‘We Are In A Full-Blown Emergency’

‘Border Apprehensions Are Up More Than 1,000 Percent Since April 2017’

ACTING CUSTOMS AND BORDER PATROL COMMISSIONER JOHN SANDERS: “We are in a full-blown emergency, and I cannot say this stronger: The system is broken.” (“Record Number Of Undocumented Immigrants Flooded The Southern Border In May,” NBC News, 6/05/2019)

“Border Patrol officers encountered more than 144,000 undocumented immigrants at the southwest border in May, the largest monthly total in 13 years, officials said Wednesday. More than 132,000 were stopped while crossing the border illegally; the rest presented themselves at legal ports of entry, Customs and Border Protection officials said.” (“Record Number Of Undocumented Immigrants Flooded The Southern Border In May,” NBC News, 6/05/2019)

• “May marked the third month in a row that more than 100,000 immigrants were taken into custody at the border amid a surge of migrants …” (“Record Number Of Undocumented Immigrants Flooded The Southern Border In May,” NBC News, 6/05/2019)

• “Sanders said his agency has detained more than 680,000 border-crossers in the past eight months, noting that the total is ‘more than the population of Miami.’” (“Arrests Along Mexico Border Surged Again In May, Blowing Past ‘Breaking Point,’” The Washington Post, 6/05/2019)

• “Of the 132,000 who were caught entering the country illegally, more than 84,000 were traveling as a family unit, 36,000 were single adults and 11,000 were unaccompanied children.” (“Record Number Of Undocumented Immigrants Flooded The Southern Border In May,” NBC News, 6/05/2019)

“So far this fiscal year, 610,000 immigrants have been apprehended by CBP for illegally crossing between ports of entry. If the current numbers continue, they could surpass 2006 levels, said one official.” (“Record Number Of Undocumented Immigrants Flooded The Southern Border In May,” NBC News, 6/05/2019)

“Border apprehensions are up more than 1,000 percent since April 2017 … Data released by the government on Wednesday reinforces the scale of the increase in migrants seeking entry into the United States. In May nearly 133,000 migrants were apprehended at the border with Mexico … That’s the highest number since July 2006…. In April 2017, there were fewer than 12,000 apprehensions — meaning that the total has grown by a factor of 10 in the two years since.” (“Border Apprehensions Are Up More Than 1,000 Percent Since April 2017,” The Washington Post, 6/06/2019)

• “Since March 2018, the year-over-year increase [in migration] hasn’t been less than 75 percent — and eight times has topped 100 percent…. The increase from January to May of this year, though, is higher than at any point in the past 19 years.” (“Border Apprehensions Are Up More Than 1,000 Percent Since April 2017,” The Washington Post, 6/06/2019)

‘[A]n Unprecedented Share Are Central American Families And Children’

“[A]n unprecedented share are Central American families and children who cannot be easily sent back. According to Homeland Security figures, 98 percent of the families who were taken into custody along the border in 2017 remain present in the United States. Children who arrive with or without a parent accounted for nearly 40 percent of CBP apprehensions in May, the latest figures show.” (“Arrests Along Mexico Border Surged Again In May, Blowing Past ‘Breaking Point,’” The Washington Post, 6/05/2019)

• “There were 58,474 families apprehended [in May], according to CBP. In March, the agency said that there was an increase of nearly 106 percent over the same period last year.” (“Border Arrests Skyrocket In May, As Officials Declare ‘Full-Blown Emergency,’” Fox News, 6/05/2019)

“Since April 2017, there has been a 7,400 percent increase in the number of family members apprehended at the border. More members of family units have been apprehended so far this fiscal year (beginning in October 2018) than migrants apprehended in total in fiscal year 2017.” (“Border Apprehensions Are Up More Than 1,000 Percent Since April 2017,” The Washington Post, 6/06/2019, Emphasis in original)

“So far this fiscal year … nearly two-thirds of those apprehended at the border have been children or members of families with children — about 389,000 in total. In 2014, the Obama administration struggled with a surge in unaccompanied minors coming to the border. Over the course of that fiscal year, about 69,000 minors and 68,000 family members were apprehended, about 28 percent of all apprehensions. Fiscal year 2019 still has four months to go.” (“Border Apprehensions Are Up More Than 1,000 Percent Since April 2017,” The Washington Post, 6/06/2019)

‘CBP Officials Described In Detail The Strains Of The Migration Wave On U.S. Agents And Infrastructure’: ‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’

U.S. BORDER PATROL CHIEF OF OPERATIONS BRIAN HASTINGS: “I’ve never seen anything like this in the 24 years I’ve been doing this job.” (“Arrests Along Mexico Border Surged Again In May, Blowing Past ‘Breaking Point,’” The Washington Post, 6/05/2019)

“CBP officials described in detail the strains of the migration wave on U.S. agents and infrastructure, and they discussed the deteriorating conditions at U.S. border stations that are many times beyond their detainee capacity. The agency has more than 19,000 migrants in custody, officials said …” (“Arrests Along Mexico Border Surged Again In May, Blowing Past ‘Breaking Point,’” The Washington Post, 6/05/2019)

• “CBP officials say Border Patrol agents now spend 50 percent of their time processing migrants and caring for families in custody, including frequent trips to hospitals and clinics. U.S. authorities say the burden has been a boon to drug traffickers and human smugglers who aim to sneak past U.S. defenses, particularly when hundreds of migrants cross the border at the same time.” (“Border Apprehensions Are Up More Than 1,000 Percent Since April 2017,” The Washington Post, 6/06/2019)

• “Nearly 1,000 border patrol officers have been moved from northern ports of entry, airports, sea ports and elsewhere along the southwest border to assist border agents in areas experiencing the highest influx of migrants.” (“Record Number Of Undocumented Immigrants Flooded The Southern Border In May,” NBC News, 6/05/2019)