
The U.S. Border Patrol seeks to prevent illegal entry into the United States along the 8,000 miles of land and water boundaries of the United States between ports-of-entry.
The southwest border covers four states: California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
The voluntary returns program allows aliens to enter an agreement to leave the United States of their own volition to avoid further consequences.
| SouthWest Border Apprehensions | Aug-01 | Aug-02 |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest Border apprehensions | 84,648 | 82,557 |
| Percent change from same month previous year | -25.95 | -2.47 |
| Southwest Border voluntary returns | 79,784 | 77,109 |
| Percent change from same month previous year | -28.23 | -3.35 |
NOTE: The current value is compared to the value from the same period in the previous year to account for seasonality.
SOURCE: U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, available at: http://www.ins.gov/graphics/aboutins/statistics/index.htm.