Border Crossings at Historic Lows, Up from Last Month

Illegal border crossings along the southwest U.S. border with Mexico are at a six-year low but are up some over last month.

The total apprehensions of illegal aliens crossing the southwest border with Mexico increased 10 percent from May to June, according to a new report obtained by Breitbart Texas from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials. This follows a 31 percent increase from April to May.

In May 2017, border apprehensions increased from a historic 17-year low of 11,126 in April to 14,535 in May, Breitbart Texas reported. Those numbers went up again in June to 16,089, CBP officials detailed.

During the same period in the year before, Border Patrol agents apprehended 38,089 illegal immigrants in April, 40,337 in May, and 34,450 in June.

Year-to-date apprehensions are down substantially when comparing fiscal years 2016 and 2017. During the first three quarters of FY 2016, agents apprehended a total of 366,044 illegal immigrants. In that same period this year, the numbers fell to 240,930, a decrease of 34 percent.

The FY 2017 numbers are also skewed by record apprehensions in the months of October and November when massive numbers of migrants crossed the border in anticipation of the 2016 presidential election. Since President Trump took office in January, the number of apprehensions fell from 31,584 to 16,089, a decrease of 49 percent.

Of the 16,089 illegal immigrants apprehended by Border Patrol agents in June, 36 percent (5,817) were arrested in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in South Texas. The Tucson Sector saw the second highest numbers of arrests (2,631) followed by the Laredo (1,839), San Diego (1,656), El Centro (1,280), El Paso (1,181), Del Rio (760), Yuma (548), and Big Bend (377) Sectors.

The increase in illegal immigrant crossings and apprehensions comes as the summer heat brings grave danger to those making the trip. Breitbart Texas has reported extensively on the numbers of deaths of illegal aliens during the summer heat, especially in South Texas and Arizona. The numbers of rescues of distressed aliens by Border Patrol agents continue as well.

In one day alone, the bodies of three illegal immigrants were found in Brooks County, Texas, after human smugglers abandoned and left them to die, Breitbart Texas reported.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.