Yuma Sector: 400% increase in border encounters compared to 2021

FOX 9's Adam Klepp broke down the most recent CBP stats

YUMA, Ariz. (KECY, KYMA) - Yuma is vastly outpacing the rest of the border in terms of the percentage increase in apprehensions.

Currently in fiscal year 2022, apprehensions along the entire border are up 67% compared to last year.

In Yuma, it's up 400%, far and away the biggest percentage increase in any border sector.

Still on Wednesday migrants crossed at the Morelos Dam saying they are in search of a better life.

“I hope that Venezuela can move forward from the problems in the economy. We’re coming here to do good and to find work,” Rosa Guerrero said.

The Yuma border is also seeing the most illegal crossing activity of the sector historically, with over 27,000 in April.

Pima County Republican party chair Shelley Kais says she knows who’s responsible for the record increase.

“I’m blaming the Biden administration, because I didn’t see these problems two years ago,” Kais said.

A closer look at CBP numbers shows since President Biden's inauguration in January of 2021, there have been 288,000 apprehensions by Yuma agents, more than during the entire Obama and Trump administrations combined.

For now Title 42 is still in effect at the border but in Yuma, it's not being used like in other sectors.

In April 46% of CBP encounters turned into Title 42 expulsions, but in Yuma, only 6% of migrants apprehended were expelled under Title 42.

Those same statistics show nearly 235,000 border arrests along the entire southern border in April, but immigration policy experts say the number is misleading due to migrants crossing multiple times, the Ukrainian Sponsorship Program, and Title 42.

“There were 157 thousand unique encounters at the border, which means over 80 thousand border encounters were repeat encounters," Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, from the American Immigration Council said.