The Crisis at the Southern Border Is Too Urgent to Ignore | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    "To those who refuse to compromise in the name of border security, I would ask: Imagine if it was your child, your husband, or your wife whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken? To every member of Congress: Pass a bill that ends this crisis."   -   Donald J. Trump,    President of the United States

    FLOOD OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: Our porous border and weak laws allow for illegal immigration to go unchecked.

           •  Newly released data shows that December was a record-breaking month for family unit aliens apprehended at the border.

                 •  27,518 family unit aliens were apprehended illegally crossing the border last month.

                 •  So far in fiscal year (FY) 2019, there have been more family unit apprehensions through December-75,794-than the FY totals in 5 of the last 7 years.

           •  For the last three months, an average of 2,000 inadmissible migrants have arrived at our border every day.

           •  A monthly average of more than 31,000 family units and unaccompanied minors are being apprehended at the border or deemed inadmissible at ports of entry in FY 2019.

                 •  This marks a 136 percent increase from FY 2017.

           •  There has been a sharp increase in the number of aliens claiming a fear of return at the southern border over the past several years.

                 •  This allows illegal aliens to remain in the United States while their claims are processed.

                 •  These instances have spiked by over 1,700 percent since 2010.

           •  This flood of migrants to our border has overwhelmed our immigration system.

                 •  There are currently not enough resources to hold those apprehended for the duration of their immigration proceedings.

                 •  Loopholes in our immigration laws hamper authorities from promptly sending family units and unaccompanied minors back to their home countries.

                 •  Immigration courts are severely backlogged-with over 800,000 cases pending.

    GANGS AND DRUGS DESTROYING COMMUNITIES: Criminal gangs exploit our weak border in order to deliver violence and drugs to American communities.

           •  Gangs like MS-13 use our weak borders to gain entry into the country and target unaccompanied minors for recruitment.

           •  300 Americans die every week from heroin and 90 percent of all heroin originates from south of the border.

           •  The amount of fentanyl seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in FY 2017 (2,370 pounds) was enough to kill every American citizen by overdose.

           •  The southern border is the main entry point for cocaine entering the United States.

           •  The border is also used to smuggle firearms, weaponry, and other dangerous materials into the United States.

    WOMEN AND CHILDREN AT RISK: Human traffickers exploit our border and immigration system for profit, putting women and children at risk.

    Human traffickers use our porous border and loopholes in our immigration system for their own gain, while preying on those who make the dangerous journey north.

           •  More than 30 percent of women are sexually assaulted on the trek to the border.

           •  Nearly 70 percent of migrants are victims of violence on the journey.

           •  Border Patrol refers an average of 50 cases a day to medical providers.

• Contact: White House
•     Press Office