9-03-2023 11:05am

US Border Patrol Update El Paso Sector 20,017 Unaccompanied Children YTD.

Chris Edwards Editor

The U.S Border Patrol El Paso Sector that includes Alamogordo and Las Cruces and most of Southern New Mexico provides the following information on recent apprehensions.

U.S. Border Patrol Agents working in the El Paso Sector continue to enforce Title 8 authority and have seen a decrease in encounters since May 11.

Since the end of Title 42 on May 11, daily migrant encounters in El Paso Sector have decreased significantly due to the enforcement of Title 8 to a current daily average of 800 migrants in the month of August. By comparison, the daily encounters reached a high of 2,700 per day during the first quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.

U.S. Border Patrol continues to enforce U.S. immigration law and applies consequences to those who do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States. U.S. Border Patrol prosecutes people found at the border without proper documents using its Title 8 authority, which carries significant consequences, including barring people from re-entry who are removed for a period of five years.

These consequences include placing individuals in expedited removal proceedings, allowing the U.S. Border Patrol to quickly repatriate individuals, and referring for prosecution migrants seeking to evade apprehension, repeat offenders, and those involved in smuggling efforts.

FY23 to date data compared to FY22 has also demonstrated that Transnational Criminal Organizations continued to endanger the lives of the migrants they smuggle in the El Paso Sector:

Migrant deaths rose from 71 to 134 which represents a 188% increase.
485 migrants have been rescued.
261 stash houses have been disrupted with a total of 3,492 migrants encountered, often in unsanitary conditions.

The top nationalities encountered in the El Paso Sector during this time are from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Since the beginning of FY23, migrant encounters for the El Paso Sector are 364,092, up 59% compared to FY22.

More than 70 percent of the current demographic apprehended in El Paso Sector are single adults attempting to evade arrest. There are 255,110 single adults encountered to date in FY23.

There have been 20,017 unaccompanied children encountered within the El Paso Sector in FY23.

The number of Family Units apprehended in FY23 are 88,965.

“Our El Paso Sector agents continue to disrupt the operations and smuggling attempts of the Transnational Criminal Organizations in our region and enforce consequences under Title 8 authority,” said El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good. “I am extremely proud of the men and women of the El Paso Sector who continuously display professionalism, commitment and resilience while safeguarding America’s borders.”

Santa Teresa Agents encountered 18 migrants crowded inside a small SUV. Transnational Criminal Organizations disregard the lives of the people they smuggle, especially when drivers are told to fail to flee authorities & drive away at high rates of speed.

Mid August saw a storm drain rescuer as smuggling organizations place migrants lives at risk by compelling them to enter the US illegally via culverts/waterways. Migrants get lost/expose themselves to chemicals, toxic gases, insects & venomous animals inside drainage systems.

On August 13th agents located a stash house in El Paso, Texas. A total of 25 undocumented subjects were taken into custody. Most “stash houses” are small, single-family homes that are unsanitary and uninhabitable, often w/ no AC, running water or even electricity.

Smugglers don’t care for the well-being of migrants. Images depict horrendous living conditions in a stash house where 9 people were staying. Sunland Park Police Department discovered 5 migrants and 4 USC children after a 6-year-old called 911 saying that her mother left her alone. Fiscal year 2023 to date, El Paso Sector has discovered 245 stash houses with over 3,200 migrants.

The rescues continue with 2023 year to date, the El Paso Sector has had over 390 rescues, many of which were conducted by our highly skilled BORSTAR operators and Nationally certified Border Patrol Agents EMTs.

US Border Patrol El Paso Sector
Migrants smuggled into the US by criminal organizations will stop at nothing to evade detection. Here a migrant donned a home-made disguise to blend in with their desert and brush surroundings provided by the El Paso Sector U.S. Border Patrol