Where immigrants went during an unprecedented influx at the US border, by the numbers

SAN DIEGO (AP) – Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver; and Fort Myers, Florida, were hot places to settle. California lost some of its appeal.

The Associated Press obtained U.S. Customs and Border Protection data by state and metropolitan area on self-reported destinations of nearly 2.5 million people who crossed the border illegally or they came legally through an online appointment app called CBP One from May 12, 2023, to Jan. 18, 2025. U.S. border authorities must collect street addresses of anyone released in the United States with humanitarian protections or with notices to appear in immigration court to pursue asylum.

While many immigrants may have moved, the data opens a window into how an unprecedented increase in immigrants played out across the country. The data covered the period when President Joe Biden’s administration ended COVID-19 restrictions on asylum to when President Donald Trump began his second term and declared a national emergency at the border.

The data reflects a decades-long trend away from California to other areas that became popular as job openings flourished.

It also shows the impact of migrants from more than 100 countries in recent years appearing at the border, a break from the past when they were largely from Mexico and Central America. People from Venezuela and neighboring South American countries became a major presence after COVID-19, making Florida a bigger draw because communities of those nationalities were already well-established.

A look at where people ended up, by the numbers:

Miami led all U.S. metropolitan areas per capita with 2,191 immigrant arrivals for every 100,000 residents.

That was followed by Fort Myers with 1,782; Salt Lake City with 1,685; Denver with 1,673; and New York with 1,542.

Other areas with at least 1,000 arrivals for every 100,000 residents were Orlando, Florida (1,499); Austin, Texas (1,453); Dallas-Fort Worth (1,412); Houston (1,338); Louisville, Kentucky (1,250); Indianapolis (1,166); Nashville, Tennessee (1,115); and Chicago (1,077).

California, which has long been home to the most immigrants, had no metropolitan area with 1,000 arrivals for every 100,000 residents, though San Jose came close. Los Angeles, a focus of the Trump administration’s enforcement surge, was the 22nd most-favored destination. San Francisco was 24th.

Florida had four spots among the top 20. Aside from Miami and Fort Myers in the top two, Orlando was 10th and Tampa 17th.

By sheer numbers, New York, the nation’s largest metropolitan area, had 300,650 arrivals, more than double any other. Only three others had more than 100,000 newcomers: Miami, Dallas and Houston.

Florida topped all 50 states and the District of Columbia per-capita with 1,271 immigrant arrivals for every 100,000 residents, followed by New York with 1,216 arrivals and Texas with 1,104 arrivals. Other states with at least 1,000 migrant arrivals for every 100,000 residents were Colorado (1,063), New Jersey (1,029) and Utah (1,015).

California ranked 13th with 644 arrivals for every 100,000 residents, behind Georgia, Tennessee, Nevada and Connecticut.

By number of arrivals, Texas led with 336,620. That was followed by Florida with 287,340, California with 251,130, New York with 238,010 and Illinois with 106,300. All others had less than 100,000 arrivals.

The number of migrants released at the border climbed during the Barack Obama’s presidency and the first Trump administrations, then soared under President Joe Biden.

CBP released millions at the border under Biden, including more than 900,000 who entered legally through the CBP One app from its introduction in January 2023 to when Trump shut it down this January.

Illegal crossings – and, by extension, releases into the United States – plummeted when Biden imposed severe asylum restrictions in June 2024 and dropped more sharply under Trump.

The Border Patrol released only seven people since February.