For the first time in 25 years, San Diego, California, has become the No. 1 port of entry for migrants. 

In April, Border Patrol counted 37,370 people who illegally crossed into the San Diego Sector and claimed asylum.

The Border Patrol divides the United States into 20 sectors by geography, with nine of them located on the Mexico border. After San Diego, the next highest number of migrant crossers in April came from the Tuscan Sector in Arizona, which reported 31,240 migrants. In the El Paso Sector in Texas, 30,410 migrants were reported.

By the end of fiscal 2023, which ended Sept. 30, nearly 230,000 people seeking asylum crossed illegally into the U.S. at the San Diego Sector. In the first seven months of fiscal 2024, Border Patrol agents counted 220,000 people. The sector is on pace to have the highest annual number of immigrants since the late 1990s. 

Due to the compounding pressures of the growing number of immigrants, a center in San Diego County focused on accommodating people who have crossed the border closed down in February. The center was operating on a $6 million budget, but now faith-based groups provided $150 million by the state will have to pick up the slack.

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Many of the churches and nonprofit organizations now tasked with helping the new arrivals are struggling to keep up with the influx. As a result, some migrants are bused by Border Patrol to a trolley hub or the airport and can spend days camped at baggage claim while awaiting a flight to their final destinations.

Texas has worked to pass legislation that gives local and state law enforcement officers the authority to arrest and deport those who have crossed the border illegally. Currently, that law is being blocked, but it could have a chilling impact on the number of migrant crossings. The influx of migrants coming through San Diego may be attributed to prevalent organized crime in areas south of Arizona and Texas.