The U.S. Border Patrol has announced that nearly 100,000 migrants were arrested at the southern border in April. This is the second straight month where these numbers topped 90,000. Numbers this year project to be an estimated 531,711 apprehensions and inadmissibles. This is up from 521,090 in fiscal 2018.
Who is coming in?
The actual numbers for April were 98,977 undocumented immigrants arrested for attempting to cross the border between ports of entry.
- 8,897 were unaccompanied minors
- 58,474 belonged to a family unit
- 31,606 were single adults
- The actual number of migrants was 109,144 because there were 10,137 who showed up at ports of entry and were deemed inadmissible
The April number is a 6.52% increase from the previous month and a 158% increase from a year ago. This is the highest total since 2007, but it is well short of numbers from the year 2000, which totaled 1.6 million.
Policy expert blames White House
In light of these numbers, the White House has now asked for $4.5 billion to pay for more border security as well as humanitarian aid, but some claim that this is a problem of its own creation.
According to United Press International, the Migration Policy Institute’s Sarah Pierce stated the cause for this recent surge is undocumented minors and families are due to the administration’s crackdown on immigration. Contrary to the thinking of the government, “The threat of harsh policies increases arrivals. For example, the end of family separation ushered in four straight months of the highest family apprehensions on record. Chaos breeding chaos.”
Guidance for migrants
Migrants and their families can benefit from legal help from experienced immigration law attorneys here in California. The issues continually shift so attorneys will often have the most up-to-date information in these matters.
