The number of people attempting to enter the United States at the Mexican border plummeted last spring, after President Donald Trump closed the border due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, by the last quarter of 2020 — the beginning of fiscal 2021 — such attempts were higher than during the same period in recent years.
Source: “Southwest Border Migration,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection, March 10, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/44pjamr6
Data for the graphic are as follows:
| Month | FY2019 Entry Attempts | FY2020 Entry Attempts | FY2021 Entry Attempts |
| October | 60,781 | 45,139 | 71,946 |
| November | 62,469 | 42,643 | 72,111 |
| December | 60,794 | 40,565 | 74,018 |
| January | 58,317 | 36,585 | 76,442 |
| February | 76,545 | 36,687 | 100,441 |
| March | 103,731 | 34,460 | Not Available |
| April | 109,415 | 17,106 | Not Available |
| May | 144,116 | 23,237 | Not Available |
| June | 104,311 | 33,049 | Not Available |
| July | 81,777 | 40,929 | Not Available |
| August | 62,707 | 50,014 | Not Available |
| September | 52,546 | 57,674 | Not Available |