By BETHANY BLANKLEY
THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR
(The Center Square) — Preliminary data obtained by The Center Square from a U.S. Border Patrol agent show apprehensions and gotaways at the southern border total 232,809 in July.
This includes 188,787 encounters/apprehensions and at least 44,022 gotaways.
The preliminary data excludes Office of Field Operations data, meaning the official numbers, once released, will be higher, although U.S. Customs and Border Protection doesn’t make the gotaway data public.
“Gotaways” is the official term used by Border Patrol to describe foreign nationals who enter the U.S. illegally and don’t surrender at ports of entry but intentionally seek to evade capture from law enforcement.
In June, these numbers totaled 247,330, including 197,321 encounters/apprehensions and at least 50,009 gotaways. In May, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reported the highest monthly total of apprehensions at the southern border in recorded U.S. history of 239,416. That excluded gotaways, totaling at least 70,793.
In April, CBP reported 235,478 total encounters/apprehensions; in March, 222,239; in February, 165,902; in January, 154,816. These totals all exclude gotaway data.
In all months, the Del Rio and Rio Grande Valley sectors in Texas experienced the most traffic.
