The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its final 2017 apprehension numbers for the Southwest on Tuesday. DHS reported a 40 percent drop in apprehensions compared the Obama administration’s last year—a 45 year low for the Border Patrol.
DHS reported 303,916 Southwest border apprehensions in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, compared to 408,870 in FY 2016.
In the last month of the year, however, the number of families and unaccompanied minors making illegal crossings jumped once again.
“The significant increase over the last month in the number of family units and unaccompanied children coming across the border illegally highlights the dire need for Congress to immediately adopt responsible pro-American immigration reforms,” noted acting DHS Press Secretary Tyler Houlton in a statement released Tuesday. “Current loopholes in our immigration laws have created an incentive for illegal immigrants who knowingly exploit these same loopholes to take advantage of our generosity.”
From October to December—the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2018—total apprehensions at the Southwest border were 83,568. Of those, 11,234 were unaccompanied children.
Houlton also noted that DHS Secretary Kristjen Nielsen “will require fixes to these loopholes as part of any immigration package negotiated today at the White House.”
President Trump hosted a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers Tuesday to discuss immigration issues.
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