How Many Illegal Crossings Have There Been at the U.S.-Mexico Border?

The 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border has become the center of a political quagmire in recent years, with immigration regularly tracking as one of the most polarizing subjects in American discourse.

President Donald Trump and his policies sit squarely at the center of these tensions: Illegal immigration has been one of the president’s favorite subjects to talk about since the start of his first successful White House campaign in 2015, and has become entwined with his approach to areas including crime, trade and foreign policy. Upon his return to the Oval Office in January, Trump took a number of actions aimed at stopping what he’s often called an “invasion” at the southern border, after attempted crossings rose to very high levels under former President Joe Biden.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection describes these crossing attempts as “encounters,” essentially meaning recorded events involving migrants and agency officials. Within that broad designation are two currently applicable categories:

Inadmissibles – referring to a person who requests admission to the country at a port of entry but is deemed ineligible by the Office of Field Operations.

Apprehensions – referring to someone who is apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol between ports of entry.