Illegal border crossing data through the month of February shows an “unprecedented decline in traffic,” according to Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection released data which shows that from January to February, “the flow of illegal border crossings as measured by apprehensions and the prevention of inadmissible persons at our southern border dropped by 40 percent,” said Kelly in a statement issued this week.
“The drop in apprehensions shows a marked change in trends. Since the Administration’s implementation of Executive Orders to enforce immigration laws, apprehensions and inadmissible activity is trending toward the lowest monthly total in at least the last five years. This change in the trend line is especially significant because CBP historically sees a 10-20 percent increase in apprehensions of illegal immigrants from January to February. Instead, this year we saw a drop from 31,578 to 18,762 persons – a 40 percent decline,” stated Kelly.
Memo below from Acting Commissioner McAleenan details some of the measures being considered in the process to recruit, hire, and train an additional 5000 Border Patrol agents beyong the Congressionally mandated staffing level of 21,370 agents.
“This is encouraging news as in the period from Oct 1, 2016 to the Presidential inauguration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 157,000 apprehensions of illegal immigrants – a 35 percent increase over the previous fiscal year, with family units increasing by more than 100 percent,” continued Kelly. “However, since President Trump took office on January 20, we have seen a dramatic drop in numbers.”
Kelly called the decrease “encouraging news because it means many fewer people are putting themselves and their families at risk of exploitation, assault and injury by human traffickers and the physical dangers of the treacherous journey north.”
According to Kelly authorities are seeing an increase in the fees charged by human smugglers along the U.S. southwest border. He reports that “since Nov. 2016, “coyotes” have hiked their fees in some areas by roughly 130 percent – from $3,500 to $8,000 in certain mountainous regions.” Kelly claims that it is the “changes in U.S. policy, including the detention of apprehended aliens, drive up the smuggling fees.”
“As directed in my memoranda implementing the President’s executive orders, we remain committed to carrying out fair, impartial and humane enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws. We will remain vigilant to respond to any changes in these trends, as numbers of illegal crossings typically increase between March and May.” Kelly concluded, “However, the early results show that enforcement matters, deterrence matters, and that comprehensive immigration enforcement can make an impact.”