US border officials reported the highest number of migrant crossings ever, with a seven-day average of more than 9,600, a Homeland Security official told CNN.
The record figure is the average over the entire southern border of the country.
It surpassed another record of 6,800 meetings the previous month.
The recent surge has been fueled by thousands of migrants appearing across the border in unprecedented numbers, but mainly in three hotspots.
The small outpost of Lukeville, Arizona is the epicenter of the border crisis – with nearly 20,000 migrants entering illegally in just one week.
A migrant bows as he waits for Border Patrol transport at the U.S.-Mexico border near Lukeville, Arizona, U.S., December 25, 2023
Migrants walk to a processing facility as directed by Border Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico border near Lukeville, Arizona, U.S., December 25, 2023
Migrants wait to be transported by Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border near Lukeville, Arizona, U.S., December 25, 2023
Eagle Pass, Texas and Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego, Cali, are the two other busiest places on the border.
Eagle Pass saw at least 18,853 migrants last week, according to U.S. Border Patrol.
The US has seen historic numbers since 2021, when the pandemic ended, imposing travel restrictions in many countries, and after President Joe Biden came to power.
However, the pressure of the influx of migrants has spread across the border – and not just to these three locations.
The US Border Patrol, the The organization in charge of border security is doing something called “lateral decompression” to help overwhelmed parts of the border.
The official border crossing into Lukeville, Arizona, is closed and local businesses are on the brink. A border official says as many as 19,400 migrants have been apprehended in the city this week.
Venezuelan migrant Diana walks with her daughter Samira, 4, and husband Juan Brazon, after crossing the border into Eagle Pass, Texas, United States. December 26, 2023
Migrants walk to a processing center escorted by US authorities after crossing the border into Eagle Pass, Texas, United States. December 26, 2023. Most of the group came from Venezuela
Agents in a busy sector will take migrants by bus or plane to less busy parts of the border where the migrants can be screened — what the department calls “processing.”
That's when immigrants who entered the U.S. without papers undergo background checks.
Anyone with a criminal record will be deported and handed over to the competent authorities.
Those undocumented have their biometric data collected and Border Patrol records their illegal entry, a federal crime.
Agents then start deporting them.
Migrants board a Border Patrol transport van at the U.S.-Mexico border near Lukeville, Arizona, U.S., December 25, 2023
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent closes the door of a migrant transport van at the U.S.-Mexico border near Lukeville, Arizona, on Christmas Day
Figures released by the U.S. Border Patrol show a huge spike in the number of migrants in Lukeville, Arizona, which is part of the agency's Tucson Sector.
Since 2021, many illegal border crossers have applied for asylum during this period.
By law, the U.S. Border Patrol must stop deportations if someone says they are afraid to return to their country.
Those who meet the initial asylum threshold are given a court date, often years later, and are legally released into the country.
Currently, the Border Patrol has maxed out processing space in these three hotspots: San Diego, Lukeville and Eagle Pass.
Migrants are sent to any Border Patrol station on the U.S.-Mexico border where there is space.
Many end up in El Paso, Texas, where a large facility was built specifically for lateral decompression.
Once migrants are processed in El Paso, those who qualify will be released to West Texas.
A migrant caravan, 6,000 to 8,000 strong, is currently making its way through southern Mexico on its way to the US.
Morehead Middle School in El Paso, Texas, opened Friday evening as a migrant shelter, city officials said
The school-turned-shelter has a capacity for hundreds of migrants
The spillover effect has created a crisis in that Texas city, even though migrants are not moving there in large numbers.
That has prompted local officials to use a vacant high school as an emergency shelter for migrants.
In addition, the city expects a new wave of border crossings to occur when a sprawling migrant caravan, estimated at between 6,000 and 8,000 migrants, arrives at the border within weeks.
“We know they're coming, but we just don't know how it's going to split,” a Border Patrol official told DailyMail.com on condition of anonymity.
U.S. immigration officials believe it is possible the group could split up as it moves through Mexico.
'Chances are you won't see the entire caravan crossing in the same place. Some might head to Eagle Pass, while others might end up in El Paso. It just depends.'
Even 1,000 or more migrants crossing the border in one location has the potential to collapse resources in one area, with local officials bracing for the worst, told DailyMail.com.