The White House on Wednesday credited President Trump’s immigration policies for the continued decline in the number of people apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border since his taking office.
“Today’s announcement of the dramatic drop in illegal southern border apprehensions demonstrates that the president’s commitment to securing our border and supporting law enforcement is already showing results,” press secretary Sean Spicer said in a statement. “Led by Secretary Kelly, the Trump administration is expanding the border patrol, cracking down on sanctuary cities, and directing resources toward the construction of a southern border wall.”
Trump in late January announced two executive actions that mandated enforcing all immigration policies already on the books and creating a secure border fence.
On Tuesday evening, written testimony from Homeland Security Sec. John Kelly stated that 12,500 people were apprehended after illegally entering the U.S. from Mexico in March. That number was the lowest monthly figure in more than 17 years.
DHS has said that increases and decreases in the number of apprehensions is a rough guide to how many people are trying to enter the U.S. illegally.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection additionally reported a total of 16,600 people were apprehended or deemed inadmissible in March. That number is down 35 percent from February, which was down 61 percent since January.
While apprehension numbers historically decline during winter months, March’s figure is also down by 64 percent compared to the same month last year.
Last month, Kelly said the “unprecedented” drop from 31,578 apprehensions in January reflects a reduced flow of illegal immigrants and indicates Trump’s policies and executive actions on immigration, including calls for a new border wall and follow-through of all immigration laws, are already causing some to stop before coming.
