DHS Releases Southwest Border Migration Statistics for 2018
According to data released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the month of February in 2018 saw a 2.4 percent increase in individuals apprehended while attempting to enter the country illegally in between legal points of entry and those presenting themselves for entry without proper documentation along the Southwestern border. DHS stated that this increase adheres to patterns previously observed, with the month of February showing an increase in apprehensions and entry attempts every year since 2012, excluding fiscal years 2017. Compared to January’s total of 25,978 total Southwest border apprehensions, February had 26,666 similar apprehensions, while December saw 29,998. In February, 10,029 individuals who presented themselves at ports of entry were deemed inadmissible, compared to a total of 9,842 such individuals in January and 11,512 in December.
When comparing the fiscal year 2018 totals to the fiscal year 2017 totals over the span of October 1 through February 28, the total number of unaccompanied children saw a 30 percent decrease, from 5,083 unaccompanied alien children at Southwest border field offices in 2017 to 3,540 such instances over the same span in 2018. Southwestern border family unit inadmissibles saw a much more modest decline, dropping .023 percent from 19,314 occurrences in 2017 to 19,269 over the same span in 2018.
For more information, view the Southwest border migration statistics and the data broken down by field office.
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