WASHINGTON – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released operational statistics today for April 2024. CBP monthly reporting can be viewed on CBP’s Stats and Summaries webpage.
“CBP continues to surge resources and personnel to impacted sectors along the border to ensure the safe, swift, and orderly processing of individuals to maximize expedited removals. We have redoubled our efforts, in coordination with partners throughout the hemisphere and around the world, to disrupt the criminal organizations and transportation networks who are putting vulnerable migrants in danger while peddling lies and profiting from them. We have executed the largest surge of removals and disruptive activities against human smuggling networks in the past decade,” said Troy A. Miller, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner. “As a result of this increased enforcement, southwest border encounters have not increased, bucking previous trends. We will remain vigilant to continually shifting migration patterns. We are still experiencing challenges along the borders and the nation’s immigration system is not appropriately resourced to handle them, so we continue to call on Congress to take action that would provide our personnel with additional resources and tools.”
CBP continues to work tirelessly to strengthen border security and enforcement efforts, including collaborating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to quickly process noncitizens encountered at the border and remove or return those who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States, delivering strengthened consequences promulgated by the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule and its associated measures. Since the lifting of Title 42 May 12, 2023 to April 30, 2024, DHS has removed or returned over 720,000 individuals, the vast majority of whom crossed the southwest border, including more than 109,000 individual family members. Total removals and returns since mid-May 2023 exceed removals and returns in every full fiscal year since 2011.
Below are key operational statistics for CBP’s primary mission areas in April 2024. View all CBP statistics online.
Ensuring Border Security and Managing Migration
CBP continues to expeditiously process, remove, and strengthen consequences for individuals who cross our borders unlawfully. Individuals and families without a legal basis to remain in the U.S. are subject to removal pursuant to Title 8 authorities and are subject to a minimum five-year bar on admission as well as potential prosecution if they subsequently re-enter without authorization. No one should believe the lies of smugglers. The fact is that people without a legal basis to remain in the United States will be removed.
The United States is working together with our domestic and foreign partners to jointly disrupt irregular migration across the region, offering safe, orderly, and lawful pathways for intending migrants and taking action against ruthless smugglers who continue to spread falsehoods and show disregard for the safety and well-being of vulnerable migrants.
In April 2024, the U.S. Border Patrol recorded 128,900 encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border. In April, encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border were 6% lower than in March 2024 and 30% lower than April 2023.
CBP continually analyzes and responds to changes in migration patterns, particularly irregular migration outside of lawful pathways and border crossings. We work with our federal and international partners to combat human smuggling. The fact remains: the United States continues to enforce immigration law, and those without a legal basis to remain will be removed. Migrants attempting to enter without authorization are subject to removal under Title 8 authorities.
The U.S. Border Patrol has undertaken significant efforts in recent years to expand capacity to aid and rescue individuals in distress. To prevent the loss of life, CBP initiated a Missing Migrant Program in 2017 that locates noncitizens reported missing, rescues individuals in distress, and reunifies decedents’ remains with their families in the border region. In April, the U.S. Border Patrol conducted 411 rescues, bringing the FY 2024 total to 3,096 rescues.
View more migration statistics and rescues statistics.
CBP One™ App
The CBP One™ mobile application remains a key scheduling tool as part of DHS’s efforts to incentivize noncitizens to use lawful, safe, humane, and orderly pathways and processes. Generally, noncitizens who cross between the ports of entry or who present themselves at a port of entry without making a CBP One™ appointment are subject to the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule. This rule presumes asylum ineligibility for those who fail to use lawful processes, with certain exceptions. DHS encourages migrants to utilize lawful processes, rather than taking the dangerous journey to cross unlawfully between the ports of entry, which also carries consequences under Title 8.
The CBP One™ app allows noncitizens throughout central or northern Mexico who lack documents sufficient for admission to the United States to schedule an appointment and remain in place until presenting at a preferred port of entry for their appointment, reducing migrants’ need to crowd into immediate border areas. Use of the CBP One™ app to schedule appointments at ports of entry has increased CBP’s capacity to process migrants more efficiently and orderly while cutting out unscrupulous smugglers who endanger and profit from vulnerable migrants.
In April, CBP processed 41,400 individuals through appointments at ports of entry utilizing advanced information submitted in CBP One™. Since the appointment scheduling function in CBP One™ was introduced in January 2023 through the end of April 2024, more than 591,000 individuals have successfully scheduled appointments to present at ports of entry instead of risking their lives in the hands of smugglers. The top nationalities processed subsequent to arrival for their appointment are Cuban, Haitian, Honduran, Mexican, and Venezuelan.
A percentage of daily available appointments are allocated to the earliest registered CBP One™ profiles, so noncitizens who have been trying to obtain appointments for the longest time are prioritized. CBP is continually monitoring and evaluating the application to ensure its functionality and guard against bad actors.
CHNV Parole Processes
On January 5, 2023, DHS announced processes providing certain Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans who have a supporter in the United States undergo and clear robust security vetting and meet other eligibility criteria authorization to travel to the United States in a safe, orderly, and lawful way. Once they purchase commercial airline tickets for themselves These processes were built on the success of the process for Venezuelans established in October 2022; they are publicly available online, and DHS has been providing regular updates on their use to the public. This is part of the Administration’s strategy to combine expanded lawful pathways with stronger consequences to reduce irregular migration and have kept hundreds of thousands of people from migrating irregularly.Through the end of April 2024, 434,800 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans arrived lawfully on commercial flights and were granted parole under these processes. Specifically, 95,500 Cubans, 184,600 Haitians, 83,800 Nicaraguans, and 109,200 Venezuelans were vetted and authorized for travel; and 91,100 Cubans, 166,700 Haitians, 75,700 Nicaraguans, and 101,200 Venezuelans arrived lawfully and were granted parole.
Safeguarding Communities by Interdicting Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
As the largest law enforcement agency in the United States, CBP is uniquely positioned to detect, identify, and seize illicit drugs before they enter our communities. CBP’s combination of interdiction and intelligence capabilities, complemented by its border search authorities, scientific services, non-intrusive inspection equipment, and canine detection teams, places it at the forefront of the U.S. government’s efforts to combat illicit fentanyl and other dangerous drugs.
In April, CBP also announced an expanded, multi-agency effort to target transnational criminals funneling fentanyl from Mexico into American communities. Operation Plaza Spike targets the cartels that facilitate the flow of deadly fentanyl, as well as its analogs, precursors, and tools to make the drugs. The operation is designed to disrupt operations in the “plazas,” cartel territories located directly south of the United States that are natural logistical chokepoints within the cartels’ operations. This is the next phase in CBP’s Strategy to Combat Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Drugs, a whole-of-government and international effort to anticipate, identify, mitigate, and disrupt illicit synthetic drug producers, suppliers, and traffickers.
That strategy also includes conducting operations, including Operation Apollo, that target the smuggling of illicit fentanyl and other dangerous drugs. First implemented in southern California in October 2023, and recently expanded into Arizona, Operation Apollo utilizes local field assets augmented by federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners to target drug traffickers’ supply chains in select locations based on ongoing investigations, intelligence collection, and drug seizure data. Operation Apollo targets items required in the production of illicit fentanyl, including precursor chemicals, pill presses and parts, movement of finished product, and illicit proceeds.
Nationwide in April, cocaine seizures increased by 95% compared to March. To date in FY 2024 through the end of April, CBP has seized over 11,400 pounds of fentanyl. CBP has caught more fentanyl nationwide between the start of fiscal year 2023 through April 30, 2024 than in the previous five fiscal years combined, and we continue to optimize our intelligence and field operations to stop these deadly substances from reaching American communities.
Additional CBP drug seizure statistics can be found on the Drug Seizure Statistics webpage.
Facilitating Lawful Trade and Travel
As international travel continues to increase, CBP is leveraging technology to streamline efficiency and increase security at air and land ports of entry. Travelers are encouraged to utilize CBP’s mobile apps to enhance their travel experience, including the Global Entry Mobile Application and Mobile Passport Control, as well as new Global Entry Touchless Portals at nearly all international airports across the United States, which protect passenger privacy and expedite arrival processing by eliminating paper receipts.
Commercial trucks processed at ports of entry increased 15% from April 2023 to April 2024. Travelers arriving by air into the United States increased 8% in the same period; passenger vehicles processed at ports of entry increased 3%; and pedestrians arriving by land at ports of entry increased 2% over the same period.
CBP works diligently with the trade community and port operators to ensure that merchandise is cleared as efficiently as possible and to strengthen international supply chains and improve border security. In April 2024, CBP processed more than 3.2 million entry summaries valued at more than $289 billion, identifying estimated duties of nearly $6.4 billion to be collected by the U.S. government. In April, trade via the ocean environment accounted for 39.66% of the total import value, followed by air, truck, and rail.
View more travel statistics, and trade statistics.
Protecting Consumers, Eradicating Forced Labor from Supply Chains, and Promoting Economic Security
CBP continues to lead U.S. government efforts to eliminate goods from the supply chain made with forced labor from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. In April, CBP stopped 392 shipments valued at more than $184 million for further examination based on the suspected use of forced labor.
Intellectual property rights violations continue to put America’s innovation economy at risk. Counterfeit and pirated goods threaten the competitiveness of U.S. businesses, the livelihoods of American workers, and the health and safety of consumers.
Consumers are encouraged to be alert to the dangers of counterfeit goods especially when shopping online as they support criminal activity, hurt American businesses, and often have materials or ingredients that can pose serious health and safety risks. Every year CBP seizes millions of counterfeit products worth billions of dollars had they been genuine. In April, CBP seized 1,736 shipments that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $235 million. More information about CBP’s intellectual property rights enforcement is available at www.cbp.gov/trade.
CBP completed 20 audits in April that identified $13 million in duties and fees owed to the U.S. government, stemming from goods that had been improperly declared in accordance with U.S. trade laws and customs regulations. CBP collected over $5.7 million of this identified revenue and from previous fiscal years’ assignments.
CBP is on the frontline of textiles and trade agreements enforcement, combating textile imports that are not compliant with U.S. trade laws. Protecting the domestic textile industry and American consumers is vital to U.S. national security, health care, and economic priorities. Toward this end, CBP is intensifying its targeting and enforcement efforts to increase and expedite the prosecution of illegal customs practices. CBP’s efforts include de minimis compliance, forced labor enforcement, cargo compliance, regulatory audits, and public awareness. This month DHS announced an enhanced strategy to combat illicit trade and level the playing field for the American textile industry, which accounts for over 500,000 U.S. jobs and is critical for our national security. The plan details the actions CBP and Homeland Security Investigations will take to hold perpetrators accountable for customs violations and safeguard the American textile industry.
View more UFLPA enforcement statistics, and intellectual property rights enforcement statistics.
Defending our Nation’s Agricultural System
Through targeting, detection, and interception, CBP agriculture specialists work to prevent threats from entering the United States.
CBP issued 7,139 emergency action notifications for restricted and prohibited plant and animal products entering the United States in April 2024. CBP conducted 101,416 positive passenger inspections and issued 823 civil penalties and/or violations to the traveling public for failing to declare prohibited agriculture items.
View more agricultural enforcement statistics.