The situation at our border with Mexico has reached a “breaking point” as immigrants coming into the U.S. illegally hit a 12-year high in February.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that the number of immigrants trying to cross at the U.S.-Mexico border illegally reached a high since 2007, with 76,103 total apprehensions.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen slammed the policies and politics surrounding open borders as the reason the American people are being “failed.”
“Our broken system endures, and the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis at our Southwest Border leaves many minors and families at extreme risk of being exploited by traffickers, human smugglers, gangs, and other nefarious actors seeking to profit at their expense. Activist courts, congressional inaction, and criminals intent on breaking our laws stand in the way of confronting illegal and uncontrolled migration threatening our safety and security.” she stated.
“What was a crisis, is now a full-fledged emergency,” Nielsen said, adding, “This cannot be a partisan issue.”
Nielsen suggested the law enforcement at the southern border is demanding the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, for laws to be strengthened, and for the proper tools and resources.
The rise of apprehensions at the southern border more than doubled in February from the following year, jumping from 36,751 apprehensions in February 2018 to 76,103 in February 2019.
The DHS reported that immigration at the border with Mexico also saw a spike in the number of groups trying to cross illegally into the United States with 70 large groups of more than 100 individuals attempting to cross in the fiscal year 2019, compared to 13 large groups the previous year.
Check out the statistics provided by the DHS below:
- In the fiscal year 2018, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made more than 1,500 human trafficking arrests – 97 percent of them for sex-trafficking.
- Last year, ICE officers removed more than 10,000 known or suspected gang members already in our country illegally.
- In the last two years alone, ICE officers have arrested 266,000 aliens with criminal records including those convicted of nearly 100,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 homicides.
- 20,000 children were illegally smuggled into the U.S. during December 2018, alone.
The 12-year high comes at a time when President Trump is pushing for a national emergency declaration on the border with Mexico in hopes of receiving more funding to construct physical barriers.
Unfortunatelly, he is being hit with criticism from leaders in both the Democrat and Republican Party as many seek to block his emergency declaration.
