Illegal Border Crossings Archives

Lack of Operational Control at Northern Border Poses National Security Threats

May 19, 2024 The Center Square

The northern border largely has been unmanned and understaffed for decades as federal reports issue conflicting conclusions about how much, or how little, operational control exists.

Some officials have suggested the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has just 1% operational control over the northern border after a 2019 General Accounting Office audit of U.S. Customs and Border northern border operations. But a December 2022 DHS report claimed, “The Border Patrol is better staffed today than at any time in its 87-year history,” noting no surveillance of extensive parts of the northern border existed prior to 9/11.

Americans Are Now Most Concerned About Immigration, Poll Finds

February 28, 2024 Minnesota Sun Staff

Immigration is now the top concern among Americans as President Joe Biden’s administration continues to see record amounts of illegal border crossings, a Tuesday poll from Gallup found.

The issue was previously ranked second at 20%, behind only “government” at 21%, in Gallup’s January survey. Americans now say immigration is top of mind at 28%, followed by 20% who chose “government” and 12% who tapped the “economy in general,” according to the poll.

2023 Fiscal Year Illegal Border Crossings Surpass 2019-22 Totals in Northern Sector

May 24, 2023May 23, 2023 The Center Square

Border Patrol agents working in the busiest sector along the northern border are apprehending record numbers of foreign nationals attempting to enter the U.S. illegally from Canada.

In the first seven months of fiscal 2023, Border Patrol agents apprehended and encountered more illegal foreign nationals crossing a 295-mile stretch of the Canada-U.S. border than the previous four fiscal years (FYs 2019-2022) combined, Swanton Sector Border Patrol Chief Robert Garcia said.

Illegal Border Crossings in First Four Months of Year Greater than Populations of Six States

May 21, 2023 The Center Square

The number of people illegally entering the U.S. solely through the southern border in the first four months of this year is greater than the population of Delaware, the home state of the president, and the populations of five other states.

So far this year, at least 1,047,528, people have been apprehended or reported evading capture, according to data analyzed by The Center Square. The total is greater than the estimated populations of Delaware (1,031,985), South Dakota (923,484), North Dakota (780,588), Alaska (732,294), Vermont (647,156) and Wyoming (583,279).

Despite Migrant Surge, ICE Deportations Fall to Record Low Under Biden Admin

May 7, 2021May 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials performed a record low number of deportations in April despite illegal border crossings occurring at a 20-year high, according to the agency.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials deported 2,962 immigrants in April, a 20% decline from March, an agency spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation Wednesday. The April numbers mark the first time the agency has deported less than 3,000 individuals in one month since the beginning of ICE’s records, The Washington Post first reported.

FBI Arrests Member of New Mexico Group that Stops Illegal Border Crossers at Border

April 22, 2019April 22, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

Reuters The FBI on Saturday said it had arrested Larry Hopkins, a member of an armed group of U.S. citizens who have been stopping migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in New Mexico. Hopkins, 69, also known as Johnny Horton, was arrested in Sunland Park, N.M., on a federal…

Illegal Border Crossings are Down Because Migrants are Applying for Asylum Instead

December 8, 2018December 8, 2018 Admin

by Jason Hopkins While the number of apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border have gone down, applications for asylum are reaching all-time highs. Around 304,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended at the southwest border during the 2017 fiscal year, a dramatic plunge from the 1.6 million apprehensions recorded in 2000. At…