Grand Canyon Times

During Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), there were 463,567 total illegal alien encounters in the Tucson Sector, which covers the entire state of Arizona, which is up 24.1% from last fiscal year’s number of 373,625 encounters.

The Tucson sector has the highest amount of encounters of all sectors on the southwest border throughout FY24, with San Diego, El Paso, and Del Rio following with 324,360 encounters, 256,102 encounters, and 244,105 encounters respectively.

According to an analysis of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data conducted by Grand Canyon Times, throughout the entire fiscal year 2024, CBP arrested 49,450 illegal aliens who have previous criminal convictions or who are wanted by law enforcement.

Approximately 18,002 of these arrests have been made by the U.S. Border Patrol, and 31,448 of these arrests have been made by the CBP’s Office of Field Operations.

CBP has reported more than 2.9 million illegal alien encounters during Fiscal Year 2024, while there were 646,822 encounters in Fiscal Year 2020. 

The CBP’s 2024 fiscal year runs from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024.

John R. Modlin, formerly the Chief Patrol Agent in the Tucson Sector, recently handed over his post to Chief Patrol Agent Sean McGoffin. Modlin will now serve as the Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

In a farewell address, Modlin shared the accomplishments of the Tucson Sector since he became Sector Chief in November of 2020. "Since I arrived in Tucson in November of 2020, Tucson's Sector's fiscal year encounters have increased from fewer than 180,000 to more than 460,000 this past year, which ended in September," he said. "I could not be prouder of Tucson Sector agents and staff as they have worked tirelessly to overcome this unprecedented challenge."

"In total, since my arrival, Tucson Sector agents apprehended more than 1.2 million people trying to enter our country illegally," Modlin said. "This fiscal year, they seized a record of more than 1100 pounds of fentanyl, protecting our communities from this devastating drug."

The Tucson Sector Border Chief X account regularly posts encounters from the area. 

What illegal alien encounters have occurred in the Tucson sector in the first weeks of FY25?

Date of Arrest/Encounter	Name	Citizenship	Details of Encounter
10/8/24	Carlos Jose Martha	Mexico	Nine illegal aliens, including Martha, were apprehended trying to cross the border. Martha has a prior conviction for of felony sexual assault- victim under 13 in New Jersey and faces federal prosecution for re-entry after a deportation.
10/8/24	N/A		Fourteen pounds of fentanyl were seized by Nogales Station agents.
10/9/24	Antonio Jarquin	Mexico	Illegal border crossing, former conviction of felony rape of spouse by force, active warrant out of California.
10/10/24	N/A	Mexico	Tucson Sector Intel and Foreign Operations agents coordinated a search and arrest of a Mexican national wanted for sexual acts with a child. An arrest was made by ICE in Milwaukee, WI.
10/11/24	Carlos Alfredo Moran	Guatemala	Moran is a known member of the Paisas gang and has multiple prior convictions for removals and a felony conviction for Statutory Rape.
10/13/24	N/A	Cuba	Agents arrested a Cuban National whose asylum case was terminated in September after they attempted to smuggle three Mexican residents, two of which had been previously deported, across the border near Benson.
10/23/24	N/A		Agents tracked smugglers and seized 137 lbs. of methamphetamine near Rio Rico.
10/24/24	N/A	Mexico	Nine foreign nationals attempted to illegally cross the border near San Miguel and were returned to Mexico via Expedited Removal.