U.S. Border Patrol Agents at Border Field State Park in Imperial Beach watch over personnel that are reinforcing the border wall with concertina wire. Border Patrol remains vigilant in ensuring the safety of the American public and securing our borders. Photos by Mani Albrecht, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Public Affairs, Visual Communications Division.
Illegal immigration across America’s southern border is surging as immigrants race northward in an attempt to beat the construction of the border wall. Alicia A. Caldwell reports on the increase in traffic:
The Trump administration is preparing for nearly 180,000 migrants traveling as families to cross the southern border of the U.S. by May, continuing an already record-breaking year.
According to an internal document reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection anticipate between 51,000 and 58,000 migrants traveling as families will either cross the border illegally or ask for asylum at a legal border crossing this month. The agency projects that figure will reach as many as 70,000 in May, based on historical trends.
Arrests of families crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in the past five months hit a record of 136,150. The tally eclipsed a record of 107,212 families arrested during the entire 2018 fiscal year.
Separately, 21,968 immigrant families asked for asylum at legal border crossings between October and February. The volume of families at those crossings was about the same a year ago.
The flood of families crossing the U.S. border with Mexico represents a “border security and humanitarian crisis” and has left Customs and Border Protection at “the breaking point,” Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said last week.
Read more here.
