U.S. Border Encounters

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded 12.0 million encounters between FY2020 and FY2026. Encounters peaked at 3.1 million in FY2023 — the highest in recorded history — before declining sharply under tighter enforcement policies.

12.0M

Total Encounters

3.1M

Peak (FY2023)

116K

FY2026 FYTD

MEXICO

#1 Citizenship

💡

Key Insights

• Encounters peaked at 3.1M in FY2023 — a 5x increase from FY2020's pandemic low

• Mexico accounts for 29% of all encounters — but Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua surged dramatically

• FY2026 is on pace for the lowest in years — 116,465 through January

• Southwest border accounts for ~85% of all encounters — the northern border and coastal routes make up the rest

Border Encounters by Fiscal Year

Encounters by Citizenship (FY2020-2026)

USBP vs. OFO Encounters

Encounters by Demographic

Southwest Border Encounters

Top Nationalities Encountered (FY2020-2026)

#	Country	Total Encounters	% of Total
1	MEXICO	3,437,963	28.5%
2	GUATEMALA	1,042,018	8.6%
3	HONDURAS	980,210	8.1%
4	VENEZUELA	961,592	8.0%
5	CUBA	729,524	6.1%
6	HAITI	507,796	4.2%
7	COLOMBIA	473,197	3.9%
8	NICARAGUA	452,422	3.8%
9	ECUADOR	390,502	3.2%
10	EL SALVADOR	350,696	2.9%
11	INDIA	348,162	2.9%
12	UKRAINE	309,211	2.6%
13	PHILIPPINES	285,441	2.4%
14	CANADA	224,431	1.9%
15	BRAZIL	196,620	1.6%
16	PERU	183,735	1.5%
17	RUSSIA	145,526	1.2%
18	TURKEY	65,220	0.5%
19	MYANMAR (BURMA)	25,792	0.2%
20	ROMANIA	21,407	0.2%

Encounters by Fiscal Year

Fiscal Year	Total Encounters	Change
FY2020	628,427	—
FY2021	1,933,048	+207.6%
FY2022	2,738,826	+41.7%
FY2023	3,148,444	+15.0%
FY2024	2,822,441	-10.4%
FY2025	662,270	-76.5%
FY2026 (FYTD)	116,465	-82.4%

What Are "Encounters"?

CBP uses "encounters" as a catch-all term for contacts between border agents and migrants. This includes:

Title 8 Apprehensions — Border Patrol arrests between ports of entry
Title 8 Inadmissibles — People deemed inadmissible at official ports of entry
Title 42 Expulsions — Rapid expulsions under COVID-era public health authority (ended May 2023)

Important: one person can generate multiple encounters. Someone expelled under Title 42 and trying again the next week counts as two encounters. This is why encounter numbers can exceed unique individuals.

The FY2023 Peak

FY2023 saw 3.1 million encounters — the highest ever recorded. Multiple factors converged: the end of Title 42 (May 2023), economic instability in Venezuela and Central America, cartel-facilitated migration routes, and a perception that enforcement would tighten. The southwest border alone accounted for 2.5M encounters.

Border Patrol vs. Ports of Entry

Encounters happen through two main channels: U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) between official ports of entry, and Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the ports themselves. USBP encounters are what most people think of as "illegal border crossings," while OFO encounters include people presenting themselves at official crossings — some with valid claims, some without.

From Encounter to Court

Not every border encounter leads to immigration court. Some are immediately expelled (Title 42, now ended). Others receive expedited removal. Those who express a fear of persecution get a credible fear interview and, if passed, enter the immigration court system — joining the 1.9 million pending cases tracked on this site.

Why This Data Matters

Over 12 million border encounters since FY2020 represent the largest sustained migration wave in U.S. history — but the numbers are far more complex than headlines suggest. "Encounters" are not the same as "immigrants." The same person crossing multiple times counts multiple times. During the Title 42 era (2020-2023), rapid expulsions created a revolving door where people were expelled and tried again, inflating encounter totals far beyond the number of unique individuals. Understanding this distinction is critical to having an honest policy conversation.

The composition of migration has also shifted dramatically. Once dominated by Mexican nationals making economic crossings, the flow now includes families and individuals from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, China, India, and dozens of other countries — many fleeing political crises, economic collapse, or violence. This shift matters because asylum seekers have different legal rights than economic migrants, and the system's capacity to process complex asylum claims at scale has been overwhelmed.

Border encounter data is the starting point for nearly every immigration policy debate. Hawks point to record numbers as evidence of a crisis demanding tougher enforcement. Advocates note that many encounters are asylum seekers exercising legal rights, and that the sharp decline in FY2025-2026 shows that policy changes — not just walls — drive the numbers. The data itself is neutral, but how it's framed shapes public perception and policy. Our goal is to present it clearly so you can draw your own conclusions.

📖 Related Analysis

💊 The Fentanyl Pipeline

How fentanyl flows across the border — and what seizure data reveals.

🏛️ Border to Courtroom

What happens after a border encounter — the path through immigration court.

Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection Public Data Portal. Data current through February 2026. Fiscal years run October 1 to September 30. Learn more →