Growing US Immigration Crisis At Mexican Border

The rollback of Trump’s hardline immigration policies by the Biden-Harris administration and struggling Latin American economies are pushing hundreds of thousands of migrants to cross the US-Mexico border in hope of a better life.

• According to the latest data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the US Border Patrol arrested more than 100,000 migrants on the southern border in February, the highest monthly total since a major border surge in mid-2019.
• Out of 179 thousand migrants apprehended in Jan.–Feb. 2021, more than 15 thousand were unaccompanied minors. Unaccompanied alien children (UACs) are now being housed in Department of Health and Human Services and Border Patrol facilities.
• Over 70% of individuals encountered illegally crossing the US-Mexico border in Feb. 2021 were detained and expelled to the country of last transit or home country under Title 42 of the United States Code Section 265, which was put in place by the Trump administration in March 2020 in order to help prevent introduction of COVID-19 into border facilities and into the United States.
• Migrants expelled under the Title 42 health order may try to cross the US-Mexico border many times, which border experts say may lead to an overestimation of migrants inflow.

US Southwest Land Border: Total Encounters by US CBP

The US is currently home to more than 50 million immigrants, who account for 15% of the US population. About one million immigrants (including over 150 thousand Mexicans) obtain lawful permanent resident status in the US each year.

View original infographics, live dashboard, and download data at knoema.com