Total apprehension of illegal aliens along our country’s southwestern border increased for the fifth consecutive month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials reported. It was the tenth month that reported increases over the previous month in the past year.
Numbers released by CBP officials on Thursday afternoon reveal that 47,214 illegal immigrants were apprehended along the southwestern border with Mexico during the month of November. This represents an increase of 2.2 percent over October’s number, 46,191. When comparing November 2016 to the previous November, total apprehensions increased by nearly 44 percent. Officials reported 32,838 total migrants apprehended crossing between ports of entry in November 2015.
A large portion of the total apprehension numbers are composed of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) and Family Unit Aliens (FMUA). The numbers for UAC apprehensions in November showed an increase of 10 percent over the previous month. The apprehension of FMUAs in the same period increased by nearly 20 percent.
The November 2016 report shows 7,406 UACs apprehended in November compared to 6,722 the previous month. A comparison of the previous November shows an increase of 32 percent over the previous year’s November numbers. Again, the overwhelming majority of the UAC apprehensions occurred in the Rio Grande Valley Sector where 4,793 migrant minors were captured after crossing between ports of entry.
Most of the UACs apprehended this fiscal year, which began on October 1, came from Guatemala (5,017). The second largest number came from El Salvador (3,800), followed by Honduras (2,973), and Mexico (2,182).
The apprehension of FMUA’s along the southwestern border increased in November by 19 percent compared to October, CBP officials reported. FMUA’s are defined by CBP as a child under 18 years old, parent or legal guardian) apprehended with a family member. A total of 15,573 FMUA apprehensions were made in November 2016 compared to 6,471 the previous year. This represents an increase of 240 percent over the 2015 report. Again, the Rio Grande Valley Sector reported the largest number of FMUA apprehensions with 10,709. The 15,573 FMUA apprehensions means that at least 31,146 people were apprehended.
The largest segment of the FMUA apprehensions came from El Salvador (10,121), followed by Guatemala (8,886), Honduras (8,264), and Mexico (672).
CBP officials have responded to the increasing numbers of UAC and FMUA apprehensions, particularly in Texas, by opening temporary holding facilities in Tornillo, and Donna, Texas, as previously reported by Breitbart Texas. The facilities are capable of holding 500 people each, officials stated. The FMUA and UACs apprehended by Border Patrol and CBP are held while awaiting transfer to the Department of Health and Human Services or to ICE for removal or detention processing.
The CBP is staffing these facilities by pulling front line Border Patrol agents from other sectors, many of which are experiencing their own surge of illegal migration. Border Patrol agents have reacted to the shift in manpower, stating they are being utilized as “babysitters.”
“The smugglers learned in 2014 that they could tie up Border Patrol agents as babysitters and keep us from our primary mission of stopping illegal border crossings and drug smuggling,” U.S. Border Patrol Agent Chris Cabrera told Breitbart Texas in his capacity as president of National Border Patrol Council Local 3307 in an interview on October 26. “When are we going to get back on the border?”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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