Illegal Border Crossings Spiked Again In August

Brittany M. Hughes | September 11, 2017
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Another 30,567 illegal aliens were apprehended at the Southwest U.S. border in August, marking the busiest month at the border since President Donald Trump first took office in late January, according to new data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Of those caught last month, about 4,600 were members of family units, while nearly 3,000 were processed as unaccompanied children. A total of 22,293 aliens were caught trying to enter the U.S. in between ports of entry; another 8,283 “inadmissibles” were apprehended trying to cross through a border station. Overall, the number of illegals caught in August marked a 22 percent spike over the 25,000 illegal aliens apprehended in July.

And yet, still lower than last year. And the year before. And the one before that.

While it’s not uncommon for border agents to wrestle with higher numbers of illegal border crossings during then summer season than during the colder winter months, August’s apprehension rate marks a significant increase from the historically low numbers that marked the first few months of the Trump administration.

In February, the first full month under President Trump, a total of 23,557 illegal aliens were caught attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. By April, that number had dropped to just under 16,000 – a mere third of the total caught in April of 2016.

Since April, however, the number of border crossings has been on the rise, increasing steadily by about 3,000 to 4,000 apprehensions each month.

Even still, the number of illegal aliens nabbed at the border this past August still marks a significant decrease from the 52,000 illegal aliens caught last August. And it’s still the lowest August apprehension rate in at least six years.

CBP officials noted that year-to-date totals for FY 2017 are still 24 percent lower than the same period in FY 2016.

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