Unaccompanied Minors Illegally Crossing Border Down 23 Percent in July

The number of unaccompanied minors arrested after illegally crossing the border between ports of entry fell in July by 23 percent. The decrease follows enhanced enforcement actions by the Trump Administration and the implementation of a “zero tolerance” policy.

A new report from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released on Wednesday shows that the number of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) arrested by Border Patrol agents between ports of entry fell in July by 23 percent. The arrests decreased for the second straight month, according to the July Southwest Border Migration Report.

Border Patrol agents apprehended 3,938 UACs in July. This is down from 5,093 in June and a peak of 6,378 in May. However, when compared to July 2017, the numbers are significantly higher. In July 2017, agents apprehended 2,495. This year’s numbers for the same month represent an increase, year-to-year, of nearly 58 percent.

Current immigration laws prohibiting the expedited removal of minors without a court hearing remains a strong magnet to the mostly Central American migrants, officials stated.

“Despite our terribly broken immigration laws, the administration has still been able to impact illegal immigration – but we need Congress to act to fix our system,” Department of Homeland Security Press Secretary Tyler Q. Houlton said in a written statement on Wednesday. “The inability to apply consequences to any law breaker ultimately threatens the safety and security of the nation and its communities.”

While the Rio Grande Sector continues to receive the highest number of minors illegally crossing the border from Mexico, the sector saw an eight percent drop in the number of apprehensions in July. The Yuma, Tucson, and El Centro Sectors all witnessed significant increases in the numbers of unaccompanied minors crossing the border in very dangerous conditions. The apprehension of UACs in the Yuma Sector rose by 114 percent from 2,229 in June to 4,762 in July. The El Centro Sector also saw a near 100 percent increase in the number of apprehensions rising from 1,116 in June to 2,186 in July. The Tucson Sector observed an increase from 2,99r to 4,323 (59 percent). The Texas sectors of Laredo and Big Bend also saw increases of more that 40 percent, the report states.

This fiscal year, a total of 41,347 unaccompanied minors were apprehended by Border Patrol agents after illegally crossing between ports of entry — mostly from Central America and Mexico. The largest number of minors came from Guatemala (19,200), Mexico (8,365), Honduras (8,701), and El Salvador (3,761).

“The prosecutions and the assistance from the National Guard, as well as the messaging from the Trump administration, seems to be working so far, and if sustained is sure to make a dent in illegal arrivals,” Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies told Breitbart Texas on Wednesday. “Now, if Congress would do its part and fix the asylum loopholes, fund the immigration enforcement agencies, expand E-Verify and a number of other things, then American communities would see real relief from illegal immigration.”