Temporary processing facility built to hold new immigrants, numbers near record high
More than 46,000 people were apprehended by U.S. Homeland Security in October, the beginning of the 2017 fiscal year, federal officials said.
The October figure was 76 percent of the peak month during the immigrant influx of 2014.
The new immigrants include people from all demographics.
“Within these totals, we have seen corresponding increases in the numbers of unaccompanied children and individuals in families apprehended. We’ve also seen increases in the numbers of those who present themselves at ports of entry along the southwest border seeking asylum,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said.
Johnson said they’re trying to keep pace with the increasing numbers of immigrants.
To deal with the new influx, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is setting up a temporary facility at the Tornillo Port of Entry in southeast El Paso County.
Once it opens the facility will hold up to 500 but can be expanded, and CBP said they are ready to add more beds, toilets, and showers if they determine it is needed.
The goal is to provide additional capacity for families and unaccompanied children in CBP custody at the ports and stations in the El Paso area.
Those in CBP custody are awaiting transfer to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for processing, detention, or removal.
In Fiscal Year 2016, total apprehensions by the Border Patrol, on our southwest border, between ports of entry, numbered 408,870, Jeh Johnson, the secretary of Homeland Security, said in a recent border security report.
Southwest Border Apprehensions (Homeland Security Data)
Fiscal Year 2015:
Unaccompanied children – 39,970 Family members – 39,838 Individuals – 251,525 Total – 331,333
Fiscal Year 2016:
Unaccompanied children – 59,692 Family members – 77,674 Individuals – 271,504 Total – 408,870
“The demographics of illegal migration on our southern border has changed significantly over the last 15 years,” Johnson said, “Far fewer Mexicans and single adults are attempting to cross the border without authorization, but more families and unaccompanied children are fleeing poverty and violence in Central America.”
In 2014, Central Americans apprehended on the southern border outnumbered Mexicans for the first time, Johnson said, adding, “Unaccompanied children and families have presented new challenges in our immigration system.”
The temporary site in Tornillo will be able to hold up to 500 people, officials said. CBP officers, assisted by contractors onsite, will ensure all of the basic needs of those in custody are met.
The agency will assess the needs of those in custody, and if needed, is prepared to add housing, beds, toilets and bathing facilities.
The facility will be operational within a week, officials said. ABC-7 will tour the facility Saturday.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration services have an in-country refugee referral program for minors. If you are documented Honduran, Salvadoran, or Guatemalan immigrant in the US and have a child living in your original country who needs refugee status in the US you can contact Citizenship and Immigration Services to see about bringing them in.
The child must be unmarried and under 21, while the qualifying parent must be documented and in the U.S. The process involves a DNA test to confirm the relationship between parent and child.
