Prior to the end of Title 42 in May, Border Patrol agents made 337,981 more apprehensions of illegal immigrants than in the same period in FY 2022. Between October 2022 and April 2023, 1,816,958 encounters have been recorded, compared to 1,478,977 the previous year. It is worth noting that fiscal year 2022 ended with a record number of undocumented migrants attempting to cross the border, reaching 2,766,582 nationwide, which does not include those who were not intercepted.
December 2022: record high migrant encounters
The most intense months were the final three months of last year, especially December, which recorded 301,666 encounters, the highest number ever recorded in one month. In October, 277,488 illegal immigrants tried to enter the country, while in November, that figure stood at 283,637. The notorious spike in the final month of 2022 was caused by caravans of migrants struggling to reach national borders before the end of Title 42 initially scheduled for Dec. 21, but which was extended by the Supreme Court at the behest of several Republican attorneys general.
So far this year, April has had the highest incidence of migrant encounters with 275,488. The numbers had plummeted markedly during the first three months of 2023, but the announcement that Title 42 would be permanently terminated on May 11 triggered a rebound. At 207,923 encounters, January was the quietest month since February 2022 (190,578), but still comfortably broke the 200,000 mark, which has been exceeded for 14 straight months.
New record number of illegal immigrants expected in 2023
Before the end of Title 42 was announced, several organizations warned that 2023 would significantly break the record for immigrant arrivals. According to a study by Princetown Police Advisors, which has accurately predicted that by 2022, the number of illegal immigrants in the country could reach the equivalent of 1% of the U.S. population. At the southern border alone, 2.7 million are expected to arrive, compared to just 2.3 million in 2022.
Since Biden's arrival at the White House, more than 5 million undocumented immigrants have entered the country, causing widespread alarm, especially in border states. Polls consistently show disapproval of the president's immigration policy, especially regarding the border crisis.
After the termination of Title 42, what?
After the end of Title 42, doubts are growing about the incoming flow of migrants. In the week before its termination, 83,000 migrants were apprehended, and 209,000 were estimated to be waiting in neighboring countries. A report by the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that this could reach 390,000 per month (13,000 per day), while the CBP union said it could reach 16,000 per day.
