Report: U.S.-Mexico border stowaway numbers hit 15-year high in March

Preliminary data show that more people crossed the U.S. southern border in March than in any month in the past 15 years.

The Washington Examiner reported that more than 171,000 immigrants were detained at the border in March, according to a report that cited preliminary data from Customs and Border Protection.

In February, U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained more than 100,000 immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border for crossing the border illegally, 9,457 of whom were unaccompanied children.

According to preliminary data from CBP, a total of 18,800 unaccompanied children were detained in March, the Washington Post reported.

In February, 19,246 families were detained among immigrants who crossed the border illegally, up from 7,294 in January. Customs and Border Protection detained 53,000 families, according to the latest figures for March.

A current U.S. Customs and Border Protection official and a former official who had seen the preliminary data both confirmed the accuracy of the data, the newspaper said.

President Biden commented on this on March 25, saying, “There is no crisis at the border.” “This happens in every year. In the winter months of January, February and March, the number of people coming to the border increases dramatically.” “The reason they come here is because, now is the time when they can travel and have the least chance of dying from the heat in the desert on the way.”

According to the Washington Post’s analysis, the “vertical growth curve” in the number of people crossing the border illegally from January to March 2021 is higher than any comparable period in the past 20 years.

When the Washington Examiner asked a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) if the data being reported was true, the spokesperson did not answer, but noted that specific data would be released on April 8, “just as we have done in the past.”

“We will encounter more people at the Southwest border than we have in the last 20 years,” said U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a statement on March 16. “We are defending our borders and carrying out the public health responsibilities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect the American public and immigrants, and to protect children. We have more work to do.”