Though there has been a decrease in the number of illegal immigrants who have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border in the past month, the White House is preparing for another spike once the temperature starts to cool in the coming months.
On Friday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest acknowledged the “downward trend” in apprehensions “over the last four to six weeks,” but he said that “historical trends” also indicated that “as the weather cools and as we enter the fall and winter season,” the rates of apprehension “of those who attempt to illegally enter the country go back up.”
Earnest also acknowledged that the apprehensions are still “taking place at an elevated rate” compared to two years ago, which was when President Barack Obama enacted his temporary amnesty program for illegal immigrant DREAMers. He said the White House is “concerned about the volatility of the rates” and has shifted some funds around to be prepared “if and when volatility is reintroduced.”
After visiting the border last weekend, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), as Breitbart News reported, said law enforcement officials told her that the border crisis is “expected to worsen once again as temperatures cool in coming months.”
There have been nearly 60,000 illegal immigrant juveniles apprehended since October of last year, and the Obama administration expects nearly 150,000 more will be in the next fiscal year. According to the Department of Homeland Security, “5,508 unaccompanied minors and 7,410 adults with children were apprehended” in July. In June, there were “10,628 unaccompanied minors and 16,330 adults with children” who were caught at the U.S.-Mexico border.
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