The latest statistics from the United States Customs and Border Protection agency show a spike in the number of illegal immigrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
The spike comes despite the onset of the cold winter months and what ABC News reports to be “better” border enforcement, increased efforts by the Mexican authorities to reduce the number of Central American migrants flowing into the United States.
October’s numbers indicate that nearly 5,000 unaccompanied immigrant children were apprehended illegally crossing the border – nearly twice the number authorities apprehended in the same month last year.
In addition to the children caught last month, authorities apprehended nearly three times as many family members as they did in October, 2014 – roughly 6,000.
For the most part, the families and children picked up by authorities illegally crossing the border were from the Central American nation of El Salvador.
The Associated Press cited experts as having said that Tuesday’s numbers show that the rate of Central American immigrants flowing through the US-Mexico border into the United States is staying high at a time when there’s usually a reduction.
As for the location of the illegal border crossings taking place, the numbers show that the border crossings are beginning to move westward down the Texas border. According to Homeland Security Department internal intelligence documents, the majority of the families interviewed by Customers and Borders Protection told officials that their border crossing routes were selected by smugglers – who charged anywhere from about $1,500 to $5,000 depending on where they crossed, as well as other variables.
In related news, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee, cited information from a whistleblower on Tuesday as he claimed that the Obama administration released thousands of illegal immigrant kids to sponsors who have criminal records ranging from child molestation and human trafficking to homicide, The Washington Post reported.
According to Grassley, the current administration released at least 3,400 kids to sponsors with criminal records.
