Official website of the Department of Homeland Security
“In June 2016, apprehensions by the Border Patrol on our southwest border – an indicator of total attempts to cross the border illegally – decreased from the levels we saw in May and April. Year to date, apprehensions are somewhat higher than in FY 2015, but significantly lower than FY 2014 and FY 2013:
In February 2016, apprehensions by the Border Patrol on our southwest border – an indicator of total attempts to cross the border illegally – increased slightly from January, but remained substantially below the month-to-month numbers of apprehensions we saw in the latter part of 2015. The numbers of unaccompanied children and family members remained at the same levels as January, which is greatly reduced from the apprehension numbers at the end of 2015. The overall 10 percent increase from January is due to an increase in apprehensions of single adults, from 17,505 in January to 19,917 in February, 71.5 percent of whom are from Mexico. Notably, one year ago, in February 2015, the number of apprehensions of single adults was 19,950, and in February 2014 the number was 28,277.
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today joined Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to inaugurate the Tornillo-Guadalupe Port of Entry and International Bridge in Tornillo, Texas. The port of entry will replace the Fabens-Caseta Port of Entry completed in 1938 and will connect Tornillo, Texas and Guadalupe, Mexico.
In connection with the latest monthly release of the numbers of apprehensions on our southwest border, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh C. Johnson made the following statement:
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, the highest ranking Cuban-American in the Obama Administration, traveled to Cuba October 27-30 to meet with senior Cuban government officials.
On Oct. 24-26, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas will travel to Chicago to participate in the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) 2015 Conference and Exposition. During the conference, Deputy Secretary Mayorkas will deliver remarks on the Department’s commitment to support interoperable communications at the IACP Communications and Technology Committee Meeting. While in Chicago, Deputy Secretary Mayorkas will meet with state and local law enforcement partners to discuss the Department’s continued efforts to share information and work together on homeland security initiatives such as preventing violent extremism.
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson was in Mexico City today and yesterday, where he met with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Secretary of Interior Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, and Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu, to discuss our shared security and commercial interests.
I thank the House Homeland Security Committee, in particular Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Thompson, for their work examining the critical issue of foreign terrorist fighters traveling to Syria and Iraq. The report published by the Committee’s bipartisan task force is an important assessment of how we in the U.S. government can enhance our efforts to counter the foreign terrorist fighter threat. As noted in the report, the Department of Homeland Security has undertaken much of what is recommended.
