3 Charts that Show What’s Going on at the Southern Border
NPR offers 3 Charts That Show What’s Actually Happening Along The Southern Border:
The total number of people apprehended for illegally crossing the southern U.S. border has been steadily falling for almost two decades. It’s a long-term trend that sociologists, economists and federal officials have been tracking for years.
The trend apparently at odds with statements made this week by President Trump, the secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general. They defended the administration’s detention and prosecution policies by saying that the number of people crossing the southern border has increased.
Officials frequently refer to two numbers to illustrate the increase in unauthorized immigration. As Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a speech on Monday:
“Since this time last year, there has been a 325 percent increase in Unaccompanied Alien Children and a 435 percent increase in family units entering the country illegally.”
However, fiscal year 2017 was a very unusual one for illegal immigration. There was an enormous dip in the number of people apprehended at the southern border in the first part of last year compared with the previous four years, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Sociologists are studying the possible reasons for that dip, but the numbers are clear.
