A border surge reshaped America. Now, data shows who 4.5 million migrants were and where they went

Federal data on 4.5 million migrants who crossed from October 2018 to July 2025 obtained exclusively by The Associated Press shows migrants increasingly choosing smaller cities and towns with less developed immigrant footholds. An unprecedented surge in border crossings over the past decade reshaped America: Millions of people from more than 150 countries arrived, bringing the U.S. immigrant population to its highest levels ever.

Now, data obtained exclusively by The Associated Press paints a picture of who these migrants are, where they went, and what happened after the border. Some went to cities that have long been magnets for immigrants — New York, Miami — but increasingly, others found their way to smaller cities with less developed immigrant footholds. Blocks, neighborhoods and entire cities were remade in places like Elkhart, Indiana; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Dodge City, Kansas.

And while the vast majority of migrants traditionally were from Mexico, this surge saw people from an astonishing number and diversity of countries: India, Ecuador, Ghana. Via a Freedom of Information Act request, AP obtained federal records on the self-reported destinations of 4.5 million migrants released in the United States after crossing the Mexican border — both legally and illegally — between October 2018 and July 2025. Customs and Border Protection with a street address.

AP obtained their destination ZIP codes, citizenship by country, ages, genders, and the dates and border regions where they encountered authorities. Some probably never arrived at the addresses they gave. Authorities lacked resources to check, though migrants must report truthfully to pursue their cases in court and get work permits.

Some have moved elsewhere in the United States or left the countr y, voluntarily or involuntarily. Data on their initial destinations after the southern border provides both a sweeping and an unusually granular look at how the immigration surge — one that peaked during President Joe Biden’s administration and was a major reason voters returned his predecessor, Donald Trump, to the White House — is playing out today. Here are some key takeaways from the data.

Philadelphia, Cincinnati and other cities drew migrants from several continents The Border Patrol encountered migrants from 174 countries in one year alone, a sharp departure from earlier periods when they were nearly all Mexican and Central American. The growth of social media and new migration routes was key in bringing people from around the world. Cincinnati, for example, got a big in…