December 2018 Broke Record for Migrant Families Apprehended Between U.S. Border Checkpoints

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reports the number of Family Unit Aliens who were apprehended by Border Patrol agents after crossing between ports of entry climbed to a record-breaking 27,518 in December 2018.

Of the nearly 28,000 family units, 14,547 were children, a DHS official told Breitbart News during an interview on Thursday. When combined with the 4,766 unaccompanied minors apprehended in December, Border Patrol agents processed a total of 19,313 children.

Family Unit Aliens (FMUA) and Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) Apprehensions per Month, Combined

December — 32,282

November — 30,455

October — 28,097

This makes the combined total FMUA and UAC apprehensions by Border Patrol agents for the first quarter of FY2019 a massive 90,836. The first quarter spans from October through December 2018. These numbers do not include apprehensions of migrant families and minors by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at ports of entry. Nor do they include adults traveling without children.

First Quarter of Fiscal Year Comparisons for Combined FMUAs and UACs

FY2019 — 90,836

FY2018 — 31,160

FY2017 — 66,076

Total enforcement actions by Border Patrol agents between ports of entry and Customs and Border Protection officers at ports of entry hit 60,782. DHS officials stated this is the third consecutive month that apprehensions surpassed 60,000.

During the first quarter of FY19, total apprehensions hit 184,010. If this trend continues, the total number of enforcement actions could reach well over 700,000. These numbers compare to 114,441 in Q1 FY18.

DHS officials stressed the massively increasing numbers of FMUA apprehensions. The 27,518 FMUA apprehensions by Border Patrol agents between ports of entry in December represents a record-breaking month for this category of migrants. And, the first quarter’s total of 75,794 exceeds the total number of FMUAs apprehended during five of the last seven total fiscal years.

Officials reported that 95 percent of the FMUA apprehensions came from the “Northern Triangle” of Central America — 77 percent from Guatemala and Honduras alone.