Human TraffickingMigrationNews

US San Diego Sector Sees Surge in Encounters with Brazilian Nationals

U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents have encountered an unprecedented number of Brazilian nationals in San Diego Sector (SDC).

Since Oct. 1, 2020, SDC agents have apprehended more than 7,300 Brazilian nationals. This is in sharp contrast to the 330 Brazilian nationals apprehended in all FY2020.

Every month since April of 2021, SDC has encountered more than 1,000 Brazilian nationals who entered the U.S. illegally.  This represents more than a 114,000% increase from the same timeframe in FY20, where SDC saw six total apprehensions of Brazilian nationals. 

Due to language barriers and other factors, processing these large numbers of Brazilian nationals strains limited resources – increasing the number of agents removed from patrol duties and being reassigned to processing centers.

SDC continues to manage the current surge of migrants crossing illegally as the Sector’s FY21 to-date encounters and apprehensions exceed 100,000, the highest number in over a decade.