At least 255,212 foreign nationals were apprehended or reported evading capture after illegally entering the southwest border in September, according to preliminary Border Patrol data obtained by The Center Square.
This includes at least 222,009 apprehensions and 33,203 gotaways. “Gotaways” is the official U.S. Customs and Border Protection term that refers to the number of people known and reported to illegally enter the U.S. between ports of entry who intentionally try to evade capture and don’t return to Mexico.
In September, the most gotaways were reported in the El Paso and Tucson sectors. As in August, with most Yuma agents pulled out of the field to deal with an influx of people arriving at open areas of the border wall, gotaway numbers reported by agents last month were extremely low, which is out of the ordinary.
Of the five stations with the most foot traffic, three were in Texas. The greatest volume was in Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, followed by Ajo, Arizona, Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas.
The Eagle Pass station reported at least 37,625 apprehensions and 2,108 gotaways last month; El Paso reported 26,154 apprehensions and 800 gotaways.
Ajo reported 20,673 apprehensions and 232 gotaways. Notably, Santa Teresa agents reported more gotaways (10,333) than apprehensions (9,074).
Apprehensions refer to those who illegally enter the U.S. and surrender or are caught by Border Patrol agents. Turnbacks refer to those who illegally enter but turn back to Mexico. The gotaway data indicates where foreign nationals are detected illegally entering the U.S., at the Mexican border or farther north in the interior.
