Migrant encounters at southern border near quarter of a million in November: CBP

Migrant encounters at the southern border neared a quarter of a million in November, according to data released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Friday. 

The agency reported 242,418 migrant encounters in November, up from October’s 240,986 recorded encounters, but down from September’s record of 269,735 encounters. 

“CBP continues to execute its important mission to protect the American people, safeguard our borders, and enhance the nation’s economic prosperity by implementing operational plans, surging personnel and decompressing areas along the southwest border while processing and vetting migrants who are encountered humanely, safely, and efficiently, consistent with our laws,” Troy A. Miller, a senior official for the CBP, said in a Friday statement on the data.

“Despite ongoing challenges, in November, the men and women of CBP continued their tireless work and recorded increased seizures of illegal narcotics while facilitating lawful trade and increased holiday travel,” Miller continued. 

A recent surge of migrants utilizing new ways of getting into the U.S. has CBP worried, with Miller saying that “encounter levels we are currently seeing across the southwest border are presenting a serious challenge to the men and women of [Customs and Border Protection].”

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told CNN that around 12,600 migrants were intercepted from Monday to Tuesday on the southern border. However, the Border Patrol has said those numbers are unofficial.

“CBP’s message for anyone who is thinking of attempting to circumvent lawful pathways to enter the United States is simple: don’t do it,” Friday’s CBP release reads. “When noncitizens cross the border unlawfully, they put their lives in peril. The U.S. Border Patrol has undertaken significant efforts in recent years to expand capacity to aid and rescue individuals in distress.”