President Trump’s executive order played a role in radically reducing the number of illegal crossings at the southwestern U.S. border, according to a top U.S. Customs and Border Protection official.
“As a result of the Executive Orders issued by the president, and the implementing policies issued by the secretary, as well as earlier policy changes and the significant investments we have made in border enforcement personnel, technology, and infrastructure, we are seeing a historic shift in illegal crossings along the southwest border,” Ronald Vitiello, acting deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told Senate Judiciary subcommittee in his prepared testimony.
CBP has used border arrests as a proxy for how many illegal immigrants are trying to cross. Vitiello said that since Trump took office, apprehensions have fallen sharply.
“The number of illegal aliens apprehended in March 2017 was 30 percent lower than February apprehensions and 64 percent lower than the same time last year,” he said.
Vitiello said the combined efforts of the Trump administration have created a “perception” among illegal immigrants that it’s now much harder to stay in the United States, even if they make it across the border.
“Individuals who might seek to enter the country through unlawful channels do not want to invest significant resources only to be turned around at the border or removed soon after they arrive in the United States,” he said. “We have shown that we are serious about border security and enforcing our immigration laws.”
Another sign of success at the border is that the cost of smuggling people into the U.S. has jumped. Vitiello said that is “potentially due to a perception of increased risk by human smugglers or an attempt by smugglers to make up for lost revenue with fewer aliens attempting illegal travel.”
