On Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released stunning operational statistics which show that for June 2021 alone, agents encountered 188,829 persons attempting to cross the Southwest Border illegally.
This total represented a five percent increase over May 2021.
Thirty-four percent of encounters in June 2021 were individuals who had at least one prior encounter in the previous 12 months, compared to an average one-year re-encounter rate of 14 percent for Fiscal Years 2014-2019. The number of unique new encounters in June 2021 was 123,838. The number of unique individuals encountered to date during the fiscal year is 454,944 compared to 489,760 during the same time period in 2019.
Single adults continue to make up the majority of these encounters; however, the number of single adults declined three percent from May to June. Last month, CBP expelled 104,907 individuals under Title 42. Expulsions under Title 42 U.S.C. 265 refers to individuals encountered by USBP and OFO and expelled to the country of last transit or home country in the interest of public health. The majority of all June encounters resulted in a Title 42 expulsion.
In June, U.S. Border Patrol agents:
▪️ Seized heroin, fentanyl concealed in car’s battery:https://t.co/iqhbg6aXkW
▪️ Rescued 15 from grain hopper railcars: https://t.co/PO7oezv8gg
▪️ Rescued 26 migrants near Gila Bend: https://t.co/YfoaaxPooG pic.twitter.com/e2TsnkFp4i— CBP (@CBP) July 18, 2021
Unaccompanied Children
Encounters along the Southwest Border of unaccompanied children increased in June by 8 percent, with 15,253 encounters as compared with 14,137 in May 2021. Encounters of family unit individuals increased by 25 percent to 55,805 in June 2021, up from 44,746 in May but still well below the peak of 88,587 in May 2019. In 2021, family unit encounters have consistently tracked below 2019 encounters for each month of the year.
Smuggling organizations are abandoning migrants in remote and dangerous areas, leading to a dramatic rise in the number of rescues CBP performs. In Fiscal Year 2021 thru June, CBP conducted 9,500 rescues nationwide, which is 81 percent higher than the total number of rescues in all of Fiscal Year 2020.
Drug Seizures
Cocaine interceptions increased 36 percent. Seizures of methamphetamine decreased 22 percent. Seizures of heroin decreased 16 percent, and seizures of fentanyl increased 12 percent. CBP continues to see a surge in fentanyl seizures; seizures in Fiscal Year 2021 through June are 78 percent higher than all of Fiscal Year 2020.
Life-saving Rescues
Smuggling organizations are abandoning migrants in remote and dangerous areas, leading to a dramatic rise in the number of rescues CBP performs. In Fiscal Year 2021 thru June, CBP conducted 9,500 rescues nationwide, which is 81 percent higher than the total number of rescues in all of Fiscal Year 2020.
Numbers below reflect Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 – FY 2021 to date (Fiscal Year 2021 runs October 01, 2020 – September 30, 2021)
| FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 TD JUNE | |
| Office of Field Operations (OFO) Total Encounters1 | 216,370 | 281,881 | 288,523 | 241,786 | 199,496 |
| U.S. Border Patrol Total Encounters2 | 310,531 | 404,142 | 859,501 | 405,036 | 1,078,226 |
| Total Enforcement Actions | 526,901 | 683,178 | 1,148,024 | 646,822 | 1,277,722 |
1 Beginning in March FY20, OFO Encounters statistics include both Title 8 Inadmissibles and Title 42 Expulsions. To learn more, visit: Title-8-and-Title-42-Statistics. Inadmissibles refers to individuals encountered at ports of entry who are seeking lawful admission into the United States but are determined to be inadmissible, individuals presenting themselves to seek humanitarian protection under our laws, and individuals who withdraw an application for admission and return to their countries of origin within a short timeframe.
2 Beginning in March FY20, USBP Encounters statistics include both Title 8 Apprehensions and Title 42 Expulsions. To learn more, visit: Title-8-and-Title-42-Statistics. Apprehensions refers to the physical control or temporary detainment of a person who is not lawfully in the U.S. which may or may not result in an arrest.