EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Some look into the camera with hardened faces and bodies covered in tattoos. Others look ordinary and stare down as if saddened or contrite.
They are some of the fugitive foreign felons, child predators and gang members arrested just in the past week trying to enter the United States undetected. And their numbers are on the rise.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows the number of criminal non-citizen encounters has risen 340% in the past three years, to a high of 32,194 in fiscal year 2023. Since Oct. 1, another 11,958 have been caught rushing the border between ports of entry or trying to blend in at busy ports, hoping their past won’t show up in CBP computers.
As staggering as the numbers may seem, criminal non-citizen arrests represent only 1% of total encounters by the U.S. Border Patrol and CBP’s Office of Field Operations in the past fiscal year and so far in FY 2024, which run into the millions.
OFO recorded 1.13 million nationwide encounters in FY 2023, while the Border Patrol topped 2 million, CBP data shows. That doesn’t include an estimated 860,000 “got-aways” last year: Unauthorized migrants who eluded apprehension and whose criminal history remains unknown.
Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens said the agency has apprehended more than 200 gang members in the last five months. The Paisas top the list with 47 arrests, followed by El Salvador’s MS-13 with 30 and the Sureños with 26.
Lately, Venezuela’s violent prison gang Tren de Aragua has been in the news as CBP warned its officers to be on the lookout for gang members coming across the border. A CNN report said border agents arrested 38 gang members between Oct. 2022 and Oct. 2023, including two near El Paso.
Victor M. Manjarrez Jr., former chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol’s El Paso and Tucson sectors, agrees the number of criminal non-citizens caught at the border may seem staggering but represents a small percentage of unauthorized migrant crossers.
“Back in the day, that was 14% to 17% of the population we apprehended” in southern Arizona, Manjarrez said. “The numbers are probably down because people surrender to apply for political asylum; you can’t surrender if you have a criminal background.”
Likewise, there’s probably a reason why hundreds of thousands who come across the border illegally each year are trying to avoid apprehension.
Even one fugitive or repeat offender that gets through can cause harm. Manjarrez said that’s one of the reasons why CBP has turned to technology and improved relations with law enforcement agencies in other countries.
For instance, foreigners with criminal records 15 to 20 years ago could give different names and dates of birth if caught and get away with a voluntary return to Mexico only to try to sneak in the next day. But nowadays, most are fingerprinted, and true identities – as well as previous arrests or warrants in this and other countries – are easier to establish, Manjarrez said.
“CBP is in a much better position now (to detect criminals). Technology is the biggest improvement and there’s the hookup with foreign governments. It’s a blend of technology and cooperation,” he said.
Owens says knowing who is crossing the border without permission is paramount for border security.
“The unknown is what is most concerning. Who? What? Why? That’s why we need Border Patrol agents in the field with more resources,” Owens tweeted recently.