Tucson Standard

In the week ending March 15, 2024, agents from the Tucson sector of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (US CBP) intercepted more than 10,000 illegal immigrants. This sector spans nine stations from the Yuma County line to the New Mexico border.

According to a report by John R. Modlin, Chief Patrol Agent of the sector, this information was shared in a message on X.

In addition to this, Modlin noted that agents had uncovered 23 human smuggling events during that week. They also made two significant arrests and seized one firearm, as stated in his message on X.

Modlin provided further insight into the situation through a graphic shared on X. The graphic compared weekly apprehension numbers for February and March across fiscal years 2023 and 2024. As per this graphic, it is evident that the Tucson sector has been recording over 10,000 apprehensions each week since February. These figures peaked at 12,200 in the first week of March before slightly dipping to 10,500 in the second full week of the month.

The U.S. Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security tasked with preventing terrorists and their weapons from entering United States territory. Its mission extends to preventing illegal entry of people and contraband. Agents from this agency patrol nearly 6,000 miles of border between Mexico and Canada, along with over 2,000 miles of coastal waters stretching from Florida to Puerto Rico. Established in 1924, it operates in 328 ports of entry while protecting approximately 7,000 miles of land borders and around 95,000 miles of maritime borders.