California’s border sectors are experiencing unprecedented numbers of unauthorized crossings, with more than 525,000 illegal border crossers reported in fiscal 2024. Border patrol agents in both the El Centro and San Diego sectors face mounting operational challenges as they manage this increasing influx. The situation has drawn attention from federal agents, state officials, and local law enforcement agencies. These developments have prompted responses from sector chiefs and sheriffs across the state.
The data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection reveals significant changes in crossing patterns and sector activities compared to previous years. Law enforcement agencies have documented various security concerns across California’s border regions. The situation has required immediate responses from border patrol agents and local authorities. The impact extends from coastal areas to desert regions along California’s international border with Mexico.
Record-Breaking Numbers
The fiscal year 2024 has witnessed an unprecedented surge in illegal border crossings in California, with official reports documenting more than 525,000 unauthorized entries. This figure represents a significant increase from fiscal 2023, which saw nearly 514,000 combined crossings including gotaways. The data excludes those who illegally entered and evaded capture, known as gotaways. If trends continue as they have in the past, California’s total reported illegal border crossers, including apprehensions and gotaways, are expected to surpass 625,000 in fiscal 2024.
San Diego Sector Overview
The San Diego Sector stands as California’s largest border patrol area, encompassing approximately 57,000 square miles of diverse terrain. This sector maintains responsibility for 931 miles of coastal border extending to Oregon. The region shares 60 linear miles of land border with Mexico and includes 114 coastal miles along the Pacific Ocean. The sector covers beaches, mesas, an inland mountain range, canyons, and high desert regions.
San Diego Sector Performance
Border Patrol agents in the San Diego Sector have reported at least 324,260 apprehensions during fiscal 2024. This number reflects a 40% increase compared to fiscal 2023’s figure of 230,941 apprehensions. The San Diego Office of Field Operations has documented 183,890 encounters with unauthorized foreign nationals in fiscal 2024. These statistics demonstrate the sector’s position as the area with the highest number of apprehensions historically.
El Centro Sector Challenges
The El Centro Sector, covering 71 linear miles along the U.S.-Mexico border, has reported 17,484 apprehensions in fiscal 2024. This sector operates in the Imperial Valley of Southern California, managing remote and dangerous terrain. Summer temperatures in the sector regularly exceed 120 degrees, creating hazardous conditions. The extreme environment poses significant challenges for both border patrol operations and human safety.
California’s Border Geography
California maintains the smallest international border with Mexico among the four southwest border states, spanning 137 miles. The border length is almost equally split in linear land mileage between the El Centro and San Diego sectors. The San Diego Sector shares 60 miles with Mexico by land. The El Centro Sector manages 71 linear miles of the international boundary.
San Diego’s High-Traffic Areas
The San Diego Sector’s most active region encompasses approximately 7,000 square miles of diverse terrain. This area includes beaches, mesas, an inland mountain range, canyons, and high desert regions. Border Patrol agents must monitor multiple types of terrain within this space. This area has been identified as having the greatest foot traffic among all areas in the sector.
Leadership Testimony
Now-retired San Diego Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke has testified before Congress about hardships faced by agents due to what he described as Biden-Harris administration “open border policies.” In July 2022, crossing numbers reached approximately 16,000, forcing the closure of Border Patrol checkpoints. This closure resulted in miles of the border being left wide open and unpatrolled. Heitke testified about how agents were ordered not to report an alarming increase in “special interest aliens.”
Child Safety Concerns
El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino has expressed specific alarm about unaccompanied children who agents rescue from smugglers. He has reported that these criminals are not related to the children they smuggle. Bovino has testified that traffickers go to extreme lengths to smuggle these children. These smugglers have been found giving children sleep aids to keep them quiet.
Resource Impact
El Centro Chief Border Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino told Congress that a surge of more than 50,000 illegal border crossers in fiscal 2023 took agents away from their primary purpose. The processing, care, and feeding of individuals diverts Border Patrol agents from their main duties. Bovino specifically stated that this affects their primary job of preventing bad people and bad things from crossing the border. These resource demands have significantly impacted the sector’s ability to maintain standard security operations.
Shifting Patterns
Texas’s border security mission, Operation Lone Star, has put pressure on cartel traffickers. This pressure has resulted in illegal border crossers being moved west. The San Diego Sector has become the epicenter of the border crisis, as first reported in February. The Center Square reported again in April that the crisis had worsened.
Criminal Activities
California has reported an increase in Chinese illegal border crossers. Federal agents continue to target California-based Chinese-linked money laundering operations connected to the Sinaloa Cartel. Border patrol agents have expressed alarm about the volume of fentanyl moving through the sector. Federal, state, and local law enforcement officers have seized enough fentanyl in one year to kill billions of people.
Law Enforcement Response
California sheriffs have explicitly expressed their opposition to Vice President Kamala Harris’s border policies. Local law enforcement leaders have publicly stated, “we do not support her.” One sheriff testified to Congress that the policies of the Biden-Harris administration and Governor Gavin Newsom have transformed California. The sheriff specifically stated these policies turned California into “an open territory for the cartel to do whatever it wants.”
Fiscal Year Statistics
The total number of apprehensions across California’s two sectors reached at least 525,634 in fiscal 2024, excluding gotaways. In fiscal 2023, there were over 101,000 gotaways reported in California’s two sectors. The 2023 fiscal year also saw nearly 413,000 apprehensions. These numbers exclude inadmissibles released into California through roughly a dozen parole programs created under the Biden-Harris administration.
Border Patrol Operations
The Border Patrol maintains operations across various types of terrain in both sectors. The El Centro Sector manages primarily remote and dangerous desert areas. The San Diego Sector covers both land and coastal borders. Both sectors handle distinct geographical challenges that affect their operational approaches.
Current Security Measures
Border Patrol agents in both sectors continue documenting and responding to unauthorized crossings. The data shows the majority of illegal border crossers are single adults coming from various countries. Federal agents maintain active investigations into criminal operations along the border. Law enforcement continues to monitor and report on cartel activities and drug trafficking operations.
10 Surprising Animals That Went Extinct in Your Lifetime
10 Surprising Animals That Went Extinct in Your Lifetime
15 Daily Habits of Chronically Unsuccessful People
15 Daily Habits of Chronically Unsuccessful People
18 Habits That Turn Off Women Even If You Are Rich
