By Julia Ainsley -
NBC News
More than 2.76 million undocumented migrants crossed the southern border during fiscal year 2022, a number that broke the record reached in 2021 (more than 1 million), according to data from the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP, for its acronym in English).
During fiscal year 2022—the 12-month period between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022—CBP made 2,766,582 migrant apprehensions, while in fiscal year 2021 it had made more than 1.72 million apprehensions.
The 2022 numbers were driven mostly by a
sharp
increase in Venezuelan
, Cuban and Nicaraguan
migrants , according to CBP.
A group of migrants wait by the border wall as a Border Patrol agent conducts a count in Eagle Pass, Texas, on May 21, 2022. Dario Lopez-Mills/AP
Due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, which allowed many migrants to be returned to Mexico to await their asylum processes, many people
make “multiple attempts to cross the border
, which means that the total number of apprehensions is a little above the number of unique people arriving at the border," CBP said in a statement.
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In September, there were 227,547 apprehensions along the border, 12% more than in August.
Just under 20% involved people who had already attempted to cross at least once in the previous year.
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In September 2021, there were 192,001 border apprehensions.
CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said that in October
the number of Venezuelans
trying to cross the border dropped sharply due to increased cooperation with Mexico.
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"Over the past week, the number of Venezuelans trying to enter the country fell more than 80% compared to the week before (Biden's) measures were launched" to curb Venezuelan immigration, Magnus said.