Since January 7, Border Patrol agents in Yuma, Arizona have apprehended approximately 200 illegal immigrants per day.  Every year at this time, agents see an increase in the number of immigrants who are apprehended by the border.  This increase is attributed to the large number of illegal immigrants attempting to return to the US after visiting family and friends in Mexico for the holidays and those immigrants heading to California for the new agricultural season.  Agents have also apprehended a large number of illegal immigrants attempting to enter the US for the first time.

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According to data compiled by the DHS, from 2002 to 2003, the number of travelers pulled out of line at passport screenings at airports, seaports and land crossings has increased by 500,000.  In 2003, 10.4 million travelers were subjected to further scrutiny, known as secondary inspection, compared to 9.9 million in 2002.  The increase in secondary inspections is attributed to increased wariness by inspectors and more names listed on criminal and terrorist computer databases.

In many cases, the names of travelers are similar to those names on criminal and terrorist databases, and these delayed travelers are ultimately cleared through security.  However, in 2002, about 520,000 travelers were denied entry after secondary inspections, an increase since 2001.

Traveler scrutiny has increased since it was discovered that two of the nineteen September 11 terrorists had been subject to secondary scrutiny because inspectors thought they were trying to improperly use their visitor visas.  They were cleared after inspectors learned that they had applied for student pilot visas.

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The Border Patrol intends to install 50 portable lights in Campo and Boulevard along the US-Mexico border.  The lights are intended to halt the increase in illegal migration across the border at remote areas.  Eventually, the Border Patrol intends to install lights across the entire border.

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Eighty people on four boats were returned to the Dominican Republic after Coast Guard officials found them at sea.  The boats were found between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Nearly 500 people from the Dominican Republic have been prevented from illegally entering the United States since the beginning of the year.