U.S. says illegal immigration from Mexico declined last month

[webfact]

U.S. says illegal immigration from Mexico declined last month

REUTERS

 

A Mexican deported from the U.S. walks next to Tijuana river, in Tijuana, Mexico, March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States from Mexico declined by 40 percent from January to February, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said on Wednesday.

 

The downturn came after President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20 vowing to deport many of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

 

The flow of illegal border crossings as measured by apprehensions and the prevention of inadmissible persons at the southern border dropped to 18,762 persons in February from 31,578 in January, Kelly said in a statement.

 

He said the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, which compiled the data, historically sees a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in apprehensions of illegal immigrants from January to February.

 

On Jan. 25, Trump ordered the construction of a wall along the roughly 2,000-mile (3,200-km) U.S.-Mexico border, moved to strip federal funding from "sanctuary" states and cities that harbor illegal immigrants, and expanded the force of U.S. immigration agents.

 

"Since the administration's implementation of Executive Orders to enforce immigration laws, apprehensions and inadmissible activity is trending toward the lowest monthly total in at least the last five years," Kelly said.

 

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-09

[boomerangutang]

         Actually, it's been declining for months/years.  I heard there were more Mexicans leaving the US than entering.   Also, many more Mexicans enter legally by car and plane than hopping over the border.   Additionally, more Chinese enter and overstay their visas, than Mexicans.

 

       The border wall issue was pure fear mongering - for his easily spooked fans.  It worked. 

 

         In reality, it wouldn't work, and is ridiculously expensive.  When Trump first floated the idea, he guessed it would cost 2 billion.  A week later, he said 5 billion, ....and so on, up and up.  Now it's officially at mid-20's but realistically could cost upper 30 billions, particularly when maintenance, support infrastructure (new roads), and manning are taken into account.  And that doesn't even include the lawsuits which will surely ensue from landowners on the border, to Indian tribes, to Nat'l Park Service - all of whom have real estate along the border.

[55Jay]

But why?  Perhaps the ones already in illegally are staying put, don't want to risk going over and trying to get back in the current climate.  And if all the uproar in the media and hurt feelings is discouraging new comers, so be it. 

 

Got no desire to expend lots of resources chasing illegals (of any stripe) around the block but reckon we'll have to break a few eggs first, then go from there.

 

 

Edited March 9, 2017 by 55Jay

[mike324]

I can see Trump supporters celebrating about the decline and another one of Trumps "successful" promise. 

[darksidedog]

So, is the wall still necessary? The last time fortunes were spent on a border wall was probably the Maginot line, which France built along its border with Germany.

It was impregnable, but the Germans simply drove round it, entering France through Belgium, which left that wall being a total waste of money.

If the numbers are falling away already and people entering legally, but overstaying are going up, logic dictates to focus your resources there.

You are either preventing all illegal immigration, or you are just doing rubbish that appeals to your voter base.

 

[Hayduke]

How exactly do you accurately count ‘illegal’ border crossings? And how would anyone be able to track increases or decreases in the rate of illegal border crossings? Illegal entries are, by definition, undocumented and uncounted.

 

As reported, what this actually represents is a decline in the number of apprehensions and denied entry attempts. How can there be a definite and necessary correlation between this number and the number of people who have successfully managed to evade detection and enter the country illegally?

 

It would be positive news if illegal immigration is actually declining. Hopefully this is the case. Yet this methodology doesn’t appear to reflect a particularly reliable measurement. Sadly, a more reliable conclusion here might be that this 40% claim is somewhat speculative and has been formulated with political ends in mind.

Edited March 9, 2017 by Hayduke

[Jingthing]

This is a long standing trend that was happening well before trump was elected. Of course, trump, YUGE liar that he is, will take credit for it.

[sanukjim]

No Shxt Sherlock !

[elgordo38]

Its been dropping for a few years now. Mexican are returning home to claim jobs for $3 an hour that once paid $30 and hour in America especially in the car industry. I don't notice any substantial drop in car prices though. Why spoil people and give them a break goes to the bottom line. Stop those cars at the border Donald. 

[boomerangutang]

4 hours ago, darksidedog said:

So, is the wall still necessary? The last time fortunes were spent on a border wall was probably the Maginot line, which France built along its border with Germany.

It was impregnable, but the Germans simply drove round it, entering France through Belgium, which left that wall being a total waste of money.

If the numbers are falling away already and people entering legally, but overstaying are going up, logic dictates to focus your resources there.

You are either preventing all illegal immigration, or you are just doing rubbish that appeals to your voter base.

 

            It's good to get some historical perspective.  There should be a book with 15 chapters, each showcasing a historic wall.   Nearly all historic large walls were failures.  An exception appears to be the one the Israelis built recently along W.Bank properties.  Hungary is building a wall, but it's leaky. 

           Trump should find out what's working and what's not working on the existing system at the Mex/US border.  He should then shore-up what's effective, ....and so on.   But Trump is a stupid man, and doesn't do things in logical/sensible ways.   

 

Note; if anyone wants to pursue the book idea, PM me.  I've published a dozen books on Amazon, and may get inspired to do a Wall book with a collaborator, if the cookie crumbles that way.

[rijb]

[55Jay]

17 hours ago, Hayduke said:

How exactly do you accurately count ‘illegal’ border crossings? And how would anyone be able to track increases or decreases in the rate of illegal border crossings? Illegal entries are, by definition, undocumented and uncounted.

 

As reported, what this actually represents is a decline in the number of apprehensions and denied entry attempts. How can there be a definite and necessary correlation between this number and the number of people who have successfully managed to evade detection and enter the country illegally?

 

It would be positive news if illegal immigration is actually declining. Hopefully this is the case. Yet this methodology doesn’t appear to reflect a particularly reliable measurement. Sadly, a more reliable conclusion here might be that this 40% claim is somewhat speculative and has been formulated with political ends in mind.

It's not a exact science, nobody, said it was.  You might be filtering through political bias?

 

DHS Secretary is reporting the complied data and comparisons to previous data points.  Nothing wrong with that.  https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration

 

Now to your point - the spin and unsubstantiated attribution to Trump signing the EO.  LOL.  DHS Secretary is a political appointee peacock, this one's pretty sad. 

 

However, it is plausible that all the constant drum beating about this and the now highly publicized interior enforcement, has put some folks off for a while.  That's just human nature. 

 

The ones I would expect to still try it on are the hard core criminals for financial reasons, and normal folks, in particular ones from Central and South America (and beyond), who go through a ton of shit on the way to the US border, where they finally get a chance to run the gauntlet.  Turning around isn't really an option for them.

 

[bangkokorbust]

How exactly do you accurately count ‘illegal’ border crossings? And how would anyone be able to track increases or decreases in the rate of illegal border crossings? Illegal entries are, by definition, undocumented and uncounted.
 
As reported, what this actually represents is a decline in the number of apprehensions and denied entry attempts. How can there be a definite and necessary correlation between this number and the number of people who have successfully managed to evade detection and enter the country illegally?
 
It would be positive news if illegal immigration is actually declining. Hopefully this is the case. Yet this methodology doesn’t appear to reflect a particularly reliable measurement. Sadly, a more reliable conclusion here might be that this 40% claim is somewhat speculative and has been formulated with political ends in mind.

They are counted by the number apprehended

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

[bangkokorbust]

This is a long standing trend that was happening well before trump was elected. Of course, trump, YUGE liar that he is, will take credit for it.

Crossings typically increase by 20 % in Feb but they dropped, 40% that's no gradual decline! It's a monster drop

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

[mrwebb8825]

On 3/9/2017 at 2:15 PM, darksidedog said:

So, is the wall still necessary? The last time fortunes were spent on a border wall was probably the Maginot line, which France built along its border with Germany.

It was impregnable, but the Germans simply drove round it, entering France through Belgium, which left that wall being a total waste of money.

 

Why sure, that makes PERFECT sense in this case. I'd say, anybody that can drive around the wall should be given a nice paying job at an inventive think tank group. Take a moment and let that sink in as you rethink exactly where the eastern edge of Texas is and the western edge of California is.