689 6734 3097 1458 568
23-Sep 51001 45764 26609 38148 45688 5935 3079 1979 560
23-Oct 55226 32110 29903 22107 38207 5870 2827 2049 479
23-Nov 64637 18774 31164 22404 42950 6159 2810 1787 427
23-Dec 80185 18208 34372 33970 71095 7145 2267 2222 321](https://i0.wp.com/borderoversight.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/wola_migration_charts.001-35.png?w=1440&ssl=1)
Border Patrol’s migrant apprehensions jumped 31 percent from November (191,112). Increased migration from Venezuela, which more than doubled, accounted for 41 percent of the border-wide month-to-month increase.
December also saw big increases in migration between ports of entry from the other three nationalities (in addition to Venezuela) whose citizens the Biden administration allows to apply for its humanitarian parole program: Cuba (+192 percent from November to December), Haiti (+1,266 percent), and Nicaragua (+91 percent). This may mean that the humanitarian parole program is saturated by demand and insufficient supply.
It was the first month since May 2022 that more than 1,000 Haitian citizens crossed between the ports of entry and ended up in Border Patrol custody.
![Border Patrol Apprehensions by Country at the U.S.-Mexico Border
December 2023: Mexico 23%, Venezuela 19%, Guatemala 14%, Honduras 8%, Colombia 7.2%, Ecuador 6.8%, Nicaragua 3%, All Others <3%
Since October 2020: Mexico 32%, Guatemala 12%, Honduras 11%, Venezuela 8%, Cuba 6%, Colombia 5%, All Others <5%
Mexico Guatemala Honduras Venezuela Cuba Colombia Nicaragua Ecuador El Salvador Other Countries
20-Oct 44137 9225 7330 134 1661 23 253 2195 2985 1089
20-Nov 41541 10279 8146 171 1583 59 385 2712 3607 686
20-Dec 36900 12394 10296 192 2041 70 636 3619 3882 1111
21-Jan 38122 13082 11162 284 1876 51 533 3568 3533 3105
21-Feb 41344 19029 20102 892 3810 65 700 3409 5562 2730
21-Mar 59347 33921 41989 2356 5658 147 1925 5553 9423 8897
21-Apr 62170 29782 37738 5850 3258 200 3049 8047 10843 12762
21-May 66237 25846 30624 7386 2625 379 4378 11655 10051 13473
21-Jun 59469 29423 32620 7467 2971 440 7388 12758 11055 15058
21-Jul 52995 35674 42594 6018 3451 707 13426 17260 12157 16376
21-Aug 49609 36216 39532 6211 4406 1493 9888 17577 11974 19608
21-Sep 56166 24162 26798 10791 4799 2204 7280 7339 10858 35118
21-Oct 62898 19301 21779 13396 5877 2983 9251 747 9759 13122
21-Nov 59153 20379 19917 20349 6582 3322 13578 552 9586 13597
21-Dec 46902 20908 17856 24764 7960 4049 15280 664 8757 23462
22-Jan 55697 13746 11726 22748 9702 3875 11547 594 5702 12540
22-Feb 67185 18081 13689 3065 16538 9555 13276 680 6997 10104
22-Mar 82797 21245 15709 4031 32104 15309 16004 873 8250 14859
22-Apr 76851 19453 14261 4075 34817 13076 12556 1617 7739 19059
22-May 70606 21076 17999 5064 25458 19273 18996 3040 8371 34487
22-Jun 60574 24219 22712 13141 16026 12539 11158 3214 8724 20092
22-Jul 48347 19810 18123 17602 20079 13404 12035 2931 7540 21963
22-Aug 52398 15092 13218 25302 19022 13405 11706 3659 6048 21924
22-Sep 55372 14910 12197 33749 26156 13750 18165 5373 5723 22202
22-Oct 56847 14250 10655 21845 28817 17304 20899 7001 5373 22143
22-Nov 49016 13965 10153 6803 34675 15713 34202 11953 4845 26355
22-Dec 36768 14246 10329 6205 42617 17572 35355 16151 4157 38618
23-Jan 52468 11531 8982 2348 6217 9260 3336 9347 3351 22673
23-Feb 59482 14016 10098 1457 176 12682 399 7292 4502 20417
23-Mar 72043 14884 11524 3326 117 16705 230 6929 5364 32550
23-Apr 59668 14311 12112 29731 322 17514 372 6197 4389 39305
23-May 43612 14151 17810 28054 941 17625 463 6269 4574 37883
23-Jun 33958 9548 10659 12549 351 3915 179 4706 2040 21633
23-Jul 36003 21490 23090 11427 632 5194 272 9581 3062 21891
23-Aug 39508 37205 31742 22090 756 8040 603 13239 5063 22808
23-Sep 39773 33669 23505 54833 877 12553 1447 15148 6628 30330
23-Oct 48998 23015 18043 29635 1213 12843 3032 11730 6345 33924
23-Nov 50970 25522 16593 23010 1703 14116 4293 13147 6704 35054
23-Dec 56236 34708 18991 46937 4968 17874 8180 16958 5817 39116](https://i0.wp.com/borderoversight.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/wola_migration_charts.001-40.png?w=1440&ssl=1)
CBP encounters with migrants at ports of entry
At the official border crossings, CBP’s Office of Field Operations encountered 52,249 migrants. This is a record—though not by a wide margin, as CBP tightly controls who gets to step on U.S. soil and approach its ports of entry. Since July 2023, port-of-entry encounters have been within a narrow band: between 50,837 and 52,249. Of December’s encounters, CBP’s release indicates, 45,770 (88 percent, 1,476 per day) had made appointments using the CBP One smartphone app.
![CBP Port of Entry Migrant Encounters by Country at the U.S.-Mexico Border
December 2023: Mexico 25%, Cuba 24%, Venezuela 21%, Haiti 15%, Honduras 3.7%, Russia 3.6%, All Others <2%
Since October 2020: Mexico 36%, Haiti 14%, Venezuela 12%, Honduras 8%, Cuba 7.6%, Russia 7.3%, Ukraine 3%, All Others <3%
Mexico Haiti Venezuela Honduras Cuba Russia Ukraine El Salvador Guatemala Other Countries
20-Oct 2649 1 9 40 18 7 6 29 67 71
20-Nov 2623 3 13 53 7 58 3 43 44 97
20-Dec 2470 1 14 62 26 50 6 39 60 125
21-Jan 2671 1 11 70 23 75 4 47 55 141
21-Feb 2913 4 21 78 38 66 19 37 125 155
21-Mar 3157 7 210 127 42 101 6 52 139 220
21-Apr 3427 5 198 467 30 185 31 200 271 282
21-May 4637 103 113 1507 39 177 55 411 606 295
21-Jun 5439 211 116 2413 101 321 35 527 823 399
21-Jul 6964 531 108 2703 108 603 97 562 794 465
21-Aug 6788 812 90 2593 90 656 129 718 892 558
21-Sep 3819 44 23 280 13 1295 243 95 126 548
21-Oct 3151 1 20 82 19 1497 181 42 73 658
21-Nov 4693 13 39 188 23 1605 223 78 90 878
21-Dec 4573 36 37 285 26 1875 329 117 101 1272
22-Jan 4644 99 31 285 19 772 188 108 110 741
22-Feb 4665 160 8 386 19 553 184 149 134 582
22-Mar 5335 268 22 504 49 976 3155 153 147 784
22-Apr 5717 1277 32 1473 22 1465 20102 616 457 1120
22-May 6847 2752 24 1731 185 2401 265 609 392 1560
22-Jun 6156 3924 58 1465 146 1264 67 399 429 1527
22-Jul 7345 5027 45 2217 19 1119 45 412 402 1697
22-Aug 8374 6372 59 3001 38 1117 17 627 589 2119
22-Sep 8059 4977 55 2220 22 1922 23 524 421 1727
22-Oct 9430 6592 215 3445 34 3210 14 696 593 2166
22-Nov 10332 5433 1210 2990 35 4325 5 687 545 1931
22-Dec 11622 5107 1982 2947 37 4989 15 703 639 2256
23-Jan 9797 3127 6754 2048 245 3504 6 428 439 1497
23-Feb 5789 7406 4108 837 577 4465 12 217 204 2494
23-Mar 9264 4252 4994 1831 1199 3652 26 401 409 3549
23-Apr 7423 7041 4902 1106 1286 2318 13 288 273 3421
23-May 11793 4786 4679 3225 1863 2811 21 775 666 4689
23-Jun 15304 7331 7904 4434 2330 1242 15 1142 814 4502
23-Jul 17925 10669 7531 2933 3036 1736 15 891 637 5464
23-Aug 15985 8687 9373 3426 5423 2014 15 1017 732 5237
23-Sep 13523 4587 11751 3805 9789 1554 14 922 868 4159
23-Oct 13998 4653 11223 3775 11282 1755 13 905 837 3762
23-Nov 13839 5500 11054 2276 12798 1259 10 685 777 3097
23-Dec 12806 7666 10932 1956 12600 1870 23 579 658 3159](https://i0.wp.com/borderoversight.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/wola_migration_charts.001-41.png?w=1440&ssl=1)
All encounters
Combine the Border Patrol and port-of-entry totals, and U.S. border authorities encountered 302,034 people at the U.S.-Mexico border last month. That is a record.
![All CBP (Border Patrol Plus Port of Entry) Migrant Encounters
by Country at the U.S.-Mexico Border
November 2023: Mexico 23%, Venezuela 19%, Guatemala 12%, Honduras 7%, Colombia 6.2%, Cuba 5.8%, Ecuador 5.7%, All Others <3%
Since October 2020: Mexico 32%, Guatemala 12%, Honduras 11%, Venezuela 8%, Cuba 6%, Colombia 4.96%, Nicaragua 4.89%, All Others <5%
Mexico Guatemala Honduras Venezuela Cuba Colombia Nicaragua Ecuador El Salvador Other Countries
20-Oct 44137 9225 7330 134 1661 23 253 2195 2985 1089
20-Nov 41541 10279 8146 171 1583 59 385 2712 3607 686
20-Dec 36900 12394 10296 192 2041 70 636 3619 3882 1111
21-Jan 38122 13082 11162 284 1876 51 533 3568 3533 3105
21-Feb 41344 19029 20102 892 3810 65 700 3409 5562 2730
21-Mar 59347 33921 41989 2356 5658 147 1925 5553 9423 8897
21-Apr 62170 29782 37738 5850 3258 200 3049 8047 10843 12762
21-May 66237 25846 30624 7386 2625 379 4378 11655 10051 13473
21-Jun 59469 29423 32620 7467 2971 440 7388 12758 11055 15058
21-Jul 52995 35674 42594 6018 3451 707 13426 17260 12157 16376
21-Aug 49609 36216 39532 6211 4406 1493 9888 17577 11974 19608
21-Sep 56166 24162 26798 10791 4799 2204 7280 7339 10858 35118
21-Oct 62898 19301 21779 13396 5877 2983 9251 747 9759 13122
21-Nov 59153 20379 19917 20349 6582 3322 13578 552 9586 13597
21-Dec 46902 20908 17856 24764 7960 4049 15280 664 8757 23462
22-Jan 55697 13746 11726 22748 9702 3875 11547 594 5702 12540
22-Feb 67185 18081 13689 3065 16538 9555 13276 680 6997 10104
22-Mar 82797 21245 15709 4031 32104 15309 16004 873 8250 14859
22-Apr 76851 19453 14261 4075 34817 13076 12556 1617 7739 19059
22-May 70606 21076 17999 5064 25458 19273 18996 3040 8371 34487
22-Jun 60574 24219 22712 13141 16026 12539 11158 3214 8724 20092
22-Jul 48347 19810 18123 17602 20079 13404 12035 2931 7540 21963
22-Aug 52398 15092 13218 25302 19022 13405 11706 3659 6048 21924
22-Sep 55372 14910 12197 33749 26156 13750 18165 5373 5723 22202
22-Oct 56847 14250 10655 21845 28817 17304 20899 7001 5373 22143
22-Nov 49016 13965 10153 6803 34675 15713 34202 11953 4845 26355
22-Dec 36768 14246 10329 6205 42617 17572 35355 16151 4157 38618
23-Jan 52468 11531 8982 2348 6217 9260 3336 9347 3351 22673
23-Feb 59482 14016 10098 1457 176 12682 399 7292 4502 20417
23-Mar 72043 14884 11524 3326 117 16705 230 6929 5364 32550
23-Apr 59668 14311 12112 29731 322 17514 372 6197 4389 39305
23-May 43612 14151 17810 28054 941 17625 463 6269 4574 37883
23-Jun 33958 9548 10659 12549 351 3915 179 4706 2040 21633
23-Jul 36003 21490 23090 11427 632 5194 272 9581 3062 21891
23-Aug 39508 37205 31742 22090 756 8040 603 13239 5063 22808
23-Sep 39773 33669 23505 54833 877 12553 1447 15148 6628 30330
23-Oct 62996 23852 21818 40858 12495 13773 3306 12156 7250 42477
23-Nov 64809 26299 18869 34064 14501 15021 4440 13483 7389 43532
23-Dec 69042 35366 20947 57869 17568 18690 8286 17242 6396 50628](https://i0.wp.com/borderoversight.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/wola_migration_charts.001-36.png?w=1440&ssl=1)
Border Patrol apprehensions of unaccompanied children, or parents and children
46 percent of migrants apprehended by Border Patrol between ports of entry in December were members of family units (41 percent) or minors who arrived unaccompanied (5 percent). That is the 24th-highest child-and-family share of Border Patrol’s last 147 months, and probably ever: high, but nowhere near a record.
The overall number of children and families (114,192), however, was the second-most ever, nearly matching the record set in September 2023.
![Unaccompanied Children and Families Encountered at the U.S. Border (Border Patrol)
Unaccompanied Children Family Unit Members
Oct-11 1465 896
Nov-11 1446 848
Dec-11 1259 732
Jan-12 1635 1026
Feb-12 2077 936
Mar-12 2755 1227
Apr-12 2703 1208
May-12 2541 925
Jun-12 2071 791
Jul-12 2118 898
Aug-12 2289 918
Sep-12 2044 711
Oct-12 2333 799
Nov-12 2392 776
Dec-12 2218 746
Jan-13 2260 847
Feb-13 2986 923
Mar-13 4120 1310
Apr-13 4206 1384
May-13 3985 1315
Jun-13 3384 1250
Jul-13 3607 1651
Aug-13 3718 1907
Sep-13 3550 1947
Oct-13 4181 2414
Nov-13 4344 2786
Dec-13 4327 3311
Jan-14 3706 2286
Feb-14 4845 3281
Mar-14 7176 5752
Apr-14 7701 6511
May-14 10578 12772
Jun-14 10620 16330
Jul-14 5499 7405
Aug-14 3138 3296
Sep-14 2426 2301
Oct-14 2519 2162
Nov-14 2610 2415
Dec-14 2858 2891
Jan-15 2118 1622
Feb-15 2385 2041
Mar-15 3126 2782
Apr-15 3273 3087
May-15 2943 3861
Jun-15 3833 4042
Jul-15 4182 4503
Aug-15 4638 5159
Sep-15 4485 5273
Oct-15 4943 6025
Nov-15 5604 6471
Dec-15 6757 8973
Jan-16 3089 3143
Feb-16 3092 3050
Mar-16 4209 4451
Apr-16 5162 5620
May-16 5594 6783
Jun-16 4750 6627
Jul-16 5026 7569
Aug-16 5767 9353
Sep-16 5699 9609
Oct-16 6704 13115
Nov-16 7346 15588
Dec-16 7187 16139
Jan-17 4405 9300
Feb-17 1910 3123
Mar-17 1041 1126
Apr-17 997 1118
May-17 1473 1580
Jun-17 1949 2322
Jul-17 2475 3389
Aug-17 2987 4631
Sep-17 2961 4191
Oct-17 3153 4836
Nov-17 3973 7016
Dec-17 4063 8119
Jan-18 3202 5654
Feb-18 3115 5475
Mar-18 4141 8873
Apr-18 4287 9648
May-18 6388 9485
Jun-18 5115 9449
Jul-18 3938 9258
Aug-18 4393 12760
Sep-18 4360 16658
Oct-18 4964 23116
Nov-18 5257 25164
Dec-18 4753 27507
Jan-19 5105 24188
Feb-19 6817 36530
Mar-19 8956 53204
Apr-19 8880 58713
May-19 11475 84486
Jun-19 7372 57358
Jul-19 5554 42543
Aug-19 3722 25049
Sep-19 3165 15824
Oct-19 2841 9721
Nov-19 3308 9006
Dec-19 3223 8595
Jan-20 2680 5161
Feb-20 3070 4610
Mar-20 2974 3455
Apr-20 712 716
May-20 966 979
Jun-20 1603 1581
Jul-20 2426 1989
Aug-20 2998 2609
Sep-20 3756 3808
Oct-20 4687 4634
Nov-20 4475 4172
Dec-20 4852 4248
Jan-21 5688 7066
Feb-21 9263 19289
Mar-21 18716 53411
Apr-21 16900 48297
May-21 13878 40816
Jun-21 15022 50106
Jul-21 18681 76572
Aug-21 18492 79899
Sep-21 14180 62577
Oct-21 12625 41556
Nov-21 13745 43279
Dec-21 11704 49437
Jan-22 8607 30419
Feb-22 11779 25165
Mar-22 13892 34052
Apr-22 11857 37082
May-22 14420 51166
Jun-22 14929 44071
Jul-22 13003 42851
Aug-22 10993 39305
Sep-22 11539 44579
Oct-22 11654 46745
Nov-22 12780 49827
Dec-22 11829 60843
Jan-23 9034 25829
Feb-23 10418 25643
Mar-23 11852 33269
Apr-23 11062 46555
May-23 9442 45026
Jun-23 6732 31271
Jul-23 10035 60165
Aug-23 13527 93111
Sep-23 13154 103027
Oct-23 10706 84404
Nov-23 11945 82689
Dec-23 12467 101725](https://i0.wp.com/borderoversight.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/wola_migration_charts.001-34.png?w=1440&ssl=1)
CBP encounters with family units (parents with children)
Combining Border Patrol apprehensions with port-of-entry encounters, December 2023 saw the second-highest-ever monthly total of family unit-member encounters: 123,512, just short of September 2023’s record total of 123,815.
Family-unit encounters rose 19 percent from November to December. Citizens of Venezuela arriving as families accounted for 38 percent of the month-to-month increase, and citizens of Mexico accounted for 28 percent.
![Family Unit Member / Accompanied Minor CBP (Border Patrol Plus Port of Entry)
Migrant Encounters by Country at the U.S.-Mexico Border
December 2023: Mexico 30%, Venezuela 18%, Guatemala 11%, Honduras 9%, Colombia 7%, Ecuador 6%, All Others <5%
Since October 2020: Honduras 16%, Mexico 15%, Venezuela 11.34%, Guatemala 11.32%, Colombia 7%, Ecuador 6%, All Others <6%
Honduras Mexico Venezuela Guatemala Colombia Ecuador Cuba Brazil El Salvador Other Countries
20-Oct 1133 1343 83 826 2 201 119 29 529 594
20-Nov 927 1339 89 898 16 242 163 22 419 276
20-Dec 1222 879 109 759 3 239 256 43 452 531
21-Jan 1971 1086 148 979 15 264 290 169 508 1971
21-Feb 9104 1440 462 3822 13 380 699 646 1850 1319
21-Mar 24965 2346 1194 11725 53 1679 1152 2365 4137 4675
21-Apr 19773 2665 2697 8527 95 2936 678 4462 4395 4000
21-May 13711 3356 3217 5521 185 3610 635 5409 3479 5779
21-Jun 16713 3940 3346 8519 214 4903 720 5764 4390 7556
21-Jul 26034 5029 2912 16092 348 9505 747 7711 5988 9438
21-Aug 25540 5191 2873 18018 806 9977 966 8022 6549 9112
21-Sep 14056 2502 5192 7262 1057 2530 1129 9153 4829 16903
21-Oct 10453 2221 6201 4150 1510 150 1448 6766 4115 5971
21-Nov 8713 2715 9283 3615 1632 247 1828 5734 3873 7724
21-Dec 7198 2639 11527 3146 2186 248 1815 6857 3002 13434
22-Jan 3826 2096 9196 1687 1833 218 2049 2294 1363 7680
22-Feb 3878 2237 1129 2226 4444 240 3512 1071 1606 6608
22-Mar 4031 2752 1322 2367 6239 321 7337 966 1915 10923
22-Apr 4357 3454 1342 2172 6088 727 7928 2360 2054 24937
22-May 7001 4598 1626 3119 9478 1659 5096 3836 2649 20729
22-Jun 9973 3837 3565 5979 6191 1757 3588 2586 2905 11593
22-Jul 7238 4584 5344 3943 6485 1702 4843 3526 2189 12470
22-Aug 4907 5598 7078 1935 6659 2232 4933 3820 1660 13246
22-Sep 3706 5551 8756 1692 6716 3384 7279 1163 1517 14502
22-Oct 4411 7293 7196 1791 8531 4715 7878 670 1584 16067
22-Nov 3698 8398 3487 1764 7872 7367 9597 571 1424 19517
22-Dec 4338 9832 3866 2194 8605 10035 12555 856 1378 23949
23-Jan 2500 8827 3441 1223 4095 5328 1976 651 795 9824
23-Feb 1345 7337 1739 1554 5646 4072 117 877 595 10517
23-Mar 2532 12216 3009 1962 7842 3505 384 1367 777 12996
23-Apr 2304 10356 14098 3199 8329 2962 435 1832 819 14354
23-May 7656 12962 8837 4548 7949 2930 694 1771 1427 12871
23-Jun 7641 16471 9499 4315 2342 2494 713 1657 1212 9716
23-Jul 17624 21812 8955 13984 2822 5517 1047 1846 1936 10815
23-Aug 25309 21176 15161 26596 4264 7339 1677 1798 3659 9907
23-Sep 18240 22949 26385 24109 6183 7709 3002 1325 4966 9079
23-Oct 13463 29755 17337 15194 5829 5586 3705 1092 4905 9539
23-Nov 10708 32035 15449 13986 6383 5829 4430 1128 4811 9513
23-Dec 11016 37405 22841 14184 8101 7372 5498 1206 3585 12444](https://i0.wp.com/borderoversight.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/wola_migration_charts.001-38.png?w=1440&ssl=1)
CBP encounters with unaccompanied minors
Combining Border Patrol apprehensions with port-of-entry encounters, December 2023 saw 12,467 children arrive at the border unaccompanied. That was the 17th-highest monthly total ever, and a 5 percent increase over November 2023.
The nationalities that contributed most to the increase in unaccompanied child arrivals were Haiti, Mexico, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Arrivals from El Salvador and Honduras both declined.
![Unaccompanied Child CBP (Border Patrol Plus Port of Entry) Migrant Encounters
by Country at the U.S.-Mexico Border
December 2023: Guatemala 34%, Mexico 25%, Honduras 15%, El Salvador 6%, Venezuela 5%, Haiti 4%, All Others <4%
Since October 2020: Guatemala 38%, Honduras 25%, Mexico 19%, El Salvador 9%, Ecuador 2%, All Others <2%
Guatemala Honduras Mexico El Salvador Ecuador Nicaragua Venezuela Colombia Cuba Other Countries
20-Oct 1080 769 2471 337 117 16 1 1 1 17
20-Nov 1359 655 2033 349 166 19 1 0 1 8
20-Dec 1663 946 1754 356 188 35 1 0 2 20
21-Jan 2074 1149 1882 391 251 16 3 0 2 52
21-Feb 3910 2562 1869 770 178 57 4 1 0 51
21-Mar 8373 5947 2380 1580 311 171 11 6 5 86
21-Apr 6626 5209 2365 2094 378 224 34 3 3 131
21-May 5252 3821 2480 1670 394 263 47 2 1 122
21-Jun 6179 4204 2238 1846 358 276 46 3 3 77
21-Jul 8011 5624 2067 2114 589 388 48 14 3 96
21-Aug 8268 5341 2039 2115 570 268 41 20 6 138
21-Sep 5983 3677 2119 1907 194 192 78 36 5 167
21-Oct 5076 3147 2419 1672 20 226 85 29 8 101
21-Nov 6003 3373 2182 1733 27 322 123 20 14 132
21-Dec 5289 2599 1893 1346 26 305 155 36 15 214
22-Jan 3066 1950 2159 950 14 241 167 29 25 147
22-Feb 4866 2776 2626 1139 42 229 15 64 54 168
22-Mar 5488 3403 3019 1480 30 269 14 72 111 251
22-Apr 4731 2622 2700 1283 72 207 14 73 134 333
22-May 5850 3763 2460 1616 129 332 33 115 98 279
22-Jun 6313 4422 2148 1583 142 214 78 93 73 184
22-Jul 5293 3830 1890 1323 146 251 111 83 130 211
22-Aug 4345 2712 2194 1151 163 244 146 94 124 168
22-Sep 4460 2777 2304 1155 219 318 198 108 180 181
22-Oct 4455 2675 2429 1095 246 397 157 125 226 211
22-Nov 5198 2977 2113 1160 292 578 102 111 357 232
22-Dec 4851 2633 1875 899 459 569 82 167 451 291
23-Jan 3273 2013 2419 704 374 98 71 87 100 241
23-Feb 4094 2537 2619 825 316 24 86 88 12 235
23-Mar 4281 3130 3056 917 305 22 94 138 12 397
23-Apr 3806 2865 2512 935 231 11 386 153 6 545
23-May 3145 2602 2132 844 271 19 276 166 25 447
23-Jun 2092 1966 1833 456 215 16 304 62 14 316
23-Jul 3604 3159 2294 569 301 25 251 56 28 348
23-Aug 5404 3992 2605 812 439 54 460 80 45 346
23-Sep 5260 3221 2441 944 438 66 718 157 83 443
23-Oct 3794 2274 2716 858 324 151 476 155 118 645
23-Nov 4522 2073 3173 962 352 176 450 189 131 775
23-Dec 4555 1975 3344 753 426 321 610 232 165 1094](https://i0.wp.com/borderoversight.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/wola_migration_charts.001-39.png?w=1440&ssl=1)
Border Patrol apprehensions of single adults
When the pandemic-area Title 42 expulsions policy was in effect, Border Patrol apprehensions of single adults skyrocketed. The reasoning was that (a) a large portion of adult migrants were seeking to evade apprehension, not turn themselves in to seek asylum; and (b) when Title 42 caused them to be expelled to Mexico after a very brief time in Border Patrol custody, many attempted to migrate again, leading to many more repeat apprehensions.
That was borne out in the months after Title 42 ended, when single adult apprehensions dropped sharply. However, even without a quick expulsions policy in place, Border Patrol’s apprehensions of single adult migrants between the ports of entry jumped 41 percent from November to December, from 96,478 to 135,593. This was the 8th largest monthly total of single adult migrant apprehensions of the past 147 months.
![Single Adult Migrant Encounters and Apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico Border (Border Patrol)
Demographic Category Single Adults
11-Oct 23,251
11-Nov 21,074
11-Dec 16,992
12-Jan 23,053
12-Feb 28,566
12-Mar 38,236
12-Apr 36,717
12-May 33,500
12-Jun 27,807
12-Jul 23,962
12-Aug 24,360
12-Sep 23,836
12-Oct 25,797
12-Nov 24,468
12-Dec 20,279
13-Jan 23,814
13-Feb 31,133
13-Mar 41,863
13-Apr 42,622
13-May 38,556
13-Jun 29,802
13-Jul 28,072
13-Aug 28,172
13-Sep 26,305
13-Oct 28,717
13-Nov 24,766
13-Dec 21,890
14-Jan 22,676
14-Feb 28,277
14-Mar 36,668
14-Apr 37,290
14-May 37,333
14-Jun 30,912
14-Jul 27,804
14-Aug 24,954
14-Sep 21,098
14-Oct 21,769
14-Nov 19,616
14-Dec 19,270
15-Jan 17,774
15-Feb 19,950
15-Mar 23,883
15-Apr 23,390
15-May 24,772
15-Jun 21,428
15-Jul 19,703
15-Aug 20,442
15-Sep 20,528
15-Oct 21,756
15-Nov 20,763
15-Dec 21,284
16-Jan 17,526
16-Feb 19,930
16-Mar 24,656
16-Apr 27,307
16-May 27,960
16-Jun 23,073
16-Jul 21,128
16-Aug 21,928
16-Sep 24,193
16-Oct 26,365
16-Nov 24,277
16-Dec 19,925
17-Jan 17,871
17-Feb 13,721
17-Mar 10,028
17-Apr 9,012
17-May 11,466
17-Jun 11,816
17-Jul 12,323
17-Aug 14,670
17-Sep 15,385
17-Oct 17,495
17-Nov 18,097
17-Dec 16,815
18-Jan 17,122
18-Feb 18,076
18-Mar 24,375
18-Apr 24,302
18-May 24,465
18-Jun 19,550
18-Jul 18,107
18-Aug 20,371
18-Sep 20,468
18-Oct 22,925
18-Nov 21,436
18-Dec 18,491
19-Jan 18,686
19-Feb 23,536
19-Mar 30,673
19-Apr 31,680
19-May 36,895
19-Jun 30,172
19-Jul 23,881
19-Aug 21,913
19-Sep 21,518
19-Oct 22,840
19-Nov 21,210
19-Dec 21,035
20-Jan 21,364
20-Feb 22,397
20-Mar 23,960
20-Apr 14,754
20-May 19,648
20-Jun 27,652
20-Jul 34,121
20-Aug 41,676
20-Sep 47,207
20-Oct 59,711
20-Nov 60,522
20-Dec 62,041
21-Jan 62,562
21-Feb 69,091
21-Mar 97,089
21-Apr 108,502
21-May 117,960
21-Jun 113,521
21-Jul 105,405
21-Aug 98,123
21-Sep 108,758
21-Oct 104,932
21-Nov 109,991
21-Dec 109,461
22-Jan 108,851
22-Feb 122,226
22-Mar 163,237
22-Apr 154,565
22-May 158,784
22-Jun 133,399
22-Jul 125,980
22-Aug 131,476
22-Sep 151,479
23-Oct 146,735
23-Nov 145,073
23-Dec 149,346
23-Jan 94,650
23-Feb 94,460
23-Mar 118,551
23-Apr 126,304
23-May 116,914
23-Jun 61,535
23-Jul 62,442
23-Aug 74,416
23-Sep 102,582
23-Oct 93,668
23-Nov 96,478
23-Dec 135,593](https://i0.wp.com/borderoversight.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/wola_migration_charts.001-42.png?w=1440&ssl=1)
CBP encounters with single adults
Combining Border Patrol apprehensions with port-of-entry encounters, December 2023 saw 164,907 migrants arrive as single adults, a 32 percent increase over November (125,332). Single adult migrants from Venezuela and Guatemala accounted for nearly two-thirds of the increase, while citizens of Mexico declined slightly.
![Single Adult CBP (Border Patrol Plus Port of Entry) Migrant Encounters
by Country at the U.S.-Mexico Border
December 2023: Venezuela 21%, Mexico 17%, Guatemala 10%, Cuba 7%, Colombia 6.3%, Ecuador 5.7%, Honduras 5%, All Others <5%
Since October 2020: Mexico 42%, Guatemala 8.3%, Venezuela 8.1%, Cuba 7.04%, Honduras 6.96%, Nicaragua 5%, All Others <4%
Mexico Guatemala Venezuela Cuba Honduras Nicaragua Colombia Ecuador El Salvador Other Countries
20-Oct 42972 7386 59 1559 5468 214 23 1902 2148 529
20-Nov 40792 8066 94 1426 6617 334 53 2357 2882 510
20-Dec 36737 10032 96 1809 8190 514 70 3249 3113 726
21-Jan 37825 10084 144 1607 8112 484 54 3083 2681 1119
21-Feb 40948 11422 447 3149 8514 457 62 2882 2979 1102
21-Mar 57778 13962 1361 4543 11204 788 120 3589 3758 3013
21-Apr 60567 14900 3317 2607 13223 1246 162 4765 4554 6159
21-May 65038 15679 4235 2028 14599 2138 221 7687 5313 4705
21-Jun 58730 15548 4191 2349 14116 4160 264 7542 5346 5493
21-Jul 52863 12365 3166 2809 13639 8216 389 7241 4617 5530
21-Aug 49167 10822 3387 3524 11244 6266 736 7064 4028 7742
21-Sep 55364 11043 5544 3678 9345 4587 1155 4629 4217 13468
21-Oct 61409 10148 7130 4440 8261 6590 1476 578 4014 5023
21-Nov 58949 10851 10982 4763 8019 9661 1716 282 4058 6271
21-Dec 46943 12574 13119 6156 8344 11644 1872 399 4526 9746
22-Jan 56086 9103 13416 7647 6235 9140 2049 370 3497 6341
22-Feb 66987 11123 1929 12991 7421 10836 5100 401 4401 5891
22-Mar 82361 13537 2717 24705 8779 13086 9062 526 5008 10483
22-Apr 76414 13007 2751 26777 8755 10259 6967 837 5018 17412
22-May 70395 12499 3429 20449 8966 15625 9727 1258 4715 19607
22-Jun 60745 12356 9556 12511 9782 9272 6313 1332 4635 14108
22-Jul 49218 10976 12192 15125 9272 9965 6886 1100 4440 15396
22-Aug 52980 9401 18137 14003 8600 9822 6744 1286 3864 15841
22-Sep 55576 9179 24850 18719 7934 14909 6983 1776 3575 17880
22-Oct 56555 8597 14707 20747 7014 16922 8706 2069 3390 20670
22-Nov 48837 7548 4424 24756 6468 27434 7863 4340 2948 23740
22-Dec 36683 7840 4239 29648 6305 28691 8959 5712 2583 31770
23-Jan 51019 7474 5590 4386 6517 2644 5289 3714 2280 20405
23-Feb 55315 8572 3740 624 7053 508 7117 2984 3299 22783
23-Mar 66035 9050 5217 920 7693 337 9075 3333 4071 28576
23-Apr 54223 7579 20149 1167 8049 310 9361 3203 2923 34890
23-May 40311 7124 23620 2085 10777 509 10015 3273 3078 34326
23-Jun 30958 3955 10650 1954 5486 261 2301 2396 1514 21747
23-Jul 29822 4539 9752 2593 5240 286 3073 4094 1448 25639
23-Aug 31712 5937 15842 4457 5867 514 4604 5853 1609 25445
23-Sep 27906 5168 39481 7581 5849 1285 7303 7398 1640 28406
23-Oct 30525 4864 23045 8672 6081 2733 7789 6246 1487 31623
23-Nov 29601 7791 18165 9940 6088 3641 8449 7302 1616 32739
23-Dec 28293 16627 34418 11905 7956 7094 10357 9444 2058 36755](https://i0.wp.com/borderoversight.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/wola_migration_charts.001-37.png?w=1440&ssl=1)
Organized Crime-Tied Corruption in the Americas: Some Links from the Past Month
A key detonating factor in Ecuador‘s January outbreak of violence was “Operation Metastasis,” a December 2023 campaign by the national prosecutor’s office targeting government and judicial officials tied to the country’s organized crime groups. Among 30 people charged, the New York Times reported, “were judges accused of granting gang leaders favorable rulings, police officials who were said to have altered evidence and delivered weapons to prisons, and the former director of the prison authority himself.”
This corruption worsened after a 2018 shakeup and reduction of the central government’s security administration, forced by economic austerity measures, that reduced some agencies and eliminated others.
“The state and law enforcement entities cannot control the situation of criminality and violence,” Felipe Botero of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime told Vox, because “they are involved with organized crime in the country.”
- Annie Correal, “Ecuador’s Attorney General Took on Drug Gangs. Then Chaos Broke Out.” (The New York Times, January 13, 2024).
- CD Goette-Luciak, “Cocaine, Cartels, and Corruption: The Crisis in Ecuador, Explained” (Vox, January 11, 2024).
- Sugey Hajjar, “La Criminalidad Sorprendio a una ‘Debil’ Institucionalidad en el Area de la Seguridad” (El Universo (Ecuador), January 14, 2024).
Recent attacks on members of Tijuana‘s municipal police, following an alleged November theft of drugs from a Sinaloa Cartel structure, “arise from the need of drug traffickers to buy police officers in order to remain in power” and this is because “the judiciary is rotten,” said Jesús Alejandro Ruiz Uribe, the Mexican federal government’s delegate for the state of Baja California. “The judicial power is currently a revolving door, the good police put the criminals in jail and the bad judges take them out again.”
- Mara Yanez, ““Esta Podrido el Poder Judicial”: Ruiz Uribe” (Revista Zeta (Tijuana Mexico), January 19, 2024).
To the east of Tijuana, surveillance videos taken on January 12 showed Mexican soldiers allegedly assisting a theft of synthetic drugs from a Sinaloa Cartel-run laboratory on a ranch in Tecate, Baja California, not far from the U.S. border.
SinEmbargo columnist Adela Navarro Bello wrote about this case, concluding, “Although these cases are isolated, they are increasingly frequent. Elements of the Mexican Army, the Armed Forces, and the National Guard collaborate with organized crime and drug trafficking cells in different parts of the country.”
- “Exhiben a Militares en Robo de Droga” (Revista Zeta (Tijuana Mexico), January 23, 2024).
- Adela Navarro Bello, “Otra Vez, una Unidad del Ejercito, Con el Narco” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), January 24, 2024).
In south-central Chiapas, near Mexico’s border with Guatemala, rural communities are forcibly displacing after confronting Mexican Army soldiers who they say were working with the Jalisco Cartel. Violence has flared up in parts of Chiapas in the past year as Jalisco and Sinaloa have entered into a bitter fight over trafficking routes, aggressively pushing out rural residents.
- Ángeles Mariscal, “Desplazamiento Forzado Masivo en la Sierra de Chiapas, Ante Amenaza de Carteles y Agresiones del Ejercito Mexicano” (Chiapas Paralelo (Chiapas), January 16, 2024).
- Ángeles Mariscal, “Carteles de la Droga Cortan Luz y Agua a Comunidades de Chiapas, Exigen se Sumen a Sus Filas” (Chiapas Paralelo (Chiapas), December 27, 2023).
Hugo Aguilar, the governor of Santander, Colombia‘s fifth-most-populous department, from 2004 to 2007, admitted that he received support from the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary group during his election campaign. Aguilar, a former police colonel who commanded the unit that killed Pablo Escobar in 1993, told the post-conflict transitional justice system (the Special Jurisdiction for Peace or JEP) that he did not receive money from the AUC. “They told the people that they should vote for Colonel Aguilar” in the zones they controlled, he said.
- “Hugo Aguilar Acepto en la Jep Haber Recibido Apoyo de las Auc para Ser Gobernador” (El Espectador (Colombia), January 23, 2024).
Colombia‘s Supreme Court has opened an investigation of the president of Colombia’s Senate, Green Party Senator Iván Name Vásquez. A former head of Los Rastrojos Costeños, a splinter group of Colombia’s North Valle Cartel active in the 1990s and early 2000s, alleged that Sen. Name was linked to his group.
- “Esta Es la Banda Criminal por la Que Es Investigado Ivan Name, Presidente del Senado” (El Espectador (Colombia), January 22, 2024).
“Alliances between criminal networks and individuals who hold positions within state institutions have even created hybrid economies, such as scrap metal trafficking or fuel smuggling, where legal and illegal business intersect,” reported InsightCrime’s Venezuela Investigative Unit. “With corrupt state elements continuing to profit from informal mining,” the security forces’ raids on illicit precious-metals mines “may work to guarantee those elements a more favorable share of those profits, rather than stamping out the practice.”
- Venezuela Investigative Unit, “3 Takeaways From Transparencia Venezuela’s Illicit Economies Index” (InsightCrime, January 10, 2024).
“Organized crime can’t grow without state protection, and Latin American mafias have long made it a mission to capture parts of the state,” wrote the Council on Foreign Relations’ Will Freeman at the Los Angeles Times. “They have had at least as much success amassing political power as any of the region’s political parties.”
- Will Freeman, “Organized Crime Threatens Latin America’s Democracies and Fuels Migration. The U.S. Can Help” (Council on Foreign Relations, The Los Angeles Times, January 2, 2024).
Podcast: ¿Dejará De Ser Una Democracia Estados Unidos Si Donald Trump Gana Las Elecciones?
I joined Colombian journalist María Jimena Duzán and former U.S. ambassador to Panama John Feeley on the latest episode of Duzán’s popular Spanish-language podcast.
The episode was a scene-setter for the 2024 U.S. election campaign. Neither John nor I get called on to do a lot of this “election horserace” sort of punditry, but that may have made this a more engaging attempt to explain the current U.S. political moment to a non-U.S. audience.
Latin America-Related Events in Washington and Online This Week
(Events that I know of, anyway. All times are U.S. Eastern.)
Monday, January 29, 2024
- 10:00-11:00 at csis.org: El Salvador’s 2024 Elections: Voting in a One-Party State? (RSVP required).
- 3:00-4:00 at the Atlantic Council and atlanticcouncil.org: Industry Minister Víctor Bisonó on the Dominican Republic’s economic growth and resilience (RSVP required).
- 5:30-7:00 at Georgetown University and YouTube: Religious and Academic Freedom in Nicaragua (RSVP required).
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
- 10:00 in Room 2141 Rayburn House Office Building and online: Hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government on The Southern Border Crisis: The Constitution and the States.
- 10:00 in Room 310 Cannon House Office Building and online: House Homeland Security Committee Markup of Articles of Impeachment against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
- 10:00-1:00 on several social media streams: Un Camino con las Víctimas.
- 11:30 at USCRI Zoom: The Impact of Proposed Changes to the Asylum System on Survivors of Human Trafficking (RSVP required).
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
- 9:00-10:30 at InsightCrime YouTube and Facebook: Organized Crime in Venezuela: Challenges and Perspectives for 2024.
- 11:00-1:00 at UNAM Zoom: Tensiones Constitucionales: Libertad de Expresión y Derechos de Autor en la Era Digital (RSVP required).
- 1:00-6:00 at Rutgers University and online: “La Marea Feminista”: Feminist Movements for Reproductive Justice and Against Gender -Based Violence and Exclusion (RSVP required).
Thursday, February 1, 2024
- 12:15 at the Atlantic Council and atlanticcouncil.org: Unlocking opportunities for the US-Suriname relationship (RSVP required).
Links from the Past Week
Jonathan Blitzer, “Do I Have to Come Here Injured or Dead?” (The New Yorker, Sunday, January 28, 2024).
An excerpt from the New Yorker staff writer's upcoming book profiles a Honduran woman whom Border Patrol separated from her sons at the border in 2017.
Zachary B. Wolf, What Texas Is (and Is Not) Doing to Defy a Supreme Court Setback (CNN, Saturday, January 27, 2024).
University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck explains that at the U.S.-Mexico border, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) “is interfering with federal authority to a degree we haven’t seen from state officials since the desegregation cases of the 1950s and 1960s.”
Ice Major Surgeries Were Not Always Properly Reviewed and Approved for Medical Necessity (Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, Thursday, January 25, 2024).
DHS's Inspector-General finds that for two of six hysterectomies it reviewed in ICE detention facilities, the detainees' "medical files did not include documentation to support a conclusion that a hysterectomy was medically necessary."
Jhoan Sebastian Cote, Caqueta en Epoca de Paz Total: Refugio de Disidentes y Ruta de Marihuana (El Espectador (Colombia), Monday, January 22, 2024).
A graphics-heavy survey of the drug trade, violence, and politics in Colombia's south-central department of Caquetá, much of which is under the influence of a FARC dissident network currently negotiating with the Petro government.
Maria Jose Longo Bautista, Lo Que Dejo la Fiebre de la Amapola en San Marcos (Agencia Ocote (Guatemala), Monday, January 22, 2024).
In Guatemala's southwestern department of San Marcos, "poppy crops left more Mexico border trade and better living conditions. But also violence, weapons, and displaced people."
And Finally
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