Shock: Four thousand 'gotaways' crossed border since last week's Title 42 end

There were more than 4,000 “gotaways” who have managed to cross the U.S.-Mexico border since the expiration of the immigration policy Title 42 last week, said U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz on Monday. 

In a tweet, Ortiz said that in the past 72 hours, Border Patrol agents had apprehended 14,752 undocumented migrants, while an approximate 4,316 gotaways were reported. 

“Gotaways” is the term used to refer to undocumented immigrants who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without being caught by border patrol agents or processed by officials.

Ortiz also added that agents seized four pounds of marijuana, one pound of cocaine, two firearms, and $58,758. Additionally, agents intercepted five sex offenders and one wanted felons. 

The gotaway estimates come a few days after the pandemic-era policy that allowed border officials to quickly expel asylum seekers at the border, known as Title 42, expired at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday.  

In the days immediately following the lifting of the regulation, the number of encounters with undocumented immigrants at the southern border decreased by 50 percent. 

According to statistics from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officials encountered around 4,200 undocumented migrants on Saturday and 6,300 on Friday, and 4,200 on Saturday compared to the 11,000 stopped on Tuesday and Wednesday and 10,000 on Thursday. 

However, authorities still claim it's too early to draw conclusions. 

"We are closely watching what's happening," Blas Nunez-Neto, assistant secretary for border and immigration policy at the Department of Homeland Security, said. "We are confident that the plan that we have developed across the U.S. government to address these flows will work over time." 

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the drop in migrant encounters was because the Biden administration had made clear warnings to the migrants who attempted to cross illegally, including the possibility of facing criminal penalties. 

“We have communicated very clearly, a vitally important message to the individuals who are thinking of arriving at our southern border,” he said.