Texas is no longer the hotspot for illegal migrant crossings

The number of encounters between law enforcement and suspected illegal migrants in five regions of Texas fell dramatically in fiscal year 2024 through March compared to the same period in 2023, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.

The numbers showed sharp declines in the El Paso, Big Bend, Del Rio, Laredo and Rio Grande Valley quadrants, which together cover the state's entire border with Mexico. During the same period, the number of encounters increased in both Arizona and California.

This is a significant victory for Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has introduced several measures to combat illegal immigration, including deploying thousands of National Guard troops and installing razor wire along the border. On April 12, Abbott said 507,200 suspected undocumented migrants had been detained in his state since 2021, when he launched Operation Lone Star to combat illegal border crossings.

In the El Paso region of Texas, 30,420 encounters between law enforcement and migrants were recorded in fiscal year 2024 through March, a 24.1 percent decrease from the same period in fiscal year 2023, when 40,103 encounters were recorded by CBP.

At the same time, CBP data shows encounters in Big Bend fell 63.7 percent, from 1,200 to 436, while encounters in Del Rio fell 52.8 percent, from 23,904 to 11,281.

In fiscal year 2024 through March, encounters in Laredo and Rio Grande Valley also fell by 42.8 percent and 49.5 percent, respectively, compared to the same period in 2023. In Laredo, the total fell from 5,210 to 2,978, while Rio Grande Valley dropped from 17,956 to 9,065.

The number of encounters with law enforcement is often used as a rough indicator of the rate of irregular immigration, especially since many migrants voluntarily contact law enforcement to seek asylum.

What's notable, however, is that the number of migrant encounters fell in all five regions of Texas, while it increased in Arizona and California, both governed by Democrats.

The CBP data divides Arizona into two sectors, Tucson and Yuma. In Tucson, the number of encounters rose 23.7 percent to 41,941 in fiscal year 2024 through March, up from 33,898 during the same period in 2023. While the number in the Yuma region fell 57.1 percent, from 13,667 to 5,865, this is still the case left a net increase across the state.

In California, the San Diego sector also recorded a 45.1 percent increase from 23,286 encounters to 33,784 during this period, more than offsetting the decline in neighboring El Centro from 4,448 to 1,710.

Controlling irregular immigration has become a heated political issue as former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has made tougher controls a central plank of his bid for a second term in the White House. According to CBP, from October 2019 to January 2024, there were 9.8 million interactions between law enforcement and suspected illegal migrants.

Speak with Newsweek In February, Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake, who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor in 2022, claimed that Abbott's border policies were causing an influx of migrants into her state.

“With Greg Abbott now working to secure the border in Texas, we are seeing an influx of people flowing across our border, even more so than in recent months,” Lake said.

Newsweek contacted Abbott's press office via email for comment.