
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 | Jul-01 | Jul-02 |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest Border apprehensions | 83,602 | 76,661 |
| Percent change from same month previous year | -26.64 | -8.30 |
| Southwest Border voluntary returns | 79,757 | 72,841 |
| Percent change from same month previous year | -28.04 | -8.67 |
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.