Millions Illegally Crossed The Border. New Data Shows Where They Went

Millions of illegal immigrants crossed the U.S.-Mexico border during the Biden administration. Now, new data show where some went — and how years of unprecedented mass migration and open border policies reshaped communities across America.

An analysis of federal records obtained by The Associated Press traces the self-reported destinations of 4.5 million migrants released into the United States after crossing the Mexican border between October 2018 and July 2025.

The records show illegal immigrants from around the world dispersing far beyond communities along the southern border, reaching major cities, suburbs, and smaller communities with relatively low immigrant populations. The data show millions of migrants from more than 150 countries entered the United States, bringing the nation’s foreign-born population to its highest level ever recorded. 

Venezuelans and Cubans accounted for the largest numbers of migrants in the data, with roughly 773,000 and 539,000 arrivals, respectively. Other Latin American countries also saw significant migration, including Mexico, Honduras and Colombia. Their destinations stretched across the country, with metropolitan areas in California, Texas and Florida emerging as major hubs for illegal immigrants.

The Biden-era surge extended well beyond Latin America, with migrants from India, Africa and the Middle East also flooding into communities across the American heartland.

In Cincinnati, Ohio, for example, large numbers of migrants came from West Africa, Uzbekistan, and India, according to AP. Columbus, Ohio, also saw a significant influx of these migrants, followed by Chicago and the New York City metropolitan area.

California’s Silicon Valley saw a surge of Indian migrants. Haitian migrants, now at the center of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, largely settled in South Florida, Indianapolis, Boston, and New York City, the data shows.

The suburbs south of Salt Lake City attracted huge numbers of Venezuelans, who made up the largest share of migrants released during the seven years.

Chinese migrants gravitated toward America’s biggest cities, with Los Angeles and New York topping the list. Cubans took a different path: nine of their top 10 destinations landed in Florida, according to the AP, while others landed in unexpected corners of Kentucky, Nebraska and Texas. The Denver suburb of Aurora attracted large swaths of Colombians, while Peruvians flocked to Paterson, New Jersey — the birthplace of America’s industrial revolution.

New York City ZIP codes drew migrants from 26 foreign-born groups with at least 1,000 arrivals each. In Queens alone, 34 ZIP codes received migrants from at least 30 different countries. The City of Brotherly Love showed a similar pattern, with 19 ZIP codes across Philadelphia each drawing migrants from at least 30 countries, according to AP data.

More than 40% of migrants released after crossing the border were military-age men, according to the data. But some American communities drew larger numbers of women and children. Tulsa, Oklahoma, for example, became a destination for Mexican women and children, while Ecuadorian women and children went to Spring Valley, New York. Guatemalan women went to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The data doesn’t account for every illegal immigrant but offers a rare glimpse of where millions of migrants went — and how far they spread across America.

In recent months, the Trump administration’s deportation campaign has picked up steam, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers making a record 50,925 arrests in August, according to data the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shared with The Daily Wire. August marked the third straight month of record arrests for ICE and the highest monthly total in the agency’s history. The agency made 50,208 arrests in July and roughly 43,000 arrests in June.

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