Migrant encounters at U.S.-Mexico border have fallen sharply in 2024

After reaching a record high at the end of 2023, the monthly number of U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico has plummeted so far in 2024.

The Border Patrol recorded 58,038 encounters with migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in August, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of the latest available government statistics. That was a 77% decline from 249,741 encounters in December 2023, the most ever recorded in a single month.

This Pew Research Center analysis examines migration patterns at the U.S.-Mexico border using current and historical data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency that includes the U.S. Border Patrol. The analysis is based on a metric known as migrant encounters.

The term “encounters” can refer to different types of events. In this analysis, it refers to Border Patrol apprehensions of migrants who cross into the United States without authorization. These migrants are taken into custody, at least temporarily, to await a decision on whether they can remain in the U.S. legally, such as by being granted asylum. Migrants who are not granted asylum are typically deported.

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