U.S. Border Patrol agents in the San Diego sector arrested more non-Mexicans attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexican border illegally during the 2019 fiscal year than at any other year in the agency’s history.
“[The] San Diego sector realized its highest number of apprehensions from countries other than Mexico in the history of tracking statistics for this population with a total of 27,255 arrests,” said Kathleen Scudder, acting deputy chief patrol agent for the San Diego sector.
The majority of non-Mexican nationals apprehended came from Central American countries such as Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, Scudder said.
A statement on Customs and Border Protection website noted:
From Oct. 1, 2018 through Sept. 30, 2019, San Diego Sector Border Patrol accomplishments included the apprehension of 58,049 persons for illegal entry into the country. This is a 50 percent increase from fiscal year 2018, when there were 38,591 apprehensions. This increase can be mostly attributed to the influx of family units and unaccompanied children and adults particularly from countries other than Mexico. San Diego Sector saw its highest number of people from countries other than Mexico ever with a total of 27,255 this fiscal year from a previous high number during the prior fiscal year of 11,509, a 137 percent increase. From fiscal years 2009-2015 other than Mexicans averaged around 1,500 per year. [Emphasis added.]
A November 1 report in the San Diego Union-Tribune observed that this latest report from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “shows the historic shift in migration patterns at the southern border. Historically, migrants caught crossing the border illegally have been single men from Mexico. But over the last few years, Border Patrol agents have seen a rising number of unaccompanied children and families at the southern border.”
The phenomenon of unaccompanied children and other migrants from Central America illegally crossing our southern border is not recent. We commented on this in an article for The New American back in August 2014. In that article we also noted that these illegal migrants who were caught or turned themselves in to Border Patrol agents from 2010 through July 2014 originated from more than 75 different countries. We cited a CBP report stating that among the overseas destinations from which illegal aliens came were Syria and Albania, from which smugglers sent migrants first to Central America and then northward across the U.S. border.
That report was written during the Obama administration. Under President Trump, the flow of illegal migrants has continued, despite this administrations aggressive efforts to stem the tide. The large number of illegal aliens being apprehended has created new challenges.
The Union-Tribune report cited CBP officials who said that the shift in migrant populations means that, “Customs and Border Protection, a law enforcement agency, now has to behave like a humanitarian organization.”
“Managing these unprecedented numbers require us to task a substantial percentage of our workforce with humanitarian duties including hospital watch, care and feeding, and medical screenings,” Scudder said. “Things that were neither budgeted nor prepared for.”
Image: Screenshot of cbp.gov
Related articles:
Migrant Invasion Force Doubles and Another From El Salvador Starts
Immigrants From Over 75 Countries Illegally Crossing U.S. Border
Warren Mass has served The New American since its launch in 1985 in several capacities, including marketing, editing, and writing. Since retiring from the staff several years ago, he has been a regular contributor to the magazine. Warren writes from Texas and can be reached at [email protected].
