WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released operational statistics today for March 2024. CBP monthly reporting can be viewed on CBP’s Stats and Summaries webpage.
“CBP - in coordination with our partners across the Federal government as well as foreign partners - continues to take significant actions to disrupt criminal networks amidst unprecedented hemispheric migration activity,” said Troy A. Miller, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner. “Encounters at our southern border are lower right now, but we remain prepared for changes, continually managing operations to respond to ever-shifting transnational criminal activities and migration patterns.”
CBP continues to work closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to quickly process individuals encountered at the border and remove those who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States, delivering strengthened consequences promulgated by the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule and its associated measures. From May 12, 2023 to April 3, 2024, DHS has removed or returned over 660,000 individuals, the vast majority of whom crossed the southwest border, including more than 102,000 individual family members. The majority of all individuals encountered at the southwest border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled. Total removals and returns since mid-May exceed removals and returns in every full fiscal year since 2011.
Below are key operational statistics for CBP’s primary mission areas in March 2024. View all CBP statistics online.
Ensuring Border Security and Managing Migration
CBP continues to expeditiously process and remove individuals who do not have a legal basis to remain in the country. We are working together with our domestic and foreign partners to jointly disrupt irregular migration across the region, offering safe, orderly, and lawful pathways for intending migrants and taking action against ruthless smugglers who continue to spread falsehoods and show disregard for the safety and well-being of vulnerable migrants. We are also working alongside U.S. government partners to target transnational criminal organizations and smugglers who take advantage of and profit from migrants and taking new measures to stop individuals from exploiting traditional travel methods for migration.
In March 2024, the U.S. Border Patrol recorded 137,480 encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border. In March, encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border were 45% lower than in December 2023 and 16% lower than March 2023.
CBP had a total of 189,372 encounters along the southwest border in March 2024, including U.S. Border Patrol encounters between ports of entry, as well as individuals who presented themselves at ports of entry (including those with CBP One™ appointments, detailed further below).
CBP continually analyzes and responds to changes in migration patterns, particularly irregular migration outside of lawful pathways and border crossings. We work with our federal and international partners to combat human smuggling. The fact remains: the United States continues to enforce immigration law, and those without a legal basis to remain will be removed. Migrants attempting to enter without authorization are subject to removal under Title 8 authorities.
The U.S. Border Patrol has undertaken significant efforts in recent years to expand capacity to aid and rescue individuals in distress. To prevent the loss of life, CBP initiated a Missing Migrant Program in 2017 that locates noncitizens reported missing, rescues individuals in distress, and reunifies decedents’ remains with their families in the border region. In March, the U.S. Border Patrol conducted 439 rescues, a 77% increase from January 2024. This brings the FY 2024 total rescues to 2,488.
View more migration statistics and rescues statistics.
CBP One™ App
The CBP One™ mobile application remains a key component of DHS’s efforts to incentivize noncitizens to use lawful, safe, humane, and orderly pathways and processes. Generally, noncitizens who cross between the ports of entry or who present themselves at a port of entry without making a CBP One™ appointment are subject to the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule. This rule presumes asylum ineligibility for those who fail to use lawful processes, with certain exceptions. DHS encourages migrants to utilize lawful processes, rather than having migrants take the dangerous journey to cross unlawfully between the ports of entry, which also carries consequences under Title 8.
The CBP One™ app allows noncitizens throughout central or northern Mexico who lack documents sufficient for admission to the United States to schedule an appointment and remain in place until presenting at a preferred port of entry for their appointment, reducing migrants’ need to crowd into immediate border areas. Use of the CBP One™ app to schedule appointments at ports of entry has increased CBP’s capacity to process migrants more efficiently and orderly while cutting out unscrupulous smugglers who endanger and profit from vulnerable migrants.
In March, CBP processed 44,000 individuals through appointments at ports of entry utilizing advanced information submitted in CBP One™. Since the appointment scheduling function in CBP One™ was introduced in January 2023 through the end of March 2024, more than 547,000 individuals have successfully scheduled appointments to present at ports of entry using CBP One™ instead of risking their lives in the hands of smugglers. The top nationalities who have been processed are Venezuelan, Haitian, and Mexican.
A percentage of daily available appointments are allocated to the earliest registered CBP One™ profiles, so noncitizens who have been trying to obtain appointments for the longest time are prioritized. CBP is continually monitoring and evaluating the application to ensure its functionality and guard against bad actors.
CHNV Parole Processes
On January 5, 2023, DHS announced processes providing certain Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans, who have a supporter in the United States, undergo and clear robust security vetting, and meet other eligibility criteria, to come to the United States in a safe, orderly, and lawful way. These processes were built on the success of the process for Venezuelans established in October 2022; they are publicly available online, and DHS has been providing regular updates on their use to the public. This is part of the Administration’s strategy to combine expanded lawful pathways with stronger consequences to reduce irregular migration and have kept hundreds of thousands of people from migrating irregularly.
Through the end of March 2024, 404,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans arrived lawfully on commercial flights and were granted parole under these processes. Specifically, 86,000 Cubans, 168,000 Haitians, 77,000 Nicaraguans, 102,000 Venezuelans were vetted and authorized for travel; and 84,000 Cubans, 154,000 Haitians, 69,000 Nicaraguans, and 95,000 Venezuelans arrived lawfully and were granted parole.
Safeguarding Communities by Interdicting Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
As the largest law enforcement agency in the United States, CBP is uniquely positioned to detect, identify, and seize illicit drugs before they enter our communities. CBP’s combination of interdiction and intelligence capabilities, complemented by its border search authorities, scientific services, non-intrusive inspection equipment, and canine detection teams, places it at the forefront of the U.S. government’s efforts to combat illicit fentanyl and other dangerous drugs.
CBP continues to conduct operations, including Operation Apollo, which target the smuggling of illicit fentanyl and other dangerous drugs. These operations leverage intelligence and investigative information to target drug traffickers’ supply chains and interdict items required in the production of illicit fentanyl, including precursor chemicals, pill presses and parts, movement of finished product, and illicit proceeds.
Nationwide in March, fentanyl seizures increased by 16.1% compared to February and heroin seizures by 19.6%.
To date in FY 2024 through the end of March, CBP has seized 10,026 pounds of fentanyl. CBP has stopped more fentanyl in the last two years than in the previous five years combined, and we continue to optimize our intelligence and field operations to stop these deadly substances from reaching American communities.
Additional CBP drug seizure statistics can be found on the Drug Seizure Statistics webpage.
Facilitating Lawful Trade and Travel
As international travel continues to increase, CBP is leveraging technology to streamline efficiency and increase security at air and land ports of entry. Travelers are encouraged to utilize CBP’s mobile apps to enhance their travel experience, including the Global Entry Mobile Application and Mobile Passport Control, as well as new Global Entry Touchless Portals at nearly all international airports across the United States, which protect passenger privacy and expedite arrival processing by eliminating paper receipts.
Travelers arriving by air into the United States increased 13.9% from March 2023 to March 2024, passenger vehicles processed at ports of entry increased by 2.9%, and pedestrians arriving by land at ports of entry increased 10.8% over the same period.
CBP works diligently with the trade community and port operators to ensure that merchandise is cleared as efficiently as possible and to strengthen international supply chains and improve border security. In March 2024, CBP processed more than 2.8 million entry summaries valued at more than $275 billion, identifying estimated duties of nearly $6.2 billion to be collected by the U.S. government. In March, trade via the ocean environment accounted for 39.67% of the total import value, followed by air, truck, and rail.
View more travel statistics, and trade statistics.
Protecting Consumers, Eradicating Forced Labor from Supply Chains, and Promoting Economic Security
CBP continues to lead U.S. government efforts to eliminate goods from the supply chain made with forced labor from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. In March, CBP stopped 749 shipments valued at more than $32 million for further examination based on the suspected use of forced labor.
Intellectual property rights violations continue to put America’s innovation economy at risk. Counterfeit and pirated goods threaten the competitiveness of U.S. businesses, the livelihoods of American workers, and the health and safety of consumers.
Consumers are encouraged to be alert to the dangers of counterfeit goods especially when shopping online as they support criminal activity, hurt American businesses, and often have materials or ingredients that can pose serious health and safety risks. Every year CBP seizes millions of counterfeit products worth billions of dollars had they been genuine. In March, CBP seized 1,633 shipments that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $384 million. More information about CBP’s intellectual property rights enforcement is available at https://www.cbp.gov/trade.
CBP is on the frontline of textiles and trade agreements enforcement, combating textile imports that are not compliant with U.S. trade laws. Protecting the domestic textile industry and American consumers is vital to U.S. national security, health care, and economic priorities. Toward this end, CBP is intensifying its targeting and enforcement efforts to increase and expedite the prosecution of illegal customs practices. CBP’s efforts include de minimis compliance, forced labor enforcement, cargo compliance, regulatory audits, and public awareness. This month DHS announced an enhanced strategy to combat illicit trade and level the playing field for the American textile industry, which accounts for over 500,000 U.S. jobs and is critical for our national security. The plan details the actions CBP and Homeland Security Investigations will take to hold perpetrators accountable for customs violations, and safeguard the American textile industry.
View more UFLPA enforcement statistics, and intellectual property rights enforcement statistics.
Defending our Nation’s Agricultural System
Through targeting, detection, and interception, CBP agriculture specialists work to prevent threats from entering the United States.
CBP issued 7,105 emergency action notifications for restricted and prohibited plant and animal products entering the United States in March 2024. CBP conducted 106,410 positive passenger inspections and issued 841 civil penalties and/or violations to the traveling public for failing to declare prohibited agriculture items.
View more agricultural enforcement statistics.