A record number of undocumented immigrants are crossings the US-Mexico border

The number of undocumented immigrant crossings at the southwest border once again broke records in May, prompted in large part by surges in migration by nationalities that were previously rarely found at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

CBP stopped migrants at the southwest border of the U.S. more than 239,000 times in May, though this includes migrants who attempted to cross more than once. The number of individual migrants who attempted to cross the border was 157,555, still up by 2% over April’s previous record high.

The number of border crossers from India, Turkey, Russia, Haiti, Brazil, Colombia, and Nicaragua increased in part because it is harder for border agents to subject some of those nationalities to the Covid-19 border restrictions known as Title 42 that let the U.S. quickly send migrants back to their home countries. India, Russia and the other home countries of these migrants are reluctant to accept the migrants back. As a result, the data shows that most are allowed into the U.S. to pursue their immigration claims.

Colombians, for example, accounted for nearly 20,000 border crossings in May, a sharp increase from the 821 Colombians who crossed in May 2021. Only 134 of the nearly 20,000 Colombians who crossed the border in May were subjected to Title 42.

A Colombian woman who referred to herself as Jemena, but would not reveal her full name, told NBC News that she recently emigrated to Texas despite Title 42 being in place. She said she fled the country after gangs threatened her 11-year-old son and “disappeared” her husband. She said she was aware there was a possibility she could be expelled after her long journey, but that it was “worth the risk.”

The percentage of Haitian migrants expelled because of Title 42 was also low in May. However, U.S. flights returning Haitian nationals to their home country have increased in the first part of June, and U.S. officials at the border expect the flights to deter more Haitians from making the journey.

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