Unlawful Border Crossings in September Were Highest of 2023 With Over 200,000 Apprehensions

Border patrol agents have apprehended more than 200,000 migrants who have attempted to cross the US-Mexico border unlawfully in September, the highest monthly number of the year, according to media outlets such as CNN and CBS, citing preliminary government data and a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official.

The figure marks a more than 10% increase from August, when 181,000 crossings were recorded, and is the largest since the 222,000 from December last year. It's also not far from the all-time high reached in May 2022, when 224,000 apprehensions were reported by authorities.

According to data seen by CBS News, Venezuelans comprised a significant portion of the migrants venturing north. In mid-September, about 2,000 apprehensions (around 25% of the total) were of Venezuelan migrants.

It's not expected the trend will reverse in the near future. A senior US Customs and Border Protection official told CNN that crossings are expected to remain high in the near term, and adam Isacson, director of defense oversight for Washington on Latin America (WOLA) told USA Today that the overall figure for the year could reach or even surpass 3 million.

Migration is once again at the forefront of the public conversation in the US, most notably with its pressure on New York City's finances and shelter system and Elon Musk's visit to the border, from which he streamed live to his more than 158 million followers and reiterated his message about cracking down on illegal immigration.

The illegal apprehensions do not make up the total of crossings. Tens of thousands of people are also processed by border officials each month as well. According to CBS News, the Biden administration has been allowing roughly 1,500 potential asylum-seekers into the country each day as long as they have secured an appointment through an app.

However, not all are allowed to stay in the country. Some adults are given the option to return to Mexico or are placed in an accelerated deportation process if they don't request asylum or fail initial screenings.

The Department of Homeland Security said it expects "fluctuations" in migration patterns based on smugglers' use of "misinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals." It also said that it's carried out more than 250,000 returns of deportations since early May.

The tools used to try to stem migration are wide-ranging. In late September, the US' Embassy in Mexico published a video featuring Carlos Villagran, an actor better known for playing "Quico" in the famous 70's Mexican show "El Chavo del Ocho," in which he requested people not to cross the border using some of his decades-old catchphrases.