U.S. border officials confirmed Friday that after the lull in illegal border crossings during the holiday season, the number of Central American migrants arriving in “family units” has since returned to record levels.
Per The Washington Post:
The lull in unauthorized crossings suggests some Central American migrants – and the smuggling organizations that deliver them to the border – may have taken a break or deferred the journey north until after the holidays.
During the first week of January, when the extended Christmas season was still being celebrated in Mexico and Central America, the number of migrant family members taken into custody by U.S. agents fell to as low as 200 on some days, according to preliminary data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
By the middle of January, the number of families members arriving jumped again, reaching as high as 1,400 per day, and smuggling organizations once more began delivering groups of 300 or more parents and children to remote border crossings in Arizona and New Mexico.
A CBP official told reporters Friday that about 75 percent of the family members detained in January arrived during the second half of the month. Family groups accounted for 59 percent of all border apprehensions, and although the total number of parents and children taken into custody – 24,116 – declined slightly from December, “that still represents one of the highest totals we have on record,” one official said.
The number of “family unit” members apprehended by CBP is up 290 percent during the first four months of FY 2019 compared to the same period last year.
AAN Staff
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