Venezuelans dominante in arrests at the U.S. border

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Venezuelans became the largest nationality arrested for illegally crossing the U.S. border, replacing Mexicans for the first time on record, according to figures released Saturday that show September was the second-highest month for arrests of all nationalities.

Venezuelans were arrested 54,833 times by the Border Patrol after entering from Mexico in September, more than double from 22,090 arrests in August and well above the previous monthly high of 33,749 arrests in September 2022.

Arrests of all nationalities entering from Mexico totaled 218,763 in September, up 21% from 181,084 in August and approaching an all-time high of 222,018 in December 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Arrests for the government’s budget year that ended Sept. 30 topped 2 million for the second year in a row, down 7% from an all-time high of more than 2.2 million arrests in the same period a year earlier.

Venezuela plunged into a political, economic and humanitarian crisis over the last decade, pushing more than 7 million people to leave. They initially settled in nearby countries in Latin America but began coming to the United States in the last three years, settling in New York, Chicago and other major cities.

Why are Venezuelans migrating to the United States?

Why are so many people going to the United States now? Over the last year, we’ve interviewed hundreds of Venezuelans headed to the United States. The short answer is that people are exhausted by so many years of economic struggle, and global policies meant to change the situation have failed to keep them at home.

Where do most Venezuelans live in the US?

As of 2022, almost half of the Venezuelan-born U.S. residents are in Florida, about 330,000 of the national 668,000 total, mostly in South Florida’s Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Another 100,000 Venezuelans live in Texas, mostly in Harris County, where Houston is located.

US talking to Mexico, other countries to facilitate return of Venezuelans