Though border crossing attempts remain high, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported in its July 2022 operational update that encounters at the Southwest border decreased by 4 percent, trending down for two months.
In terms of individuals encountered, the figures went up by 1 percent, to 162,792. By actual encounters, the figure was higher, at 199,976, representing a 4 percent decrease compared to June figures. To understand the discrepancy between individuals encountered and actual encounters made, CBP attributed this to the large number of expulsions made during the pandemic leading to a higher-than-usual number of migrants pressing forward with multiple crossing attempts. In fact, 22 percent of involved individuals had at least one previous encounter over the past year, a staggering rise from the 15 percent seen between 2014 and 2019.
“While the encounter numbers remain high, this is a positive trend and the first two-month drop since October 2021,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said. “In May, CBP launched a digital advertising campaign to dissuade irregular migration by targeting the lies smugglers use to lure the vulnerable into a dangerous journey that often ends in removal or death. That danger was highlighted in the recent takedown of a deadly human smuggling network based in Guatemala responsible for the death of a Guatemalan woman who died in Texas in April 2021. These are among many actions we are taking to reduce irregular migration and dismantle the human smuggling operations that put these migrants in danger.”
Most of those attempting to cross last month were adults – roughly 67 percent were single adults. Approximately 37 percent (74,573 encounters) of total individuals were expelled for coming from countries where a communicable disease was present, a process provided under Title 42. Another 125,403 were processed under Title 8, which sees those apprehended attempting to cross the border without inspection or determined to be inadmissible at a port of entry deported.
Encounters of unaccompanied children decreased in this period, falling 13 percent to 13,299 encounters. Those crossers with family increased by 0.4 percent to 52,040 encounters in July, though this still represented a 40 percent decrease from a more than 86,000 encounter peak last year.
In July, border agencies reported that drug seizures by weight were down 1 percent. Specifically, cocaine seizures decreased by 56 percent, methamphetamines, heroin, and fentanyl seizures all went up, with fentanyl seizures experiencing the most seismic growth, at 203 percent.
So far this year, CBP has reported that it has logged more than 2.2 million cross-border encounters nationwide. Additionally, it seized more than $340 million worth of counterfeit goods.