In discussions of illegal immigration, the number used to quantify success in deterring it are detentions or “encounters.”
However, two other noteworthy numbers are mostly ignored. First are the “got aways,” those illicit border crossers American law enforcement officers see and often pursue but fail to apprehend. Typically, they are electronically detected or seen on camera screens as they enter, but the illicit crossers are too elusive.
Nearly two million known got aways have evaded U.S. Border Patrol under this administration.
Foreigners enter the United States with temporary visas. In fiscal year 2020, DHS estimated that about 219,000 individuals from the approximately 676,000 people who overstayed their visas were suspected to remain in the country beyond the fiscal year. This represents individuals who were not verified as having left the United States.
American authorities lack the resources to track down people who have become undocumented migrants.
Ricardo Chavira Chicano 