Illegal alien families apprehended at the Southwest U.S. border hit a record high in FY2018, surpassing the previous annual record set under the Obama administration.
According to Customs and Border Patrol data, a stunning 16,658 illegal alien parents and their children were caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in September alone, far and away the highest monthly total since Trump was inaugurated in 2017. The number of family units caught at the border skyrocketed earlier this year, soon after the administration rolled back their zero-tolerance policy that threatened to separate and detain families who cross illegally.
In total, 107,212 individuals who crossed as part of a family unit were apprehended in FY2018, up nearly 40 percent from the 75,622 caught the previous year. In addition to family units, another 50,036 unaccompanied minors were apprehended between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30 of last year, along with another 239,331 adult illegal aliens who crossed alone.
Altogether, that brings the total number of illegal aliens nabbed at the border in FY2018 to a whopping 396,579, nearly 100,000 more than the previous year.
The end-of-year numbers come as a caravan of migrants – including potential asylum applicants, previous deportees and Lord only knows who else – makes its way through Mexico headed for the Southwest U.S. border, having already swelled to over 10,000 according to some estimates.