Posted at 10:31 am on February 4, 2020
While nobody was watching, Customs and Border Protection reported yet another drop in apprehensions of illegal aliens on our southern border last month. That’s the eighth straight month of declines and a significant reduction from the same period last year. It’s just amazing what happens when you put a new set of policies in place and actually enforce them, isn’t it? (Associated Press)
The number of border apprehensions has dropped for the eighth straight month, following crackdowns by the Trump administration that include forcing asylum seekers back over the U.S.-Mexico border to wait out their claims, a Homeland Security official said Monday…
The tally for the month of January was about 36,000, including apprehensions of people crossing illegally and migrants who were declared inadmissible by border officers at a port of entry. It was a 10 percent decline from December.
The steep decline will almost certainly figure heavily into President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday. Trump has made cracking down on immigration — legal and illegal — a signature issue.
The total numbers are impressive. From October of 2018 through January of 2019, there were 242,000 “encounters” between migrants trying to cross the border and CBP. From October of last year through last month the number was 165,000. That’s a drop of 77,000 or 31%. And we should also keep in mind that these are the months with the coolest weather, usually resulting in the highest amount of foot traffic. This is pretty remarkable by any measure.
