Central American Migrant Families Overwhelming Border Patrol, Say Officials

Photo JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP/Getty Images

Border Patrol officials told reporters on Friday that the surge of Central American migrant families are stretching their resources thin. The statement comes as agents reported apprehending 60 “large groups” of migrants so far this year.

During a conference call discussing the latest illegal immigration numbers along the U.S. southwest border, Border Patrol officials said the large groups of migrant families, mostly from Central America, are overwhelming their resources. The agency defines a large group as 100 or more migrants.

During all of Fiscal Year 2018, which ended on September 30, Border Patrol agents only apprehended 13 large groups. So far this year, that number jumped to 60 large groups, an increase of nearly 70 percent, Reuters reported.

Border Patrol officials said the smugglers have adopted the strategy of utilizing large groups to tie up agency resources in remote areas so that they can move drugs or other high-value cargo across the border in other locations.

“Large busloads of individuals are being bussed up to the border and we don’t have any infrastructure in that area,” a Border Patrol officials told reporters on the call.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

If you like what you see, please "Like" us on Facebook either here or here. Please follow us on Twitter here.