However, the policy of immediately expelling immigrants under Title 42 which started under the Trump administration and had continued under Biden until their lifting in May of last year had brought immigration prosecution levels to historic lows. Prosecutions for illegal entry had virtually disappeared. At one time, illegal entry was the most frequently prosecuted immigration offense. Indeed, a high of over 12,000 monthly unlawful entry prosecutions occurred during the Trump-era “Zero Tolerance Policy” (see TRAC’s previous report here). Not surprisingly these misdemeanor filings now after the end of Title 42 have posted the largest relative gains.

Increases have also occurred for criminal prosecution of illegal reentry – up 57 percent between the first and latest three month period of the Biden presidency. These offenses have consistently made up the largest share, and now account for about two-thirds of all immigration criminal prosecutions. New prosecutions for unlawful reentry reached their highest levels in April 2024. The Western District of Texas drove the largest portion of the recent jump in these misdemeanor filings, followed by Arizona. The other three districts—the Southern District of Texas, the District of New Mexico, and the Southern District of California—have remained relatively low.

Harboring prosecutions ramped up at the beginning of 2021 but have remained on average relatively steady more recently (consistent with longer historical patterns), typically between 300 and 600 per month. Harboring has been used broadly to prosecute not only people who provide physical shelter to immigrants, but also people who provide other forms of aid or assist in evading law enforcement.