The number of times Border Patrol agents near Tucson encountered migrants dropped slightly in August for the fourth month in a row, federal data shows.
Border Patrol officials in the Tucson Sector reported about 16,700 encounters with migrants in August, down from about 18,000 in July, according to Customs and Border Protection statistics released Wednesday.
In the Tucson Sector, a dramatic rise in encounters this year peaked at about 20,300 in April and dipped slightly each month since then.
In the Yuma Sector, the number of encounters rose from about 14,800 in July to about 17,100 in August.
Border Patrol officials along the entire U.S.-Mexico border reported about 195,600 encounters in August, down slightly from about 200,600 in July. Customs officials at legal ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border reported about 13,300 encounters in August, up slightly from about 12,900 in July.
At ports of entry in Arizona, customs officials reported about 1,050 encounters in August, down slightly from about 1,200 in July.
The term βencounterβ refers to agents catching migrants trying to evade detection, as well as to asylum seekers who flag down agents. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Border Patrol officials normally used the term βapprehension.β
Under Title 42, a public-health order used by the Trump and Biden administrations since March 2020, officials can quickly expel migrants without processing them under immigration laws. As a result, the number of migrants who repeatedly cross the border is much higher now than prior to the pandemic.
The majority of the encounters in the Tucson Sector in August, about 13,000, resulted in expulsions under Title 42. Another 3,700 encounters led to migrants being processed under immigration laws.
As has been the case since last fall, the bulk of the encounters in the Tucson Sector in August, about 14,900, involved adults from Mexico or Guatemala. But the Tucson Sector also is seeing more children traveling without their parents, including about 2,400 in August, up from about 2,000 in July.
In contrast with the Tucson Sector, the majority of the encounters in the Yuma Sector in August, about 10,000, involved migrants traveling as families. The Yuma Sector also saw a wider variety of countries of origin, including about 5,200 encounters involving families from Brazil, about 1,500 encounters involving families from Ecuador.
Most of the encounters in the Yuma Sector, about 16,000, led to migrants being processed under immigration laws, while about 1,100 encounters led to migrants being expelled under Title 42.
The busiest area of the border remains the Rio Grande Valley Sector, along the Gulf of Mexico in South Texas.
Officials in that sector reported about 81,200 encounters in August, roughly the same total as in July. About 50,000 of those encounters involved families and another 11,300 involved children traveling without their parents.
CBP officials likely will release statistics for September border encounters in the second week of October.
