San Diego is not only a popular tourist destination, but has become a popular spot for migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, new data shows.
A staggering 8,016 migrants were apprehended in the second week of May alone — after a staggering 10,023 were arrested two weeks prior, according to figures shared by the region’s Border Patrol.
The numbers show no signs of slowing, with more than 35,490 arrests made in April, making it the busiest of the nine Border Patrol sectors along the southern border for the second month in a row – and for the first time since the 1990s.
The sudden surge could be blamed on other states suffering from migrant fatigue, such as Texas, which is cracking down on their borders, forcing foreigners and their smugglers to seek easier routes into the United States.
“Mexican authorities have put a lot of pressure on major migration routes to Texas, which could force people to try other routes further west,” said Cris Ramón, senior immigration adviser for the Latin American civil rights organization UnidosUS, to the Los Angeles Times. .
“Migration is a dynamic phenomenon, and people will adapt and find circumstances that give them the best chance of reaching the United States. »
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has led an intense anti-migrant campaign that includes stationing National Guard troops along the border and busing illegal aliens who manage to enter more progressive municipalities, such as new York City.
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California – a sanctuary state – has been more lenient, particularly in San Diego, which has released a “minimum” of 125,000 migrants from detention on city streets “without proper review” in the past six months since September 2023, officials told The Post this month. .
This increase does not reflect a change in overall apprehensions along the border, but simply a change in where they are entering.
San Diego saw a 69% increase in migrant apprehensions between Oct. 1 and March 31, while areas in Texas saw a 29% decline, the Times reported.
A senior Customs and Border Protection official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper that the government would send additional agents to the San Diego border to quell the recent surges, which Mexican authorities will reflect on their side of the border.
“Just as we have done in the past, when cartels change, we adjust our operations,” the official said.
The effort could be a makeshift effort, they warn, suggesting it would only be a matter of time before new routes appear elsewhere.
“Cartels,” the official said, “are constantly trying to find ways to exploit and circumvent law enforcement.”
New York Post
