Contrary to left-wing talking points, the Department of Homeland Security released data Tuesday showing federal officials have separated 170 illegal alien “families” at the U.S. border because they were ultimately found to have no family relation at all.
To make matters worse, 139 members of those “family units” were underage children.
The department says they separated 507 illegal immigrants between April 19 and September 30 alone because they fraudulently claimed they were part of a family unit.
DHS also noted in its report that there’s been a stunning 110 percent increase in the number of migrant men showing up at the border with kids they claim are theirs – but many of whom aren’t.
“This data does not show nor does DHS assert that all minors apprehended as part of a family unit are illegitimate, but it does indicate that there is a significant problem that provides DHS the needed authority to protect the best interests and welfare of all children,” said the department.
According to the deparment’s breakdown of the data, 87 family units were separated because a “child” was determined to be over the age of 18. Another 165 adults and 6 individuals that had initially claimed to be minors but were later discovered to be adults.
“This is a direct result of the Clinton-era Flores Settlement decree that has created a massive loophole which allows alien family units to illegally cross the border and enter the United States after a short detention,” DHS said in a statement. “This well-known loophole acts a magnet for family units and entices smugglers to use children as a way to gain access to the United States by posing a family unit. Word has gotten out.”
The disturbing numbers come even as left-wing politicians and media talking heads continue to criticize the Trump administration for its earlier practice of separating families at the border, a move the administration has defended by saying it first has to establish a proven familial relationship between adults and children before allowing them to be housed in the same facilities to avoid trafficking and sexual abuse.
Unfortunately, the practice of kidnapping children and using them to gain access to the United States isn’t new – but it very well may be escalating. In April, an illegal alien named Ramon Pedro crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally with an underage girl he claimed was his daughter. Months after he was released into the U.S. with the girl in tow, medical staff at a Texas hospital discovered the young woman wasn’t related to Pedro at all, and that he’d been repeatedly raping and sexually abusing her all along.