Nation's heaviest trafficked illegal crossing sector sees surge in apprehensions
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Total immigration apprehensions in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, the nation’s heaviest trafficked illegal crossing sector, has surged in the past months, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) revealed in a statement Monday.
CBP reported: “Less than seven months into the fiscal year, the Rio Grande Valley Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol Sector has apprehended more than 164,000 people to date, surpassing the total number of apprehensions made in fiscal year 2018.”
The statement also pointed out that border patrol agents in the region arrest over 1,100 people each day on average.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NEW MEXICO COUNTY DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY OVER SURGE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CROSSING THE BORDER
The agency has been devoting more resources to the surging numbers of migrant families crossing the southern border.
The Border Patrol is apprehending thousands of families weekly at the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of them are parents and children fleeing Central America and seeking asylum.
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Nationwide, CBP, as reported in March, has 23,000 officers working at 328 ports of entry, including at airports around the country.
However, the agency has had the most trouble recruiting officers to work at the southern border, where crossings were understaffed before the current surge of migrant families.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Griff Jenkins and The Associated Press contributed to this report.