Nearly 80 percent of the 242,418 encounters at the border this November of 2023 were with illegal immigrants outside ports of entry.
The United States experienced its busiest November on record with encounters at the southern border, according to new data released on Friday.
Providing a monthly update of its border enforcement statistics, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported its personnel had logged some 242,418 encounters at the southern border in November. By comparison, CBP recorded 235,173 encounters at the southern border in November 2022, 74,845 in November 2021, and 72,113 in November 2020.
Historic CBP data indicates U.S. border officials had never logged more than 80,000 encounters in any given November prior to 2022.
Of the 242,418 encounters at the border this November, 191,113 resulted from U.S. Border Patrol agents encountering people crossing outside the established ports of entry, which is broadly illegal. Of the encounters CBP logged at lawful ports of entry, the agency said it processed more than 43,000 migrants into the United States with information they submitted through the CBP One mobile app.
Total drug seizures jumped 35 percent from October of this year to November, with border officials logging an eight percent increase in fentanyl seizures, a 22 percent increase in cocaine seizures, and a 55 percent increase in methamphetamine seizures.
To date, CBP has recorded 483,404 encounters since the start of the 2024 fiscal year. CBP said it has sent increased personnel and resources to address this continued border surge, “However, global migration remains historically high in the Western Hemisphere and around the world.”
While CBP has yet to release its border traffic numbers for December, reports indicate daily border traffic has again reached record-high levels, with border officials logging more than 12,000 encounters at the southern border within a 24-hour period.
CBP Asks For More Funding As Republicans Seek Deterrent Policies
“CBP continues to execute its important mission to protect the American people, safeguard our borders, and enhance the nation’s economic prosperity by implementing operational plans, surging personnel and decompressing areas along the southwest border while processing and vetting migrants who are encountered humanely, safely, and efficiently, consistent with our laws,” acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said Friday. “We are facing a serious challenge along the southwest border and CBP and our federal partners need more resources from Congress—as outlined in the supplemental budget request—to enhance border security and America’s national security.”
By Ryan Morgan
