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.
The 310,531 border arrests were the most fewest arrests made since 1971. The number of border arrests tend to correspond to the number of illegal border crossing attempts, so the 25% decrease between 2016 and 2017 seem to indicate that fewer foreign nationals attempted to illegally enter the U.S. by crossing the border.
interior enforcement was also up approximately 25% in 2017 compared to 2016. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 143,470 illegal aliens in the interior of the United States compared to just 114,434 the year before. Interior enforcement arrests were up 40% over the months after Pres. Trump assumed office compared to the same months the year before.
“We have clearly seen the successful results of the president’s commitment to supporting the frontline officers and agents of (the Department of Homeland Security) as they enforce the law and secure our borders,” said Elaine Duke, acting secretary.
While overall deportation statistics were down in 2017, deportations from the interior were up 25%. DHS officials say the reduced number of border apprehensions contributed to the reduced removal numbers since border removals are also counted as deportations. There were more than 81,000 illegal aliens removed from the interior of the U.S. in FY2017.
For more on this story, see the Associated Press.
