US border patrol agents have encountered 8,735 Turkish nationals coming into the country illegally through the border crossing at El Paso, Texas, for fiscal year 2022, according to a report from the Border Report news website, which focuses on news along the Mexico–United States border.
According to the report, US agents have processed 8,992 migrants from Turkey so far in fiscal year 2022, with 8,735 of them coming through the El Paso Sector.
El Paso has become a favorite US entryway for Turkish nationals this year, with the figures increasing considerably compared to 2021, during which the southern border agents processed 1,409 Turkish migrants, with 1,206 of them coming through the El Paso Sector, the report revealed.
Turkish journalist İbrahim Haskoloğlu shared the relevant video from the Border Rerport from his Twitter account on Thursday.
2022 yılında 8.992 Türk göçmen, Meksika/El Paso sınırından kaçak yolla ABD'ye geçti. pic.twitter.com/wYAMcmdu4n
— ibrahim Haskoloğlu (@haskologlu) July 21, 2022
Only 49 Turkish nationals entered through the El Paso Sector in 2020, the report said, adding that 2022’s figures were “unprecedented numbers that experts say are the result of cooperation between transnational criminal organizations in Mexico and Turkey.”
Turkish migrants can pay up to $15,000 to be smuggled in, typically flying to Mexico City, the report said, adding that the transnational criminal organizations then decide where the newly arrived will cross.
Other than Turks, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Cubans and Brazilians represent some of the largest groups coming to the Southwest border from regions other than Mexico and Central America, according to federal officials.
Thousands of people have fled Turkey in the aftermath of a failed coup in July 2016 following which the Turkish government launched a massive crackdown on non-loyalist citizens under the pretext of anti-coup fight.
In addition to these people, many other people are trying to move abroad, mostly to Europe, the United States and Canada, mostly for a better life and better career opportunities.