At least 1.2 million people have been apprehended or reported evading capture at the southern U.S. border in the first five months of this year, according to data obtained and analyzed by The Center Square.
The estimate is based on official apprehension data reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as well as data about so-called “gotaways,” or those who illegally enter the U.S. and intentionally seek to evade capture
Combined, the monthly totals are greater than the individual populations of eight U.S. states, two states more than last month when illegal border crossers in 2023 totaled more than the populations of six states.