What do US border encounter statistics measure?

They measure the number of times US Customs and Border Protection encountered individuals at or between ports of entry, split by border region, by type of person and by country of citizenship.

Who publishes this data and how far back does it go?

US Customs and Border Protection publishes it monthly in its Nationwide Encounters release, with the series on this page running from October 2019.

Does an encounter mean a different person each time?

No. Encounters count events, not individuals, so one person who attempts to cross several times is counted each time.

Why is this data relevant to economic analysis?

Because immigration is the fastest-moving source of US labour force growth, and this is the most timely monthly measure of inflows available.

US Border Encounters by Sector and Country

Name: US Border Encounters by Sector and Country
Creator: U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Nationwide Encounters
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Every person US Customs and Border Protection stops at or between ports of entry each month, cut three ways from the same monthly file: by border and type of person (single adults, family units, unaccompanied children), by the twenty-two countries of citizenship that account for most encounters, and by Border Patrol sector and responsible agency.

Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Nationwide EncountersLast updated: Sep 23, 2026, 18:34Curated by Bui Thanh PhucAbout this data ↓

Indicator	08-2026	07-2026	06-2026	05-2026	04-2026	03-2026	02-2026	01-2026	12-2025	11-2025	10-2025	09-2025	08-2025	07-2025	06-2025	05-2025	04-2025	03-2025	02-2025	01-2025	12-2024	11-2024	10-2024	09-2024	08-2024	07-2024	06-2024	05-2024	04-2024	03-2024	02-2024	01-2024	12-2023	11-2023	10-2023	09-2023	08-2023
BY REGION AND TYPE OF PERSON1
Total nationwide encounters2	34,428	33,788	31,620	32,825	31,358	31,462	26,980	34,632	30,714	30,423	30,636	26,002	26,162	24,589	25,185	29,470	29,197	29,013	28,613	81,479	124,482	124,972	142,742	144,666	158,893	170,180	204,932	240,924	247,929	246,505	256,071	242,530	370,883	308,605	309,024	341,392	304,073
By border region3
Southwest land border	12,242	12,730	12,905	13,542	12,857	11,735	9,613	9,729	9,992	10,960	11,704	11,647	9,731	7,822	9,300	12,450	12,023	11,011	11,710	61,445	96,033	94,183	106,316	101,790	107,473	104,100	130,415	170,716	179,737	189,359	189,913	176,195	301,981	242,399	240,927	269,735	232,963
Northern land border	6,087	6,591	4,952	4,372	3,804	4,333	3,725	4,257	4,176	3,583	4,338	4,436	6,837	6,294	5,822	5,060	4,835	4,472	4,091	4,976	11,631	12,085	15,207	17,127	18,944	17,895	17,700	18,663	16,848	16,368	14,653	15,916	15,364	14,055	15,396	18,852	19,834
All other locations (ports, air and sea)	16,099	14,467	13,763	14,911	14,697	15,394	13,642	20,646	16,546	15,880	14,594	9,919	9,594	10,473	10,063	11,960	12,339	13,530	12,812	15,058	16,818	18,704	21,219	25,749	32,476	48,185	56,817	51,545	51,344	40,778	51,505	50,419	53,538	52,151	52,701	52,805	51,276
By type of person encountered4
Single adults	29,162	29,251	28,819	30,541	28,958	29,298	25,227	31,686	28,003	27,967	27,574	23,098	22,261	21,196	22,569	26,717	26,375	26,656	25,681	55,308	78,413	81,518	93,296	95,976	102,909	110,077	129,853	148,861	160,247	156,640	162,637	156,892	215,184	174,965	174,249	185,740	152,477
Family unit members	4,081	3,387	1,849	1,340	1,560	1,392	1,130	2,111	1,940	1,584	2,031	1,911	3,002	2,768	1,819	1,569	1,834	1,540	2,024	22,745	38,991	36,806	42,563	41,809	48,366	53,120	67,024	82,836	78,668	80,576	82,496	76,530	141,658	120,306	122,685	141,306	136,674
Unaccompanied children	817	892	810	861	733	651	527	695	653	780	929	895	717	514	722	1,086	871	702	835	3,258	6,858	6,486	6,640	6,578	7,186	6,387	7,501	8,678	8,563	8,880	10,427	8,559	13,510	12,834	11,569	13,809	14,311
Accompanied minors	368	258	142	83	107	121	96	140	118	92	102	98	182	111	75	98	117	115	73	168	220	162	243	303	432	596	554	549	451	409	511	549	531	500	521	537	611
BY COUNTRY OF CITIZENSHIP22
Mexico	10,257	10,605	10,582	11,601	11,705	10,838	8,646	9,682	8,698	9,676	10,559	9,782	8,643	7,011	8,132	10,820	10,696	9,213	8,108	20,481	26,636	31,842	36,970	36,850	38,582	33,900	43,564	60,480	60,704	67,001	64,366	61,236	70,191	66,412	64,802	55,157	57,395
Venezuela	418	382	392	416	419	469	371	435	508	374	407	361	342	339	323	379	361	370	350	11,936	19,566	15,967	16,650	15,947	16,800	18,018	17,089	22,116	23,182	21,383	14,411	16,505	62,852	39,254	45,939	72,325	37,908
Guatemala	1,776	1,784	1,687	1,827	1,330	1,216	1,189	1,317	1,432	1,573	1,510	1,357	1,077	983	1,392	1,414	1,242	1,124	1,716	4,739	9,209	8,201	8,163	7,161	7,352	7,741	11,810	14,167	12,571	15,684	23,981	20,418	35,544	26,486	24,056	34,701	38,113
Honduras	1,257	1,339	1,197	1,230	1,262	1,095	910	916	881	929	898	1,003	865	658	816	848	920	899	858	4,949	8,984	7,942	7,990	7,071	7,234	7,362	9,162	10,775	10,499	9,750	10,356	9,228	21,361	19,275	22,300	27,648	35,432
Cuba	156	153	153	173	189	151	123	145	156	167	196	225	154	116	139	150	129	132	148	6,294	8,975	8,348	8,246	9,315	11,742	15,639	17,559	18,984	17,873	19,560	20,817	22,942	25,048	20,072	18,064	15,677	12,691
Haiti	185	121	76	72	68	54	43	62	82	92	91	75	111	126	102	62	60	111	84	1,516	2,674	2,866	4,495	4,812	10,091	17,702	24,050	19,123	21,447	12,481	25,345	23,729	22,863	20,149	19,006	18,402	19,764
Colombia	667	734	716	659	512	527	459	577	583	606	534	416	415	295	420	381	403	363	356	3,509	6,261	5,084	6,706	5,753	6,004	6,997	9,136	11,459	11,627	13,797	12,762	7,995	19,287	15,567	14,292	14,417	9,814
Nicaragua	218	246	197	181	160	178	151	147	198	216	163	143	159	135	157	129	116	85	80	402	712	631	703	899	2,665	5,099	6,713	6,724	7,380	8,742	11,404	9,791	13,699	9,292	8,641	6,920	6,224
Ecuador	478	483	474	417	290	296	241	271	289	313	265	241	203	219	278	279	249	238	342	2,039	3,268	2,786	2,817	2,857	3,809	4,506	7,058	10,747	16,115	16,021	11,830	7,899	17,306	13,591	12,284	15,691	13,724
India	3,066	2,971	1,969	2,075	2,009	2,158	2,162	3,931	3,456	2,711	2,110	1,147	1,080	1,315	1,631	1,791	1,838	1,989	1,626	3,134	5,622	6,157	6,816	7,806	7,528	7,691	8,964	8,353	6,931	6,189	5,568	7,494	7,952	7,440	8,499	8,706	7,018
El Salvador	395	382	386	392	359	377	381	378	365	378	319	329	267	211	244	324	269	317	365	1,963	3,237	3,340	3,355	3,034	3,015	3,181	4,030	5,029	4,699	4,135	4,637	3,658	6,654	7,623	7,512	7,747	6,246
Ukraine	209	153	241	250	235	316	211	219	229	217	235	203	223	301	208	285	236	379	284	661	1,400	3,522	5,741	9,696	6,943	7,173	7,766	7,799	6,703	5,480	4,498	4,059	5,623	6,098	6,767	7,966	6,845
Philippines	941	730	1,302	1,740	1,786	1,776	1,523	1,837	1,672	1,956	1,770	1,726	1,774	2,150	1,896	2,361	2,785	2,691	2,263	2,369	3,566	3,669	3,810	3,430	3,929	3,267	3,619	4,170	3,893	4,246	3,863	4,410	4,383	4,429	4,782	4,297	4,235
China	3,292	2,583	2,293	2,188	2,195	2,708	2,337	3,608	2,281	1,835	2,011	1,459	1,499	1,598	1,430	1,472	1,254	1,936	2,657	3,852	4,077	3,644	4,758	5,007	6,040	5,569	6,171	7,421	6,527	5,069	7,112	6,772	8,615	7,238	7,160	7,271	5,864
Canada	3,052	3,656	2,817	2,614	2,338	3,122	2,499	3,402	3,177	2,496	2,638	2,082	2,706	2,575	2,322	2,210	2,357	2,667	2,918	2,743	3,345	3,096	3,618	4,430	4,117	4,216	3,114	3,283	4,397	3,897	3,116	4,280	4,042	3,002	3,151	4,067	3,781
Peru	152	144	150	161	157	138	123	178	177	206	171	145	145	101	157	183	157	175	179	835	1,286	950	840	874	800	777	990	3,572	6,950	4,741	3,342	2,112	6,143	4,600	4,299	4,595	3,421
Brazil	671	622	570	549	433	510	425	691	478	441	496	183	103	172	152	159	200	234	267	665	1,188	1,123	1,220	1,295	1,642	1,925	2,625	3,165	3,347	3,690	3,324	1,923	3,244	3,156	2,794	3,240	3,984
Russia	290	302	478	544	471	550	435	518	570	411	454	493	521	653	553	646	645	739	756	857	999	1,186	1,016	1,152	1,129	1,344	1,087	1,395	1,587	1,569	1,877	2,295	3,015	2,506	2,935	2,906	2,874
Turkey	200	164	153	150	137	212	204	182	204	142	162	124	138	141	196	318	266	177	176	583	872	1,116	1,085	948	764	864	865	864	860	773	580	1,699	1,771	1,840	1,483	1,160	691
Myanmar	166	208	335	239	314	322	330	302	286	318	309	296	288	288	252	300	300	375	323	363	290	377	491	388	430	373	455	436	451	540	455	360	377	309	430	421	321
Romania	44	48	58	39	64	59	52	45	37	56	49	47	48	46	52	76	55	67	53	76	89	161	154	159	135	128	139	166	149	257	232	339	285	311	248	285	190
All other countries	6,538	5,978	5,394	5,308	4,925	4,390	4,165	5,789	4,955	5,310	5,289	4,165	5,401	5,156	4,333	4,883	4,659	4,732	4,704	7,513	12,226	12,964	17,098	15,782	18,142	16,708	18,966	20,696	20,037	21,500	22,195	23,386	30,628	29,955	29,580	27,793	27,538
BY BORDER PATROL SECTOR AND BY AGENCY2
Office of Field Operations (at ports of entry)	23,489	22,488	20,212	20,901	20,491	21,344	18,702	26,711	22,592	21,129	20,689	15,799	18,077	18,421	17,171	19,111	19,190	20,820	19,372	51,352	76,345	77,438	84,627	88,673	98,209	110,525	117,326	119,278	116,851	107,381	113,967	117,090	119,705	116,248	118,570	121,069	121,696
U.S. Border Patrol (between ports of entry)20	10,939	11,300	11,408	11,924	10,867	10,118	8,278	7,921	8,122	9,294	9,947	10,203	8,085	6,168	8,014	10,359	10,007	8,193	9,241	30,127	48,137	47,534	58,115	55,993	60,684	59,655	87,606	121,646	131,078	139,124	142,104	125,440	251,178	192,357	190,454	220,323	182,377
Tucson sector (Arizona)	1,528	1,544	1,758	1,939	1,688	1,470	1,020	1,018	1,062	1,368	1,740	1,753	1,067	671	966	1,588	1,327	1,068	1,335	4,723	7,315	8,020	11,454	11,055	11,923	11,723	22,436	33,221	31,218	41,938	49,450	50,560	80,184	64,636	55,223	51,001	48,752
El Paso sector (west Texas and New Mexico)	1,497	1,529	1,912	1,877	1,614	1,220	1,261	1,040	1,191	1,265	1,385	1,447	1,304	1,096	1,631	2,011	1,958	1,628	2,109	4,871	8,598	9,710	10,802	12,507	13,258	11,614	14,511	23,478	30,397	30,421	23,919	17,515	33,967	22,409	22,106	38,148	25,234
Del Rio sector (Texas)	885	933	991	1,000	857	986	671	627	703	758	910	882	643	474	652	927	1,056	928	894	3,461	6,042	8,255	8,566	6,932	7,665	7,236	7,640	10,095	10,271	11,270	14,102	16,710	71,048	42,930	38,206	45,688	29,689
San Diego sector (California)	918	1,065	1,039	1,151	958	947	850	798	855	833	960	946	715	555	895	1,394	1,315	1,200	1,648	6,388	10,111	10,570	14,165	13,309	14,436	15,561	25,612	32,505	37,371	33,784	31,562	24,709	34,370	31,163	29,878	26,609	18,985
Rio Grande Valley sector (Texas)	2,101	2,438	2,231	1,989	1,802	1,785	1,381	1,273	1,365	1,599	1,603	1,661	1,362	949	980	1,439	1,339	1,103	1,289	5,966	10,129	5,118	5,056	4,689	5,243	5,032	5,981	7,867	8,814	9,069	11,951	7,342	18,216	18,784	32,111	45,764	46,537
Yuma sector (Arizona)	247	159	182	216	201	170	139	149	140	142	161	203	194	109	137	121	175	184	243	893	1,510	1,598	2,355	1,817	1,716	2,170	3,519	5,321	5,603	5,865	4,960	3,733	7,144	6,159	5,870	5,935	6,734
Laredo sector (Texas)	1,333	1,322	1,399	1,505	1,485	1,241	923	824	826	1,037	873	1,203	741	519	573	878	749	708	565	1,903	2,323	2,028	2,372	2,062	2,372	1,978	2,419	2,953	3,326	2,978	2,920	2,195	2,267	2,811	2,827	3,079	3,097
El Centro sector (California)	200	208	195	210	203	264	196	195	156	132	171	89	83	77	76	129	133	125	101	548	790	1,028	1,454	1,138	1,088	872	1,199	1,714	1,366	1,712	1,209	1,127	2,222	1,788	2,049	1,979	1,458
Big Bend sector (Texas)	161	98	148	124	158	187	158	152	178	219	185	202	208	142	156	237	324	235	165	352	502	282	291	349	308	214	215	751	529	436	568	324	322	426	479	560	568
Swanton sector (Vermont and New York)	87	105	135	107	72	81	39	29	57	71	86	85	75	69	119	125	89	54	91	354	348	483	1,026	1,575	2,198	2,751	3,310	2,911	1,470	1,109	868	585	757	776	1,075	956	712
Miami sector (Florida)	1,377	1,202	792	1,010	1,098	1,021	898	1,109	1,039	1,150	987	961	906	890	1,024	866	727	285	225	237	125	135	89	145	147	120	244	121	136	114	132	124	59	50	69	85	61
New Orleans sector (Gulf coast)	118	144	227	286	285	290	176	196	150	197	292	196	229	120	172	150	209	166	148	103	82	83	109	80	73	86	111	102	84	50	40	16	23	26	39	19	49
Blaine sector (Washington state)	21	32	14	35	28	29	36	39	21	29	8	8	20	15	15	19	24	10	21	30	34	58	69	63	66	99	181	266	330	226	235	223	291	198	229	218	188
Detroit sector (Michigan)	152	110	73	99	100	111	189	171	131	155	231	184	183	169	205	181	213	170	139	72	44	42	47	41	57	50	43	74	80	53	52	13	45	55	61	48	34
Buffalo sector (New York)	208	262	174	197	174	201	134	137	117	170	173	219	176	169	207	107	136	104	100	53	47	37	65	40	44	58	36	60	13	32	43	38	31	31	32	10	41
Ramey sector (Puerto Rico)	11	72	40	91	68	23	25	49	18	27	35	67	47	12	50	12	11	59	40	65	100	3	119	118	24	12	118	119	23	7	24	159	178	27	75	121	157
Houlton sector (Maine)	9	4	1	2	6	25	64	33	27	40	21	47	46	75	101	99	113	72	52	50	18	27	25	15	14	31	12	38	22	39	27	23	23	47	53	15	15
Grand Forks sector (North Dakota)	16	32	50	39	15	33	42	25	14	41	19	14	35	24	32	28	14	22	22	25	8	28	31	41	25	30	11	21	16	15	23	28	8	22	19	63	33
Spokane sector (eastern Washington)	17	18	13	24	29	16	51	44	58	42	84	22	35	23	14	38	53	64	54	32	8	22	9	11	16	14	7	18	4	5	12	10	10	15	22	18	21
Havre sector (Montana)	53	23	34	23	26	18	25	13	14	19	23	14	16	10	9	10	42	8		1	3	7	11	6	11	4	1	11	5	1	7	6	13	4	31	7	12

Latest reading

Total nationwide encounters stood at 34,428 Encounters in Aug 2026. That is +1.9% from Jul 2026 and +31.6% from a year earlier. The series on this page is monthly and runs from Oct 2019 to Aug 2026. Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Nationwide Encounters.

Latest: 34,428 Encounters; Aug 2026
vs previous period: +1.9%; Jul 2026
vs a year earlier: +31.6%

About this data

Frequently asked questions

What do US border encounter statistics measure?: They measure the number of times US Customs and Border Protection encountered individuals at or between ports of entry, split by border region, by type of person and by country of citizenship.
Who publishes this data and how far back does it go?: US Customs and Border Protection publishes it monthly in its Nationwide Encounters release, with the series on this page running from October 2019.
Does an encounter mean a different person each time?: No. Encounters count events, not individuals, so one person who attempts to cross several times is counted each time.
Why is this data relevant to economic analysis?: Because immigration is the fastest-moving source of US labour force growth, and this is the most timely monthly measure of inflows available.