Apprehensions total 34,342 in Tucson sector, 7,500 more than the first month of last year but less than levels at start of 2000.

ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
The Associated Press

Illegal immigrant arrests climbed in January along the Arizona-Mexico border from a year earlier but remain well below the high marks seen at the start of 2000.
Border Patrol agents in the Tucson sector arrested 34,342 illegal immigrants trying to enter the country from Mexico this January, some 7,500 more than the 26,823 apprehended in the same month last year.

But that's considerably less than the two years prior. In January 2001, nearly 44,000 illegal immigrants were arrested; in January 2000, nearly 71,000 were caught.

The Tucson sector covers all of Arizona's border with Mexico except about the 50 westernmost miles. Border Patrol spokesmen said the higher numbers this January reflect a typical seasonal influx, when large numbers of illegal immigrants return from visiting family in Mexico after the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Tucson sector spokesman Andy Adame said the increase in arrests is also the result of heavier enforcement.

Neither spokesmen in Tucson nor in the Yuma sector, which saw similar percentage increases, attributed the uptick to President Bush's Jan. 7 immigration initiative proposing at least temporary legal status for millions of illegal immigrants working in the United States.

"We see the big spike, but that comes after the holidays," Adame said. "It would be very difficult to pinpoint that (Bush's proposal), because he announced that at the time the Border Patrol sees a spike in apprehensions."