- Migrant crossings into the US have shifted from Texas to Arizona and California, with daily apprehensions in those regions surpassing 1,000 in remote desert areas.
- Texas, particularly the Del Rio sector, has seen a significant decrease in illegal crossings, with as few as 200 apprehensions per day compared to 2,300 in December.
- The decrease in crossings is attributed to actions taken by the Texas National Guard, Mexican authorities, and historical patterns where crossings decrease after the holidays.
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In recent weeks, the flow of migrants crossing into the U.S. illegally has shifted away from Texas and concentrated in Arizona and California, according to internal federal government figures obtained by CBS News. In January, Border Patrol recorded 125,000 migrant apprehensions along the southern border, compared to nearly 250,000 in December. The Tucson sector in Arizona and the San Diego sector in California have been the busiest regions for migrant crossings, with over 1,000 migrants entering the U.S. illegally each day in remote desert areas like Lukeville, Arizona, and Jacumba Hot Springs, California.
Meanwhile, crossings by migrants along the 1,254-mile Texas border have plunged. The Del Rio sector, which was the second-busiest in December, has seen as few as 200 apprehensions per day compared to 2,300 in December. The Tucson and San Diego sectors combined accounted for 59% of the daily apprehension average in the week ending on Feb. 4, with Texas’ El Paso and Rio Grande Valley sectors averaging significantly lower apprehensions.
Eagle Pass, a small Texas border city in the Del Rio sector, was one of the epicenters of the record influx in migrant crossings in December. However, daily illegal crossings have significantly decreased in the area since Texas National Guard soldiers sealed off the 2.5-mile section of the southern border, making it difficult for migrants to cross the Rio Grande. Texas Governor Greg Abbott attributes the decrease in crossings to the state’s actions and claims that Texas represents more than 60% of the land miles of the border.
Migration patterns are influenced by various factors, including seasonal trends and actions by criminal actors in Mexico. Biden administration officials attribute the drop in illegal crossings to actions taken by Mexican authorities and historical patterns where crossings decrease after the holidays.
Valeria Wheeler, the director of Mission Border Hope, the only migrant shelter in Eagle Pass, has seen a sharp decrease in the number of migrants she has received since the start of 2022. The Mexican government has made it difficult for migrants to come to the border in the area.