8 things to know about people seeking asylum in Arizona

More people crossed the U.S.-México border in 2023 than in any other year on record.

In fiscal year 2023, an estimated 2.5 million people were apprehended or expelled by U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-México border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection data for the agency’s Southwest region — from California to Texas — shows that the U.S.- México border accounts for the bulk of apprehensions and expulsions. Nationwide, border patrol agents encountered a total of 3.2 million people in 2023 at regions that include airports and the Northern and Southwest borders.

This story was originally published by Arizona Luminaria and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The numbers at the U.S.-México border were up from 2.3 million the fiscal year before and 1.7 million in 2021, according to monthly statistics released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

From 2021 to 2022, the last year for which there are official government records, the total number of asylum claims filed in the United States went from about 150,000 to over 492,000 — more than tripling.