Border agents apprehend more than 1000 migrants – AOL
WASHINGTON — More than 1,000 migrants were apprehended after illegally crossing the border near El Paso, Texas, early Wednesday morning, according to two U.S. officials and a document obtained by NBC News.
The group of 1,036 is the largest ever encountered by the Border Patrol; the previous record of 424 was set last month.
Customs and Border Protection has noticed a trend in the number of large groups crossing the border together. In fiscal year 2018, border agents encountered 13 groups of more than 100 immigrants. Now, they have seen that same number in a single day, according to Brian Hastings, the chief law enforcement operations directorate for the U.S. Border Patrol.
President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that he will make his “biggest statement on the border” later in the day or on Friday.
A third U.S. official expects the large group apprehension to be a major part of his announcement.
The 1,036 immigrants included 934 people traveling in family groups, 63 children traveling alone, 39 single adults and others who had not yet been identified. All of those processed as of Wednesday morning are from the Northern Triangle countries of Central America, with 515 from Guatemala, 135 from Honduras and 76 from El Salvador.
Immigration advocates say more immigrants are traveling in large groups because they believe in “safety in numbers,” as conditions along their journey are treacherous. U.S. officials say the large groups overwhelm medical teams and border agents, who are most often patrolling in pairs.
Overall numbers of undocumented immigrants crossing the border both legally, by presenting themselves at ports of entry, or illegally, by crossing between ports of entry, have skyrocketed in recent months. Both March and April saw numbers above 100,000, the highest in over 12 years.
One DHS official said the agency expects May to breach 120,000 in the number of immigrants apprehended and deemed inadmissible.
Newborn Alvin Reyes sleeps next to his mother Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, at a hospital in Puebla, Mexico, November 13, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Honduran migrant Maria Reyes, 6, wakes up next to her father Alvin Reyes and mother Erly Marcial, who is eight months pregnant, and her brother David, 2, after they spent the night with fellow migrants in Tapanatepec, Mexico, November 6, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Honduran migrant Alvin Reyes, 39, touches his newborn son Alvin, next to his wife Erly Marcial, 21, at a hospital in Puebla, Mexico, November 13, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, organises her belongings next to her husband Alvin Reyes, 39, and their sons David, 2, and newborn Alvin, in the dormitory of a church where they are staying in Tijuana, Mexico, December 4, 2018. =
‘(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Eight months pregnant Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, takes a bath in the river with her son David, 2, in Tapanatepec, Mexico, November 6, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Eight months pregnant Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, lies on cardboard while she stays with her family and fellow migrants in Tapanatepec, Mexico, November 6, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, carries her newborn son Alvin with her children, Maria, 6, and David, 2, while her husband Alvin Reyes buys bus tickets to Mexico City, at a bus station in Puebla, Mexico, November 13, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Honduran migrants Erly Marcial, 21, and Alvin Reyes, 39, receive the Mexican birth certificate for their newborn son Alvin, in Puebla, Mexico, November 13, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Eight months pregnant Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, plays with her daughter Maria, 6, in the river in Tapanatepec, Mexico, November 6, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Honduran migrant Alvin Reyes, 39, talks with doctors about the condition of his wife Erly Marcial, 21, who is eight months pregnant, at a hospital in Puebla, Mexico, November 12, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Eight months pregnant Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, takes a bath in the river next to her son David, 2, while they stay with fellow migrants in Tapanatepec, Mexico, November 6, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Eight months pregnant Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, is carried to a hospital on a stretcher in Puebla, Mexico, November 11, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Eight months pregnant Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, and her husband Alvin Reyes, 39, board a truck as they hitch a ride towards the U.S., in Santo Domingo Ingenio, Mexico, November 8, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Eight months pregnant Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, rests with fellow migrants on the road that links Tapanatepec and Santo Domingo Ingenio, near Tapanatepec, Mexico, November 7, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Eight months pregnant Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, walks with her husband Alvin Reyes, 39, carrying their children David, 2, and Maria, 6, on the road that links Tapanatepec and Santo Domingo Ingenio, near Tapanatepec, Mexico, November 7, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Honduran migrant Alvin Reyes, 39, visits his wife Erly Marcial, 21, who is eight months pregnant, at a hospital in Puebla, Mexico, November 12, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Honduran migrant Alvin Reyes, 39, embraces his son David, 2, next to his daughter Maria, 6, in front of the police station in Pijijiapan, Mexico, November 4, 2018.
(REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
A man jogs next to the border wall between Mexico and the U.S., in Tijuana, Mexico, December 10, 2018.
