Which border sector has the most encounters?
Rio Grande Valley Sector recorded 2,101 encounters in August 2026, more than any other Border Patrol sector, and 19,567 so far in fiscal year 2026. Counting ports of entry as well, the busiest area of responsibility was Buffalo Field Office, with 2,714.
Answer current as of
Buffalo Field Office recorded the most encounters in August 2026, 2,714
The ten areas of responsibility with the most encounters in the latest month. Sectors sit on the land borders; field offices are ports of entry, where an encounter is usually someone presenting themselves for inspection.
A sector is CBP’s own area of responsibility, not a state or a county. That is why this hub has a ranking rather than a map: assigning a sector to a state would be a claim the data does not make.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Nationwide Encounters
The figures behind this chart
| Sector or field office | Encounters |
|---|---|
| Buffalo Field Office | 2,714 |
| New York Field Office | 2,196 |
| Rio Grande Valley Sector | 2,101 |
| Seattle Field Office | 2,092 |
| Los Angeles Field Office | 1,797 |
| Houston Field Office | 1,635 |
| Tucson Sector | 1,528 |
| El Paso Sector | 1,497 |
| Miami Sector | 1,377 |
| San Francisco Field Office | 1,354 |
Where this comes from
The figure is the result of a checked-in query, sectors_by_encounters.sql, run against the published data. Every number on this page can be traced to it.