October illegal immigrant apprehensions surge 128% from same time last year

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The number of migrants apprehended at the U.S. southern border in October has surged 128% from the same time last year, according to data released Monday by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

CBP data showed 164,303 migrant encounters along the southern border in October, a rate that has skyrocketed since October 2020, when there were 71,929 apprehensions.

Most of the migrants are from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Mounted U.S. Border Patrol agents watch Haitian immigrants on the bank of the Rio Grande in Del Rio, Texas, on Sept. 20, 2021 as seen from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. ((Photo by John Moore/Getty Images))

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) is the epicenter of illegal crossings, with 45,324 migrants encountered during the month.

RIO GRANDE VALLEY BORDER PATROL ENCOUNTER NEARLY 2,000 MIGRANTS IN 24 HOURS, HUNDREDS GET PAST AGENTS

In Fiscal Year 2022, the RGV sector has seen more than 65,000 migrant encounters to date, a 161% increase over the same period last year. In nearby Del Rio Sector, there has been a 236% increase in encounters over the same period last year.

FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent monitors single-adult male detainees at Border Patrol station in McAllen, Texas, U.S. July 12, 2019.   (REUTERS/Veronica G. Cardenas//File Photo)

The October crossings represent a drop for the third month in a row following a 21-year high in July. The October numbers were down 14% from September.

Demographics in the data include accompanied minors, individuals in a family unit, single adults, and unaccompanied children.

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Approximately 57% of the migrants apprehended in October were expelled to Mexico or other countries under a Trump-era emergency policy known as Title 42, which the Biden administration has kept in place.

June 10, 2021: A pair of migrant families from Brazil pass through a gap in the border wall to reach the United States after crossing from Mexico to Yuma, Ariz., to seek asylum.    ((AP Photo/Eugene Garcia, File))

The administration is not applying Title 42 to unaccompanied children or to many migrant families, who are instead being processed and released into the United States, often with little more than a notice to report at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office within 60 days.

Fox News' Bill Melugin and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.