U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz said that conditions at the southern border continue to be hazardous, commenting on the number of rescues Border Patrol agents have had to perform.
He took to Twitter earlier this month to discuss this dangerous situation. He periodically uses Twitter to provide updates on critical statistics at the border.
Newly released federal data reveals that Border Patrol agents have apprehended 127 noncitizens listed on the FBI's terror watchlist who attempted to unlawfully enter the United States since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2023 on October 1, the Washington Examiner said.
Statistics disclosed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Tuesday indicated that the number of apprehensions related to individuals on the terror watch list, spanning the eight months from October 2022 to May 2023, exceeded last year's figures of 98 arrests in 12 months, the Examiner story said. This recent data represents the highest level of such apprehensions recorded in at least the past four years, the story said.
"Border conditions are dangerous, so agents are often the first and only aid while on patrol. Since Oct 2022, we have had 3,725 rescue operations resulting in the rescue of 25,165 migrants!" Ortiz tweeted.
Ortiz added up the total numbers of incidents on Twitter:
"Past 96 Hours -7 Agents Assaulted -13,213 Apprehensions -3,026 Approx Gotaways -549 Migrants Removed -771 Turned over to ICE -92 Prosecutions -218 lbs Marijuana -29 lbs Meth -15 lbs Heroin -12 lbs Cocaine -5 lbs Fentanyl -166 Rescues -54 Vehicles Seized -4 Guns -3 Sex Offenders." one of his tweets said.
Human trafficking is a major issue at the southern border, a Heritage Foundation article said. There was a significant surge in human trafficking during the previous fiscal year, with a 50% increase in arrests and an astounding 80% rise in convictions. Among those who were trafficked in the United States, a substantial majority (72%) were immigrants, many of whom were in the country without proper documentation, the article said. The vulnerable population most affected by this issue consists of women and children, who are at a heightened risk of being smuggled and subsequently subjected to trafficking. The Heritage Foundation article blames the current border policy.
Former DHS secretary Chad F. Wolf called out Secretary Mayorkas and the Biden Administration in the hearing, the Daily Caller tweeted.
“The border security system is unrecognizable from the America First policies of the Trump Administration,” he said, "This is the first administration of either political party to deliberately take steps to diminish the security along our southern border."
