A U.S. Border Patrol agent, right, walks past a group of people who are waiting to be processed on Sept. 18, 2023, in Jacumba Hot Springs, California. - Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS
SAN DIEGO — Border agents and customs officers along the California border encountered 72% more migrants in the recently ended fiscal year as compared to two years before, according to recently released federal statistics. The head of Border Patrol in the San Diego area said that marked “a level of activity not seen in over two decades,” with the data backing up the sharp increase in immigrant arrivals that led San Diego County officials in September to declare a humanitarian crisis at the border and request more federal help. During that same three-year period in the region of San Diego and I...
