DHS Receiving Illegal Immigrants “Beyond Sustainable Capacity”

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Jun 4, 2019

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security recently revealed that massive waves of illegal immigration are overwhelming the department’s detention capabilities, speaking in a phone briefing with the press last Thursday. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney spoke on the call.

McAleenan described the record-setting levels of illegal immigrants the department was taking into custody as “beyond sustainable capacity.” Illegal immigration has risen to highs unseen in decades in the past two years, stemming from a failure to secure the southern border with a wall and implement asylum reform.

The Center for Immigration Studies summarized the DHS briefer, which documented a complete failure on the part of the United States government to properly deter illegal migration.

Key takeaways from the call:

-More than 100,000 people are said to be crossing through Mexico with the hopes of reaching the United States at any given time, according to McAleenan.

-Immigration authorities are currently detaining more than 80,000 illegal immigrants.

-The Department has intercepted more than 75,000 family units at the southern border- in May alone.

Existing Customs and Border Patrol protocol has proved insufficient in dealing with the new waves of ‘caravan’ migration, which usually involve massive groups of Central Americans arriving at the southern border and claiming asylum protections as family units. This represents a departure from previous phenomena of illegal immigration, which often involved single Mexican men arriving in the United States to seek work.

In response to a gaping crisis of illegal migration at the southern border, President Trump has enacted a gradual tariff policy on Mexico with the hopes of securing cooperation in deterring mass migration from Central America. Mexican authorities have expressed a willingness to work with Trump to solve the problem; it remains to be seen if they’ll follow through on their words.