U.S. Chief Border Patrol Agent John Modlin stated in front of a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing last month that border apprehensions were already considered unprecedented and have now moved beyond that and he couldn't find a proper adjective to describe the situation.
On March 30, more than 1,000 migrants attempted to rush the American southern border and a Freedom of Information request revealed internal Border Patrol numbers showing nearly 900 migrant bodies found in the deserts along the southern border.
“I can tell you that in fiscal year ‘18, ‘19, and ‘20, Tucson sector had about 60,000 apprehensions," Modlin testified. "In 2021, 190,000 apprehensions, so we tripled the previous year. Last year it quadrupled; last year it was 250,000. We’re 20,000 ahead right now, so we went from what I would describe as unprecedented to a point where I don’t have the correct adjective to describe what’s going on.”
According to U.S. News and World Report, 1,000 migrants attempted to rush a border patrol checkpoint along the U.S. southern border in an attempt to enter the country.
A Freedom of Information Act filed by the Washington Examiner, internal Border Patrol numbers revealed that in fiscal year 2022 a record-high 880 immigrants who illegally entered the United States were found deceased. Between 2014 and 2020, the numbers of found deceased immigrants were between 247 and 329. In 2021, the number was 568. Deceased immigrants have been found by police at the local, state, tribal and federal levels, as well as by landowners along the southern border.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol: "Transnational criminal organizations continue to recklessly endanger the lives of individuals they smuggle for their own financial gain. Smuggling organizations often abandon migrants in remote and dangerous areas, where severe heat, exposure and miles of unforgiving desert pose countless threats to migrants. Preventing the loss of life is core to our mission, and CBP personnel endeavor to rescue those in distress. Tragically, the number of deaths in these harsh environments is still too high."
In 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection initiated the Missing Migrant program in an attempt to prevent the deaths of migrants during their journey with signage, rescue beacons and other tools to enable individuals in distress to contact agency personnel.
