The illegal migrant surge under President Joe Biden shows immigrants came from around the world and dispersed across the nation’s heartland and interior states, according to new federal data.
The data confirmed what many Americans already knew when voting to reelect President Donald Trump in November 2024 on promises that he would close the border.
Millions of migrants from more than 150 countries flooded the United States, bringing the nation’s foreign-born population to its highest level ever recorded.
The Trump administration has been working hard to reverse that trend and increase deportations of Biden-era migrants who were released at the border, as well as convicted criminals, visa overstays and long-term illegals with final orders of removal.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been on a record-setting pace for arrests, with officers recording 50,925 arrests in August, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.
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.
The Associated Press analyzed new federal data tracing 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.
Historically, people from Mexico and Latin America made up the majority of illegal border crossers along the 1,954-mile stretch separating the United States and Mexico by land.
The Biden-era surge opened the flood gates to international arrivals, with migrants from India, Africa, China and the Middle East also making the long journey and paying smugglers to help them get into the country.
The new data offers insights on where they settled after crossing the border in the last decade and how those ethnic groups have transformed local communities across the American heartland.
The riverfront city of Cincinnati, Ohio, for example, saw a large number of arrivals from West Africa, Uzbekistan and India.
A photo essay by the AP focused on Lockland, Ohio, a small community on Cincinnati’s outskirts, that drew a large number of West African migrants.
Columbus, Ohio, also saw a significant influx of these migrants, followed by Chicago and the New York City metropolitan area, according to the AP.
Haitians headed for Springfield, Ohio, which has the largest and most well-known Haitian community in the state.
According to various reports, an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitians live in Springfield, with a mixture of temporary protected status, citizenship and other legal status.
Other estimates put the total Haitian population around 30,000 across the wider central Ohio region. They were drawn to the area by manufacturing jobs and a lower cost of living.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been in the area, detaining illegal immigrants after Temporary Protected Status ended July 27, Ohio Capital Journal reported.
Butler County Jail, which had 1,078 inmates as of Friday morning, held 44 Haitian people between July 27 and Aug. 31.
Springfield ICE Watch reported 74 people detained by ICE from Aug. 7 to Sept. 17, according to a new report by Ohio Immigrant Alliance.
According to the data analyzed by the AP, Venezuelans and Cubans accounted for the largest numbers of new migrants, with roughly 773,000 and 539,000 arrivals, respectively.
Salt Lake City and its suburbs attracted large numbers of Venezuelans. For Cubans, nine of the top 10 destination ZIP codes were in Florida, but they also settled in less populated areas such as Louisville, Kentucky and Odessa, Texas, per the AP analysis.
Other Latin American countries also saw a significant exodus of people headed for America, including Mexico, Honduras and Colombia. Those arrivals spread across the country, with metropolitan areas in California, Texas and Florida emerging as major hubs for illegal immigrants, the Daily Wire reported.
Colombians went to the Denver suburb of Aurora. Paterson, New Jersey, was the top pick among Peruvians, according to the data.
Chinese nationals headed for major metro areas, led by New York and Los Angeles, the AP reported.
One surprising bit of data is the demographics of migrants who illegally crossed the border.
More than 40% of migrants released after crossing the border were military-age men, according to the data. However, nearly six of every 10 migrants released at the border were women and children between October 2018 and July 2025.
The AP’s analysis is based on information migrants provided U.S. Customs and Border Protection with their U.S. destination. AP obtained their destination ZIP codes, nationalities, ages, genders, and the dates and locations they entered the country.
