How many people apprehended at US borders have a prior criminal conviction?
Data updated November 15, 2024
About 17,000 in fiscal year (FY) 2024. This number of criminal noncitizen arrests represents 1.1% of all border apprehensions by the US Border Patrol (USBP) through September 2024, the end of the federal fiscal year. Because one person may be arrested multiple times in the same fiscal year, it’s possible to have more arrests than people arrested.
In FY 2024
17K
arrests of people with a prior conviction at the border
In FY 2024
1.6M
total apprehensions at the border
In FY 2024
1.1%
of all apprehensions were of people with a prior criminal conviction
The US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) collects data on people intercepted by USBP while crossing the border into the US between legal points of entry. These are called “apprehensions.” Criminal noncitizen arrests are a subset of total apprehensions.
If someone is apprehended and has a prior criminal conviction — either in the US or abroad — they are arrested and the incident is recorded as a “criminal noncitizen arrest.” People without prior convictions are temporarily detained while they are administratively (rather than criminally) processed.
Arrests at the border doubled from 2017 to 2024.
USBP criminal noncitizen arrests, by fiscal year
The number of criminal noncitizen arrests may be driven by the number of people that are apprehended while attempting to cross the border between legal ports of entry. Total apprehensions in a given year vary according to various factors, including how many people attempt to cross the border, immigration policy, and funding for CBP.
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Comparing noncitizen criminal arrests against total apprehensions shows that apprehensions of people with prior criminal convictions has varied between 0.5% and 2.7% over 8 years, the period for which data is available.
In 2024, 1.1% of people stopped while illegally crossing the border had a prior criminal conviction.
Criminal noncitizen arrests versus total apprehensions by USBP, by fiscal year
Noncitizens are arrested by CBP if, after apprehension, they are found to have been previously convicted of a crime. A prior conviction in the US counts towards someone’s criminal history. So does a prior conviction elsewhere, so long as it was for something considered a crime in the US.
Criminal noncitizens were arrested about 17,000 times in 2024. Collectively, they had about 20,900 prior convictions between them. These convictions represent a wide array of types of criminal conduct.
Illegal entry was the most common prior conviction for people arrested by USBP.
Share of convictions by type, fiscal year 2024
People who are apprehended by USBP and don’t have a prior criminal conviction are processed differently than those who are arrested. They will either be offered the opportunity to voluntarily leave the US with no legal consequences, be immediately removed without a hearing in immigration court, or be subject to normal removal proceedings that may end with a court-ordered removal from the country. These court-ordered removals will add a conviction for illegal entry onto a person’s criminal record. People arrested by CBP for illegal entry, re-entry have tried to enter the US without following proper procedures at least once before, and a court has previously ordered their removal.
Among apprehensions that were arrested for a prior conviction in 2024, the least common crime was homicide or manslaughter, representing only 0.1% of all past criminal convictions.
Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Customs & Border Patrol Enforcement Statistics
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Nationwide Encounters
