Stef W. Kight march 25, 2019
Data: Department of Homeland Security; Chart: Andrew
Witherspoon/Axios
The number of immigrants arrested
or turned away at the southern border has continued to climb to levels not seen
for years, according to new Department of Homeland Security data obtained by
Axios.
Why it
matters: The surge has been driven by an influx of migrant families and
unaccompanied children, according to a DHS official. "At the moment, we
have the closest thing to an open border that we've had," said Leon
Fresco, an immigration attorney and member of a Homeland Security advisory
committee formed by DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen several months ago.
- Detention centers are overcrowded, and immigration
officials often aren't able to deport immigrants as quickly through expedited
removal procedures.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and
Border Protection have even begun releasing migrant families into the U.S.
almost immediately instead of holding them in detention, Mark Morgan,
former chief of Customs and Border Protection under Barack Obama, told
Axios. He said this could create an additional incentive for migrants.
"Unless Congress does something, we are where
we are on this. There are no levers left to pull." — Fresco
The big picture: The latest data comes at a time
when the Trump administration is trying to make the case that there is a true
emergency at the border, in the face of skepticism in Congress and pushback
over his national emergency intended to fund a border wall.
·
It also comes during reports of Mexican smugglers using buses for
quicker, safer transportation for Guatemalan migrants. Central
Americans continue to gather in large groups for the long voyage to the border.
·
The Trump administration is expanding a policy that forces some
asylum seekers to stay in Mexico until their case is completed. And President Trump
has vetoed Congress's efforts to end his declared national emergency.
Between the lines: There are real families and
children who have fled dire circumstances in their home nations who are coming
to the U.S. for asylum. But there are also real logistical issues at the border
and in U.S. immigration policy. Immigration is already a complex issue, but it
has become an increasingly political one as well.
·
"We're infusing politics, which is making it even
further a dysfunctional immigration system," Morgan said.
·
Another reason to be concerned about the numbers: The
government's track record for caring for migrant children isn't great.
By the numbers: Historically, the number of
border crossers begins escalating around March due to the warmer weather, and
typically doesn't peak until May. The U.S. has had this much border activity in
the past, but could reach as many as a
million apprehensions and inadmissibles this year, according to
Morgan — levels not
seen for at least a decade.
·
In May 2014 — the peak of the child migrant crisis under Obama—
there were almost 69,000 migrants arrested or turned away. In just three weeks
of March, there have already been almost 66,000 apprehensions and
inadmissibles.
·
One big change: Back when reaching a million border enforcement
actions in a year was common, the vast majority of migrants were single,
Mexican adults who often made multiple attempts to cross the border. Now, DHS
is dealing with the complexity of caring for tens of thousands of Central
American parents and children. Laws that enabled the quick deportation of
single, Mexican adults do not apply.
No comments:
Post a Comment