(Center Square) – At least 815,786 people were arrested or evaded by law enforcement after entering Arizona illegally in fiscal 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by Center Square from Border Patrol agents. rice field.
That’s a record 3.3 million illegal entries report Conducted by the Border Patrol on all nine divisions of the Southwestern Border during the year.
Border Patrol agents reported arresting at least 591,536 foreigners and documenting at least 224,250 escapes in two Border Patrol sectors in Tucson and Yuma, Arizona.
Arizona shares 378 miles of border with Mexico, most of which (262 miles) is in the Tucson sector. The combined US-Mexico shared border is her 1,954 miles.
In an overview of the number of illegal immigrants, at least 815,786 people known to Border Patrol agents who entered Arizona illegally from at least 150 countries in a single fiscal year were more than the population of any Arizona city except Phoenix. .
The population was larger than the individual populations of Arizona’s nine largest cities after Tucson, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Scottsdale, Peoria, Tempe, Surprise and Phoenix.
Put another way, that number is enough to fill nearly 1.5 Tucson, 1.5 Mesa, nearly 3 Chandler and Gilbert, 3 Glendale and Scottsdale, 4 Peoria and Tempe, and 5.5 Surprise. was.
This number exceeded the population of all Arizona counties except Pima and Maricopa.
In the Tucson sector, Border Patrol agents arrested 264,727 illegal aliens and reported 193,658 escapes. In this sector, the agency covers an area served by nine stations, from the Yuma County Line to the Arizona and New Mexico State Lines. The number of people arrested and evading law enforcement far outnumbers the population of towns with Border Patrol posts, except Tucson. They were enough to place 7,052 Whys, 8 Casa Grandes, 24 Nogales, 178 Wilcoxes, 584 Sonoitas, 106 Bisbees, 29 Douglas, and 95 Three Points.
In the Yuma sector, Border Patrol agents arrested 326,809 illegal aliens and reported 30,592 fugitives. In this sector, agents cover nearly 182,000 square miles of mostly desert terrain, from the Imperial Dunes of California to the Yumapima County line. Despite its harsh terrain of vast open deserts, rugged mountains and large drifting dunes, Yuma is seeing more and more people. Illegal immigrants were enough to populate 20 Bryce, almost 4 Yuma, and 187 Welton, towns with Border Patrol posts.
The evaluated data includes only information compiled by Border Patrol agents and excludes Field Operations Office data. The numbers are even higher if OFO data is included.
Gotaways is a term used by Border Patrol agents to classify people entering the United States illegally to avoid capture by law enforcement. US Customs and Border Protection does not publish escape data. Center Square obtains it from border agents who have access to CBP’s internal tracking system. The total is believed to be rather high as not all fugitives who evade capture are tracked down or captured.
Law enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents are most concerned about them because federal, state, and local officials don’t know who they are or where they are. He is male and has not entered the country seeking asylum or otherwise applied for immigration. They also actively evade law enforcement and head north. Many are thought to have worked with cartels and gangs, been involved in human trafficking and drug trafficking, and are intent on committing other crimes in the United States, law enforcement officers told Center Square. .
