At least 240,256 foreign nationals were apprehended or reported evading capture after illegally entering the southwest border in May, according to preliminary data obtained by The Center Square.
“Gotaways” refers to those known and reported to illegally enter the U.S. primarily between ports of entry, who intentionally evade capture by law enforcement and don’t return to Mexico. In May, gotaways totaled at least 60,327, with the greatest numbers reported in the El Paso and Tucson sectors as they have nearly every month this year. CBP doesn’t publicly report gotaway data.
The preliminary data was obtained by The Center Square from a U.S. Border Patrol agent. The agent provided the information on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation; it only includes Border Patrol data and excludes Office of Field Operations data. The total numbers would be higher if OFO data were included. All CBP data would be higher if gotaways were included in official data publicized.
As of June 6, the preliminary data for May in nine southwest border sectors include:
BIG BEND SECTOR
Apprehensions- 1,673
Turnbacks- 32
Gotaways Border Zone (known/recorded)- 379
Unclassifiable Detection- 0
Gotaways Interior Zone- 105
No Violations- 15
Deceased- 0
Outstanding- 0
DEL RIO SECTOR
Apprehensions- 30,840
Turnbacks- 257
Gotaways Border Zone (known/recorded)- 11,291
Unclassifiable Detection- 40
Gotaways Interior Zone- 3,381
No Violations- 143
Deceased- 5
Outstanding- 216
EL CENTRO SECTOR
Apprehensions- 4,816
Turnbacks- 215
Gotaways Border Zone (known/recorded)- 209
Unclassifiable Detection- 0
Gotaways Interior Zone- 15
No Violations- 1
Deceased- 1
Outstanding- 1
EL PASO SECTOR
Apprehensions- 26,774
Turnbacks- 5,266
Gotaways Border Zone (known/recorded)- 15,972
Unclassifiable Detection- 2
Gotaways Interior Zone- 330
No Violations- 50
Deceased- 8
Outstanding- 6
LAREDO SECTOR
Apprehensions- 3,748
Turnbacks- 3,573
Gotaways Border Zone (known/recorded)- 1,511
Unclassifiable Detection- 0
Gotaways Interior Zone- 391
No Violations- 91
Deceased- 5
Outstanding- 0
RGV SECTOR
Apprehensions- 39,442
Turnbacks- 2,583
Gotaways Border Zone (known/recorded)- 1,855
Unclassifiable Detection- 87
Gotaways Interior Zone- 662
No Violations- 83
Deceased- 3
Outstanding- 0
SAN DIEGO SECTOR
Apprehensions- 23,916
Turnbacks- 249
Gotaways Border Zone (known/recorded)- 3,987
Unclassifiable Detection- 0
Gotaways Interior Zone- 3,144
No Violations- 313
Deceased- 1
Outstanding- 1
TUCSON SECTOR
Apprehensions- 32,473
Turnbacks- 481
Gotaways Border Zone (known/recorded)- 11,890
Unclassifiable Detection- 76
Gotaways Interior Zone- 3,639
No Violations- 183
Deceased- 4
Outstanding- 59
YUMA SECTOR
Apprehensions- 16,247
Turnbacks- 142
Gotaways Border Zone (known/recorded)- 1,479
Unclassifiable Detection- 1
Gotaways Interior Zone- 87
No Violations- 10
Deceased- 1
Outstanding- 1
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 return 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.
Unclassifiable detection isn’t part of 6 U.S. Code, which specifies how encounters are to be reported. It means agents, for a range of reasons, couldn’t determine citizenship. No-violations are individuals “deemed to have committed no infraction and don’t affect Got-Away statistics,” according to the tracking system.
Both categories should be categorized as gotaways, the Border Patrol agent explained, assuming all non-arrests were of non-citizens.
The numbers don’t tell the whole story, Border Patrol agents and those in law enforcement have told The Center Square, because they don’t include unknown and unrecorded gotaways. Not all gotaways are recorded because not all are identified, which is why they argue the number of people illegally entering the U.S. is expected to be much greater than reported.
