San Diego is now the top border region for migrant arrivals
By Andrea Castillo
Staff Writer
April 25, 2024 3 AM PT
WASHINGTON — For the first time in decades, San Diego has become the top region along the southern border for migrant arrivals.
Migrant arrests in San Diego reached 8,989 for the week ending April 16, according to figures the agency posted on X. Meanwhile, Tucson — which previously had been the top region for crossings — had 7,500 arrests for the week ending April 19.
The numbers appear to be growing. San Diego Chief Border Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel wrote on X that 9,513 migrants were arrested as of Tuesday, a 36% increase from two weeks prior.
San Diego hasn’t been the top region for migrant arrests since at least October 1999, according to monthly agency figures. The last full year San Diego was the top region was 1997.
The shift is significant, said Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, a research and advocacy organization.
It reflects changes in smuggling routes, which were consistent for many years but have begun to shift every few months since 2021, in part because of the post-pandemic increase in global migration to the U.S.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2024-04-25/san-diego-surpasses-tucson-as-top-border-region-for-migrant-arrivals
