Annual U.S. border arrivals top 2 million, fueled by record migration from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua

The number of migrant arrivals reported along the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022 surpassed 2 million in August, an all-time high driven in part by unprecedented levels of migration from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, according to government data published Monday.

Migrant encounters along the U.S. southern border rose slightly to 203,598 last month, reversing a downward trend recorded in the previous two months, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data show.

The number included 181,160 Border Patrol apprehensions of migrants who entered the U.S. illegally, virtually the same level as in July, as well as 22,437 migrants and asylum-seekers processed at official ports of entry, a slight increase from the previous month.

With one month left, CBP officials stationed along the Mexican border have processed migrants over 2.1 million times in fiscal year 2022, a tally well above the previous record set in fiscal year 2021, when the agency recorded 1.7 million migrant encounters.