Yes.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection occasionally transfers migrants from overcrowded border sectors to those with more capacity so they can be detained, processed and deported, rather than released. Political considerations are not a factor in the decision to transfer migrants.
The San Diego sector, one of nine along the southern border, recorded the greatest influx of migrant encounters since last October, which has resulted in a strain on the sector’s limited resources. Encounters increased 40% compared to the year prior, totalling more than 324,000.
The Yuma sector, comparatively, recorded less than a fifth of San Diego’s total U.S. Border Patrol Title 8 encounters, or when migrants are apprehended or detained for entering the country illegally.
Overall, encounters along the southern border have decreased by 25% between October 2023 and October 2024.
This fact brief responds to conversations such as this one.
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
Sources
- U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Email correspondence with Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
- U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Southwest Land Border Encounters (By Component) Dashboard
- U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Nationwide Encounters Dashboard
- Rice University Baker Institute for Public Policy, Navigating the Border: San Diego’s and Tijuana’s Migrant Reception Efforts
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is partnering with Gigafact to produce timely fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
