Migrant

Border Patrol agents estimate more than 100,000 known migrant got-aways since the fiscal year began in October. A source operating under the umbrella of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says the agency recorded 47,500 got-a-ways during the month of October. That is followed by an additional 52,000 got-aways in November. The source believes the increase in November means more than 600,000 migrant got-aways will be recorded this fiscal year if the trend continues.

The source says the constant flow of migrants being apprehended along the southern border impedes the agency’s ability to adequately patrol miles of the border. The absence of routine patrols is driving the got-away numbers up as there are no available Border Patrol agents to respond to electronic sensors, camera activations, and unmanned aerial surveillance sightings. On average, more than 1,700 migrants avoided apprehension by the Border Patrol each day in November.

“The best we can do is just record the got-aways and move on,” the source explained.  “We’re trying to increase patrols but the flow of migrants surrendering is unstoppable.”

The routine patrol of many areas along the southwest border has been a source of concern for many as the Border Patrol is relegated to processing, transporting, and providing transportation for thousands of migrants apprehended daily.

The known got-away count is updated daily by the Border Patrol, according to the source. The data is entered into a system of record easily accessible to agency leaders.
The metric is usually not released by DHS. The estimate is achieved by counting migrants who ultimately escape apprehension after being observed by aircraft and camera systems. Agents also use traditional sign-cutting techniques to identify footprints.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday disclosed that the migration surge at the US-Mexico border is likely the worst the situation has been in 20 years.

Mayorkas, who has refused to call the situation a “crisis,” said in a statement that “[w]e are on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years.”

The statement referred to the surge as a “difficult situation,” but said his department is working to handle it “successfully.”

Mayorkas disclosed new information, including that most unaccompanied minors housed in cramped detention camps have family already in the US.

“In more than 80 percent of cases, the child has a family member in the United States. In more than 40 percent of cases, that family member is a parent or legal guardian. These are children being reunited with their families who will care for them,” Mayorkas said.

In February, about 30 percent of the people illegally crossing the border were under 18. There were 29,792 unaccompanied children detained without their parents — about five times more than in January — of whom 2,942 were under age 12, according to US Customs and Border Protection.