More Non-Mexicans Than Mexicans Apprehended on U.S.-Mexico Border This Year

More non-Mexicans than Mexicans were apprehended on the U.S.-Mexico border by the Border Patrol in 2014, the first time on record, according to a study released Tuesday.

About 229,000 Mexicans and 257,000 non-Mexicans were apprehended for unauthorized immigration this year, according to a Pew Research report analyzing Border Patrol data. This year’s data is a reversal from previous years when Mexican apprehensions far outnumbered those of non-Mexicans, such as in 2007, when Mexican apprehensions totaled 809,000, compared with only 68,000 non-Mexicans.

Photographer Captures Birds-Eye View of Border Crisis

A U.S. Office of Air and Marine helicopter patrols over the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen, Texas on July 21, 2014.

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Undocumented immigrant families walk before being taken into custody by Border Patrol agents near McAllen, Texas on July 21, 2014.

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U.S. Border Patrol agents chase undocumented immigrants through the countryside near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014.

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U.S. Border Patrol agents take undocumented immigrants into custody near Falfurrias, Texas on July 21, 2014.

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U.S. Border Patrol agents take undocumented immigrants into custody near Falfurrias, Texas on July 21, 2014.

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U.S. Border Patrol agents take undocumented immigrant families into custody at the border fence in McAllen, Texas on July 21, 2014.

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Border Patrol agents take undocumented immigrant families into custody in McAllen, Texas on July 21, 2014.

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U.S. Border Patrol agents detain undocumented immigrants some 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border near Falfurrias, Texas on July 23, 2014.

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An undocumented immigrant awaits medical attention by U.S. Border Patrol agents some 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border near Falfurrias, Texas on July 23, 2014.

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U.S. Border Patrol agents detain undocumented immigrants in dense brushland some 60 miles north of the U.S. Mexico border in Brooks County, Texas on July 23, 2014.

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An undocumented immigrant awaits transportation to a processing center after being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents some 60 miles north of the U.S. Mexico border near Falfurrias, Texas on July 23, 2014.

John Moore—Getty Images

An undocumented immigrant sits after being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents some 60 miles north of the U.S. Mexico border near Falfurrias, Texas on July 23, 2014.

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Undocumented immigrants await transport to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing center after being detained near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014.

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A U.S. Border Patrol agent endures the heat after taking undocumented immigrants into custody near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014.

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Undocumented immigrants flee into dense brush from U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents some 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border in Brooks County, Texas on July 23, 2014.

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U.S. Border Patrol agents guard undocumented immigrants before sending them to a processing center near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014.

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Undocumented immigrants are transported to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing center after being detained near Falfurrias, Texas on July 22, 2014.

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The rise in non-Mexican apprehensions is due to a surge in the number of child migrants from Central America, the study said, an issue that has led to policy initiatives in the U.S. and deep concerns from Pope Francis. In 2014, roughly 52,000 unaccompanied children from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras were apprehended at the border, over twice the number from the previous year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Central American officials have blamed the crisis on several factors, including a lack of economic opportunity, drug cartels and gang violence.

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