2022 is the deadliest year ever on the border

At least 853 migrants have died in the last year while attempting to cross the border from Mexico, making 2022 the deadliest year in history.

According to figures gathered by Efe, and based on Border Patrol data, this figure exceeds the 546 deaths recorded in the fiscal year 2021, and only records the deaths of immigrants on U.S. territory, i.e., it does not report those who died on Mexican border territory. Official information indicates that many of the migrants drowned in the Rio Bravo, the natural border between the two countries, while others died from the high temperatures in the desert or from various accidents and falls.

Record illegal immigration, fentanyl and terrorist inflows

This tragic record coincides with the continually escalating illegal immigration records occuring under the Biden Administration. Border authorities recorded more than 2.2 million immigrant encounters in fiscal year 2022 (October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022).

On the other hand, fentanyl seizures at the border also set a new record in FY2022. In those twelve months, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 14,700 pounds of fentanyl (14,100 pounds at the southwest border alone). The total amount of this lethal drug intercepted by federal authorities in 2022 exceeded the amounts for 2019, 2020, and 2021 (2,800 pounds; 4,800 pounds; and 11,200 pounds, respectively).

Likewise, the year 2022 also broke the record for the number of terrorists apprehended while entering the country. Nearly 100 individuals on the FBI's terrorist watch list were arrested while attempting to enter from Mexico during the fiscal year.