border control

Today, the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kevin McAleenan, and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, wrote a joint letter to Congress urging the immediate passage of emergency funding to their agencies, citing the ongoing crisis at the southern border.

The Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Kevin McAleenan, testified before Congress yesterday revealing some startling statistics about the humanitarian and security crisis at the southern border. Perhaps the most shocking was the number of asylum seekers who cross into the United States that do not show up for their hearings in immigration court. When asked by Senator Lindsey Graham, McAleenan responded that DHS recently conducted a pilot program with only family units where 90 percent received their final orders of removal in absentia.

The Trump Administration is considering a move that would prevent some foreign citizens from seeking asylum in the United States. Apprehensions of family units crossing the border illegally are at record-highs, and most family units are claiming asylum once they're detained by a Border Patrol officer.

The Republican Study Committee's budget proposal for FY2020 suggests reducing low-skilled immigration, requiring all businesses to use E-Verify, and increasing both border and interior enforcement. The budget outline provides a starting point for House GOP lawmakers considering the committee is comprised of 140 Republican House Members, or more than 70% of the caucus.

Border Patrol officers apprehended 92,607 illegal border crossers during the month of March, marking the highest number of apprehensions in a single month since May 2006. In addition, more than 10,000 migrants presented themselves at ports of entry and were deemed to be inadmissible.

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to El Paso that the immigration system is nearing its "breaking point." He said Border Patrol officers have taken in more than 12,000 illegal border crossers over the last two days -- a level he described as "unprecedented."

House Democrats will vote on a resolution to block Pres. Trump’s national emergency declaration as early as next week. The President signed the declaration last week, declaring a national emergency after month’s of record-level border apprehensions of family units and unaccompanied minors. Pres. Trump is looking to shift funds from other agencies to help fund additional barriers along the U.S.- Mexico border.

The Senate blocked an amendment on Thursday, 50-to-47, that would have ended the partial government shutdown by trading a 3-year DACA amnesty for $5.7 billion in border funding. The motion to bring the amendment to the floor needed 60 votes. The Senate also blocked an amendment offered by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), 52-to-44, from coming to the floor for a vote. The Schumer amendment would have provided the closed federal agencies with funding for two weeks.

A group of 20 Senators from both sides of the aisle are reportedly working on a compromise aimed at ending the nearly month-long partial government shutdown over Pres. Trump's request for $5.7 billion to build additional barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. No details of any possible deal have been released, but the Gang of 20 Senators plan to send Pres. Trump a letter urging him to agree to a 3-week spending bill to re-open the government, while a proposal is drafted.

In his first-ever address to the nation from the Oval Office, Pres. Trump called on Congress to end the government shutdown by providing funding for additional fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border and additional resources to help end the ongoing surge of illegal border crossings.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced today a 7-week spending bill that, if approved with Congress, would delay the fight over Pres. Trump's border security funding request until February. Congress risks a partial government shutdown if it doesn't pass legislation for nine agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, before the end of Friday.

Pres. Trump told Politico that he won't support legislation that includes a DACA amnesty until after the courts make a final ruling on the challenge from the state of Texas. Texas and several other states are challenging the legality of the Obama-era executive amnesty that has granted work permits to 900,000 illegal aliens since 2014. Federal District Judge Andrew Hanen could issue a ruling at any time.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Monday that he plans to increase the number of immigration judges by 50% before the end of the year. The backlog of cases in immigration courts reached 746,049 at the end of August, representing a 38% increase since Pres. Trump took office.

Border apprehensions along the Southwest border dropped for a second straight month, according to new statistics released by the Department of Homeland Security. According to the report, 31,303 illegal border crossers were apprehended last month compared to 34,095 in June. Apprehensions are down more than 22% from this year's high of 40,333 in May.

Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) introduced legislation on Tuesday that would require all employers to use E-Verify and would make illegally crossing the border a felony for first-time offenders. Rep. Black says the Zero Tolerance for Illegal Entry Act, H.R. 6318, puts the interests of American citizens and legal immigrants ahead of illegal aliens.

The House of Representatives firmly rejected H.R. 6136, the Goodlatte-Ryan-Denham Amnesty bill, today by a vote of 121-to-301. The bill received 72 fewer votes than H.R. 4760, the Securing America's Future Act, which fell just 20 votes short of passage last week.

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced in the White House press briefing today that Pres. Trump has told officials to deploy the National Guard in order to bolster security along the southern border and that he “will be signing a proclamation to that effect today.”

The Trump Administration saw the number of attempted illegal border crossings drastically drop by 40 percent in just one year. According to the DHS report released Tuesday on final border apprehension numbers for calendar year 2017, the Obama Administration oversaw 614,739 border arrests in its last year, compared to only 351,084 arrests in Pres. Trump’s first year.

Border apprehension statistics hit a 45-year low in FY2017 according to an annual report released by the Department of Homeland Security. Border agents apprehended 310,531 foreign nationals attempting to illegally cross the border compared to more than 415,000 over the same period the year before.

Kevin K. McAleenan, The acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said on Tuesday that when the final 2017 numbers are completed they will show that illegal immigration is at a 45-year low. McAleenan credits Pres. Trump’s clear message that U.S. immigration law will be enforced for this historic decline.

During his speech today at the department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), Attorney General Jeff Sessions criticized the asylum process saying that it is rampant with “abuse and fraud”. Sessions said that many immigrants are taking advantage of the loopholes in the system to enter and then stay in the U.S. illegally.

Last night Pres. Trump met with Senate and House Minority Leaders Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to discuss DACA and border security issues. NumberUSA has released the statement below about this meeting.

Statement by Rosemary Jenks, Director of Government Relations, NumbersUSA: