Border agents apprehended more than 161,000 migrants at the Mexican border in March, Breitbart reported in an exclusive. This figure represents an increase of about 25% with respect to January and February.
This year began with a two-month drop in migrant detentions, following a change in the Biden administration's immigration policy that reapplied Title 42 to certain nationalities. Until then, arrests were at record levels, reaching a total of 1.7 million in 2021 and 2.4 million in 2022.
Breitbart also explained that large groups of migrants again crossed the border in Arizona and Texas in March. In the latter state, border authorities detained 38,000 immigrants in the El Paso, Texas, sector alone. This is 6,000 more than in February and 50% more than in the same month of 2022. Tucson, Arizona, tallied 33,000 immigrant detainees. This represents 9,000 more than in February and a 25% increase over March of last year.
This comes in the same month that Voz Media reported that Border Patrol had begun offering incentives of up to $20,000 to encourage new recruits to join. This was due to a lack of personnel and the difficulty of recruiting more agents to reinforce their limited team.
Immigrant stampede
On March 30, El Paso authorities detained more than 1,000 immigrants who had entered the country illegally, mostly Venezuelan nationals.
Over 1,000 migrants, mostly from #Venezuela, surrendered themselves to USBP agents in El Paso, TX after making an illegal entry into the U.S. USBPs authority to expel migrants under Title 42 & place migrants under Title 8 removal proceedings has NOT changed. @CBP @BorderPatrolHQ pic.twitter.com/lSRDfMTmRH
— Anthony “Scott” Good (@USBPChiefEPT) March 30, 2023
That same week, an migrant center in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was set on fire. The incident, which left some 40 people dead, was reportedly exploited by human smuggling cartels to send over a large group of illegal migrants, according to Breitbart.
Twenty days earlier, a video circulated showing a stampede of at least 1,000 migrants attempting to enter El Paso from Ciudad Juarez.
BREAKING: Our contact in Juarez, MX tells us a massive group of at least 1,000 migrants just attempted to rush a port of entry in El Paso in an effort to get into the United States. Video shows them pushing past the Mexican side of Paso Del Norte bridge. Awaiting CBP comment. pic.twitter.com/lxriIB3TSm
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) March 12, 2023
