Arrests along the Mexican border rose again in May, surpassing the "break point"



[ad_1]

Breaking Point: Five Hours of Crush for Texas Migrants

US statistics on border protection and border protection, released on Wednesday, show that more than 144,000 migrants have been arrested, up 32 percent from April.

This is by far the biggest total of arrests of a month since President Trump took office, and it is the highest monthly figure since 13. years, said Wednesday afternoon CBP officials.

The month of May is the third consecutive month in which the number of detentions at the border reached 100,000, thanks to the record number of illegal crossings of Guatemalan and Honduran parents with children. CBP officials told reporters that agents and agents detained more than 100,000 family members and children, leaving detention cells in "glowing" cells.

Of the 144,278 issued by CBP, 132,887 were apprehended after being illegally crossed by Border Patrol officers and 11,391 were deemed "inadmissible" after arrival at the US ports of entry.

"We are in a state of utter urgency and I can not say any more: the system is down," said CBP Acting Commissioner John Sanders.

Sanders said his agency had arrested more than 680,000 border workers in the last eight months, he added, noting that the total was "more than the Miami population."

The historic rise has become a source of continued frustration for Trump, whose administration has repeatedly failed in its efforts to deter migrants, using ever more stringent law enforcement tactics.

Having sacked most Homeland Security officials, Trump returned last week to another frequently criticized target, the Mexican government, threatening to slap tariffs on imported goods.

Mexican diplomats are in Washington this week to try to change the spirit of Trump, but the 5% tax imposed by the president on Mexican imports is expected to come into effect Monday, unless opponents of Congress can block it .

The May figure represents an increase of 182% over May 2018, six times higher than in May 2017, when border arrests had almost reached their lowest level in half a century and US authorities had detained less than 20,000.

CBP officials described in detail the tensions of the migration wave on US agents and infrastructure and discussed the deteriorating conditions at border crossings in the United States that often exceed the number of their own. capacity of detainees.

The agency has more than 19,000 migrants in custody, officials said, leaving detention cells of the border patrol in such a state that inmates spend whole days in dirty and narrow conditions, sometimes without Sufficient floor space, waiting to be treated.

"I have never seen anything like it in the last 24 years that I have done this job," said Brian Hastings, Chief of Border Patrol Operations.

CBP officials said border patrol officers now spend 50 percent of their time treating migrants and taking care of families in detention, including frequent visits to hospitals and clinics. US authorities have said the burden is heavy on drug traffickers and human smugglers trying to sneak past US defenses, especially when hundreds of migrants cross the border at the same time.

Last week in El Paso, a unique procession of 1,045 people crossed the Rio Grande to surrender to US agents, the largest group the Border Patrol has ever encountered.

[ad_2]

Source link