Record Number Of Migrants Illegally Crossed US-Mexico Border

A record number of migrants illegally crossed the United States-Mexico border in August, according to preliminary data obtained by the Washington Post on August 31.

U.S. Border Patrol officials arrested at least 91,000 migrants last month, which topped the previous record of 84,486 arrested under former President Donald Trump's administration in in May 2019. Migrant families also accounted for the largest demographic group entering the country illegally in August, surpassing more than 500,000 for the fiscal year, another record, and was more than single adults for the first time since President Joe Biden was sworn into office in January 2020.

Officials also said there was a spike in the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border into the U.S. The New York Post had previously reported a massive increase in migrant border crossings after officials welded open 114 gates along the Arizona border to allow water to flow freely during the annual monsoon season, which usually extends from June to September.

“We thought the agents were going to tell us something,” an Ecuadorean migrant told the newspaper. “But we just walked in.”

“It was so easy to get into the US, said a migrant from Cuba. “Nothing like our journey through Mexico. That part was hard. I thought there was going to be more security.”