An Overview of
Federal Drug Control Programs
on the Southwest Border
Immigration
From 1980 through 1996, over 14 million people immigrated to the United States; over 3.4 million (24 percent) of the immigrants were from Mexico.
In 1996, the illegal population in the United States was estimated at five million; more than half (54 percent) were estimated to have come from Mexico.
From 1984 through 1996 the number of annual Southwest border crossers increased 59 percent (176 million to 280 million)
- The number of citizens crossing the border annually increased 20 percent (from 70 million in 1984 to 84 million in 1996).
- The number of non-citizens crossing the border annually increased 85 percent (from 106 million in 1984 to 196 million in 1996).
From 1980 through 1996, the number of Southwest border apprehensions increased 117 percent (691,000 to 1.5 million)
Source: Immigration and Naturalization Service
See Graphs on Immigration:
