Some 5,071 Ukrainians were detained at US borders in March, figures released by the US Customs and Border Protection on Monday show.
The spike comes amid the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with botched illegal entry attempts growing fivefold compared to the February figures, when just over 1,100 Ukrainians were taken into custody at the border. A vast majority of those were caught by the US border guard at the southwestern frontier.
Over the past few years, the flow of Ukrainians detained while attempting to cross into the US each month has remained reasonably constant, hovering below the 1,000 mark on average, according to official data. The new came amid an overall spike in detentions at US sea and air borders. In March, nearly 250,000 people were detained, compared to some 190,000 in February. The vast majority of the people seeking to get into the US – some 220,000 – were apprehended at the Mexican frontier.