According to data released by the Department of Homeland Security, the US government recorded more than 1.7 million interdictions of migrants along the southern border during the past 12 months. This is the highest figure of any fiscal year in history.

The numbers surged when there was a massive increase in migration to the US-Mexico border that peaked during the hot summer months. 

Roughly 61 per cent of the migrants encountered during the past 12 months were immediately expelled to Mexico or their homeland. This was done under a pandemic-era emergency policy known as Title 42.

Various Rights groups have said that the measure is not based on science and it denies migrants the right to seek protection. Title 42 involves quick expulsions and not deportations. This means that the US officials do not retain records of those sent back. 

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Many of the arrests this fiscal year are believed to be repeat crossings.

Customs and Border Protection, in a statement, said, “The large number of expulsions during the pandemic has contributed to a larger-than-usual number of migrants making multiple border crossing attempts, which means that total encounters somewhat overstate the number of unique individuals arriving at the border.”

A total of 671,000 migrants and asylum-seekers were processed under immigration laws and placed in deportation proceedings during the fiscal year 2021. This can be halted if judges find they are fleeing persecution or torture.

Arrests of adults travelling without children formed the largest migrant demographic group. They made up more than 1.1 million, or 64 per cent, of all interdictions by border agents in the fiscal year 2021. Nearly 600,000 of those adults were from Mexico.

Nearly 480,000 migrant parents and children entered US custody as families. This is the second-largest tally of any fiscal year. 

Approximately 57 per cent of families hailed from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, which are collectively known as Central America’s Northern Triangle.