Among the more than 8.6 million people who’ve illegally entered the U.S. since President Joe Biden took office, at least nearly 1.6 million are “gotaways.”
Gotaways is the official term used by Border Patrol agents to describe foreign nationals who illegally enter the U.S. between ports of entry and don’t return to Mexico or Canada.
They don’t file asylum or other immigration-related claims – they intentionally illegally enter to avoid being caught. Many have criminal records. They often run when they are pursued by Border Patrol agents or others in law enforcement, authorities tell The Center Square. They do not want to be caught.
The majority of gotaways are single, military age men. However, they also include women and children, many who are smuggled, law enforcement officers say.
Gotaway data represents the best guess of agents who report the number of people they believe to be gotaways, agents have explained to The Center Square. Agents report gotaways based on images of people caught on cameras set up by Border Patrol, ranchers or private property owners. Agents also report gotaways after they “cut sign,” a term agents use to track people in the brush. They look for shoe or boot marks or areas wiped clean to hide them, broken limbs of trees or bushes, garbage and clothes left on the ground, among other signs to determine how many people might have come through. Based on this and other factors, agents report who and how many they believe are “known, reported gotaways.”
The data is considered a “best estimate,” agents have explained to The Center Square. It doesn’t adequately portray how many foreign nationals illegally enter because they simply don’t know how many there are. The data excludes the unknown number coming through who are undetected, and therefore, aren’t reported.
The Center Square has been reporting preliminary gotaway data every month received from a Border Patrol agent who accesses an internal U.S. Border Patrol database. The preliminary data excludes Office of Field Operation data. The agent provides the data on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
