The Daily Wire has repeatedly covered the ongoing migrant influx crisis at our beleaguered southern border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) March crossing/apprehension numbers were record-shattering, and CBP Deputy Commissioner Robert E. Perez referred to the onslaught as a “system-wide emergency”:
“We are currently experiencing a system-wide emergency in our processing and holding facilities. The humanitarian crisis created by a massive influx of family groups and unaccompanied children in recent months has forced CBP to reallocate resources away from law enforcement, trade and travel missions to process and provide care for those in our custody,” said CBP Deputy Commissioner Robert E. Perez. “The impacts to legitimate trade and travel cannot be overstated. As this crisis continues to worsen, it undermines CBP’s ability to perform its dual mission of protecting our borders and facilitating legitimate trade and travel.”
In Fiscal Year 2019 to date, the U.S. Border Patrol has seen a more than 370% increase in the number of family units apprehended compared to the same time period in FY2018. Today, 60% of apprehensions along the Southwest border are family units and unaccompanied children, made up predominantly of individuals from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
But what is even more distressing is that the brand-new, hot-off-the-press CBP April numbers are somehow even worse!
Conservative favorite freshman Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) tweeted: “‘U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detained 109,144 migrants along the boundary with Mexico’ in APRIL! This is the second consecutive month of 100K+ apprehensions. #PelosiDoesntCare.”
Nick Miroff, The Washington Post’s national security reporter specializing in immigration enforcement and drug trafficking who had previously referred to our border numbers as “bonkers,” tweeted: “BREAKING CBP enforcement stats for April: -109,144 apprehensions plus inadmissibles -98k apprehensions (highest since 2007) -58k family units (another record) -31k single adults (highest in five years) -8,800 UACs (down slightly).”
But amidst the ongoing crisis, there is one statistic — courtesy of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — that truly ought to underscore the extremist nature of both our illegal and legal immigration regimes. Specifically, an incredible 1% of the entire population of Guatemala and Honduras has entered the U.S. since this past September.
Yes, really.
As Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner reported yesterday:
In a shocking demonstration of the latest surge of illegal immigrants border officials are struggling with, over 1% of the populations of Guatemala and Honduras have entered the United States since September, according to the Homeland Security Department chief.
Worse, 3% of the population of one Guatemalan county has crossed into the U.S., acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin K. McAleenan told the 49th Washington Conference of the Americas tonight.
“The current migration flows, especially of vulnerable families and children, from Central America through Mexico, to remote areas all along the U.S. border, represent both a security and humanitarian crisis. The situation is not sustainable,” said the longtime border and immigration official.
This is a truly eye-opening and revelatory number. It ought to shock policymakers. And we ignore it at our own peril.