....
@Spendulus, I thought so myself (the majority of border crossings were out in the desert, next to a random cactus), until I took a look at the actual DHS brief from 2017, via a Washington post article. I trust very little people tell me, so I read the brief myself. To save you some time, start at page 15 if you read it (it's a snoozefest)
The Wapo article is right. More people actually cross "legally" than illegally.
I will say, clearly they dont know who they dont catch, but among those they do have records for, far more come through a point of entry than those that say fuck it and sneak in.
Let me cite the Wapo article and the brief:
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/17_0914_estimates-of-border-security.pdfhttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/25/most-immigrants-who-enter-the-country-do-so-legally-federal-data-show/
Good data, but I don't need it. These people just come in one way or another and then stay. I've never seen someone "applying for asylum" at a crossing. I'm sure it happens, but it is not typical.
My opinion only, but I think the main reason crossings exist outside of the big towns, through the desert, is what's in it for the coyotes. If a coyote lead a dozen to say the Juarez crossing, he going to be nabbed because our guys are likely looking for him. If he leads them through the desert, he can load them up with drugs and make them mules, maybe rape a couple of them on the way.
By the way, the Border Patrol are pretty good at all this. They look at these people and have a feel for which are from Central America, vs Mexico. I'd definitely trust them to spot the troublemakers.