Migrant encounters at the southwest border rose nearly 27 percent from July to August, driven mostly by apprehensions made by the Border Patrol away from ports of entry.
U.S. officials last month encountered 232,972 people entering the United States without authorization through the southwest border, up from 183,494 in July, according to numbers released by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Friday.
“CBP remains vigilant in the face of ruthless smugglers and transnational criminal organizations who exploit vulnerable migrants, the same criminal organizations trafficking in lethal drugs that harm our communities,” said Troy Miller, the agency's acting commissioner.
Officials largely attribute the rising migrant encounters to smuggling networks that are professionalizing and adapting to deterrence and prosecution efforts in the United States, Mexico and Central America.
Unauthorized crossings at ports of entry remained essentially static at 51,913 in August compared to 50,846 in July, but the Border Patrol's apprehensions between ports of entry jumped to 181,859 in August from 132,648 in July.
“Our operational tempo along the border has increased in response to increased encounters, and we remain squarely focused on our broader security mission and enforcing U.S. immigration laws. We are maximizing consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the United States, including by processing more individuals into expedited removal than ever before," said Miller.
The rising numbers came as little surprise to border officials, as movement along the migrant trail from Panama to the U.S.-Mexico border has been consistently high, filling shelters from Honduras to Mexico.
And officials expect border crossing numbers to remain high, regardless of U.S. border policy, with more reported migration along that route.
Still, the rise in apprehensions brought immediate GOP criticism of the Biden administration's border and immigration policies, with House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) saying the numbers represent a "clear dereliction of duty."
The Panamanian government on Thursday reported its own border crossing numbers: 81,946 people crossed into Panama from Colombia in August, compared to 55,387 in July.
Migrants who cross Panama's Darién Gap usually take five or six weeks to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Following an ongoing trend, the vast majority of migrants who crossed from South America into Panama were Venezuelans; Panama reported 67,200 Venezuelans and 8,642 Ecuadorians entering the country.
In July, 38,033 Venezuelans crossed into Panama, up from 18,501 in June.
Though Venezuelan migration to the United States is expected to remain high, about half of August's jump in border encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border was due to increases in Guatemalan and Honduran arrivals.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported encounters with 73,110 nationals of the two Central American countries in August, up from 48,153 in July.
Though Republicans have been quick to blame the Biden administration's border policies for rising migration, experts and officials say the connection between policy shifts and monthly figures is tenuous at best.
Nationals of Guatemala and Honduras are not eligible for the expedited parole processes for Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Haitians implemented by the Biden administration, meaning that policy likely had little effect on the bulk of the monthly rise in migration.
And though the Biden administration expanded Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuela Wednesday, allowing more than 400,000 Venezuelans to live and work in the United States, that announcement came weeks after the rise in Venezuelan migration reported by Panama.
CBP did report that the end of Title 42, the pandemic-era quick repatriation border policy, made a big dent in recidivism — repeated attempts by the same individuals to cross the border illegally.
In August, only 11 percent of the migrants apprehended at the border had made an attempt over the previous 12 months, compared to a repeat encounter rate of 35 percent a year earlier, in August 2022.