Silke Jasso
The number of illegal border crossings fell again in March, according to former Border Patrol chief David Aguila, and by even more than in the month prior.
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March 2017 saw 67% fewer border crossings compared to March 2016. That’s an even more dramatic decline than we saw from February 2016 to February 2017, when illegal immigration dropped by around 40%.
RELATED: Attempted border crossings plummeted in Trump’s first month
The Border Patrol estimates illegal immigration using the number of attempted border crossings they successfully stop. They acknowledge the measurement is far from precise, but that it’s a “yardstick,” according to the Washington Times.
Aguilar says President Donald Trump is at the center of the reduction. Trump’s promised wall along the border, which may cost as much as $21.6 billion and will not be funded by Mexico, has yet to begin construction. The Administration has solicited bids and designs and hopes to award a contract in May of this year, allowing construction to begin once the government finishes securing land for it.
It’s likely that the Trump Administration will need to use eminent domain to acquire all the land needed to construct the wall along the southern border. That means taking land from American taxpayers.
Secretary of Homeland Security Gen. John Kelly is set to give testimony on the latest illegal immigration numbers to the Senate Homeland Security Committee today.
