Between January and November 2023, a total of 107,848 Ecuadorian migrants have been detained on the border of Mexico and the United States. The figure doubles that of all of 2022.
Migrants at the Jacumba border post, about 120 kilometers east of San Diego, California, United States, on November 29, 2023.
The harsh restrictions on the border of Mexico and the United States did not prevent thousands of Ecuadorian migrants from trying to cross the wall during 2023. A total of 107,848 compatriots were detained in that territory, between January and November of this year.
This is shown by figures from the United States Border Patrol. In the absence of the December report, 2023 is already the year with the highest number of Ecuadorians “found” or detained.
“Encounters” is the term US authorities use to refer to detentions at their borders.
This year’s figure almost doubles that of 2022, which closed with 58,297 Ecuadorian migrants detained and exceeds 2021, in which the new migration crisis that Ecuador is experiencing was uncovered.
In 2021, a total of 90,275 Ecuadorians were detained by the Border Patrol. Most of the “encounters” occurred before September.
That month, Mexico imposed the visa on Ecuadorians again, due to the high number of compatriots who did not return.
But this measure managed to stop migration for a short time. The first months of 2022 there were few arrests, but, as time went by, the numbers grew significantly again.
In May 2023, the United States eliminated Title 42, a law implemented in Donald Trump’s government during the pandemic, which allowed migrants to be immediately expelled. From then on, Title 8 governs, which has stricter measures.
Title 8 is one of the measures with which the United States government intends to stop migration. Despite the validity of this law, the second half of 2023 is when the most Ecuadorians have been detained.
Since July, arrests have exceeded 10,000 and have reached 15,000.
