The number of illegal alien encounters increased sharply in April 2022 compared to March. According to Customs and Border Protection data, the massive rise was due to increases in aliens found to be inadmissible at America’s ports of entry.
For the first month since Biden’s inauguration, the number of aliens apprehended by Border Patrol after illegally crossing the southern border fell slightly while the number of inadmissible aliens encountered by the Office of Field Operations rose dramatically in April.
In total, USCBP encountered 234,088 illegal aliens in April 2022. This total represents a 5.4% decrease in alien encounters compared to March 2022. For context, in April 2021, CBP encountered 178,795 total illegal aliens; and in April, during the 2019 border surge, CBP encountered just 109,415 total illegal aliens.
In April, U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 201,800 aliens attempting to cross the southern border illegally. This represents a 4.2% decrease compared to the previous month (209,906 aliens) which was by far the highest monthly total of Biden’s presidency.
The Office of Field Operations reported an additional 32,288 illegal aliens encountered at U.S. ports of entry. This is an astounding 183.4% increase compared to March. This April’s alien encounter total is the highest recorded monthly total since 2000.
The total increase was due to across-the-board increases in alien encounters at ports of entry. Family Units, Unaccompanied Alien Children, and particularly Single Alien Adults all saw increases in encounters at ports of entry. Family Units also saw an increase at the border, but Single Alien Adults and Unaccompanied Alien Children both saw slight decreases in apprehensions.
