San Diego Claims Top Spot For Illegal Border Crossings

SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego County has become the top spot for illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The San Diego region is the busiest corridor for asylum seekers from around the world trying to enter the country through California, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In recent weeks, the San Diego sector surpassed the number of illegal crossings in Arizona and Texas. The Tucson sector was the busiest along the border until April.

In April, 37,370 people crossed illegally in the San Diego Sector, a nearly 49 percent increase when compared with April 2023, according to CBP. The Border Patrol encountered 31,219 migrants in April in the Tuscon sector, which had the next highest number of illegal border crossings.

Tuson still leads in the number of apprehensions so far this fiscal year, with 373,220 encounters, compared to 222,839 in second-place San Diego, according to CBP.

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who has pushed for heightened security along the border, called San Diego "the new epicenter for migrants and illegal immigration."

"This surge in illegal crossings has propelled San Diego to the unfortunate position of leading all nine southern border sectors in April, a trend unseen since the 1990s," he said in a statement in April.

In response to the surge in migration, President Job Biden on Tuesday issued an executive order that allows immigration officials to deport migrants without processing asylum claims once a certain cap has been reached.

The executive order, which goes into effect at midnight, will shut down processing of asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border once the average number of daily requests reaches 2,500. Processing will reopen once the average number drops below that threshold.

Read more: San Diego, State Leaders Respond To Asylum Stoppage From White House

City News Service contributed to this report.