Overview

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reported a significant increase in migrant encounters at the southern border, with approximately 167,000 encounters in the first 17 days of December, marking a 30% increase from November.
• Many migrants are entering through holes cut into the border wall by smugglers, rather than through official points of entry.
• CBP officers are being redeployed to detain those waiting in the desert, as smugglers misinform migrants that they will be picked up and processed by U.S. officials.
• Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has ordered National Guard troops to the state's southern border in response to the crisis, criticizing the federal government's handling of border security.
• Unofficial reports indicate that approximately 121,000 migrants were apprehended in the first 15 days of December, with an additional 11,000 listed as 'got-aways'.