WASHINGTON — On Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that for the third month in a row illegal immigration enforcement actions decreased about 6 percent in November as compared to October. Enforcement actions have decreased 70 percent since the peak of the crisis in May.
- Enforcement actions along the Southwest border involving family units declined nearly 4% to 13,154 and enforcement actions involving single adults were down 8.4% to 25,755.
- Southwest border enforcement actions in this fiscal year to date are 29% lower than for the same period last fiscal year.
- In November, CBP officers and Border Patrol agents intercepted more than 82,100 pounds of drugs – a 32 percent increase over October.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there was a 6 percent decline in inadmissible aliens at ports of entry and a 5 percent decline in USBP apprehensions. In November 2019, there were 42,649 (33,510 apprehensions and 9,139 inadmissible aliens) by CBP.
In comparing the targeting of illegal immigrants under President Barack Obama and President Trump, the Government Accountability Office found that more illegal aliens were apprehended by the Trump administration and that a “majority” were convicted criminals.
Arrests of Individuals with Criminal Convictions or Those Wanted by Law Enforcement
Numbers below reflect FY 2017 – FY 2019 and FY20 To Date (TD).
| FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 TD NOV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office of Field Operations | ||||
| Criminal Aliens1 Encountered | 10,596 | 11,623 | 12,705 | 2,279 |
| NCIC2 Arrests | 7,656 | 5,929 | 8,546 | 171 |
| U.S. Border Patrol | ||||
| Criminal Aliens2 Encountered | 8,531 | 6,698 | 4,269 | 571 |
| Criminal Aliens with Outstanding Wants or Warrants | 2,675 | 1,550 | 4,153 | 555 |
1Criminal Aliens refers to aliens who have been convicted of crime, whether in the United States or abroad, so long as the conviction is for conduct which is deemed criminal by the United States. Criminal aliens encountered at ports of entry are inadmissible, absent extenuating circumstances, and represent a subset of total OFO inadmissibles. U.S. Border Patrol arrests of criminal aliens are a subset of total apprehensions.
2NCIC (National Crime Information Center) arrests refers to the number of CBP arrests of individuals, including U.S. citizens, who are wanted by other law enforcement agencies.
“Those who present themselves as families after crossing the border illegally will no longer be released into the United States,” said Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan. “Our message to economic migrants is clear – do not put your lives at risk and do not trust your families to smugglers. You will not be allowed to stay.”
CBP reports an overall decline in illegal cross border activity in November compared to October which defies seasonal trends for the past seven years.
Total CBP Enforcement Actions -numbers reflect Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 – FY 2019 and FY 2020 To Date (TD)
Fiscal Year 2020 runs October 01, 2019 – September 30, 2020.
| FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 TD NOV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office of Field Operations (OFO) | ||||
| Total Inadmissibles1 | 216,370 | 281,881 | 288,523 | 48,588 |
| U.S. Border Patrol | ||||
| Total Apprehensions2 | 310,531 | 404,142 | 859,501 | 70,151 |
| Total Enforcement Actions | 526,901 | 683,178 | 1,148,024 | 151,739 |
1Inadmissibles refers to individuals encountered at ports of entry who are seeking lawful admission into the United States but are determined to be inadmissible, individuals presenting themselves to seek humanitarian protection under our laws, and individuals who withdraw an application for admission and return to their countries of origin within a short timeframe.