Border surge surprises, overwhelms immigration officials

[Jroc]

The word is out. come one. come all.

The surge of illegal immigrant children continued unabated in November, pushing the Obama administration to announce emergency measures to try to handle a problem it thought it had solved earlier this year.

Two months into the new fiscal year, the number of unaccompanied minors jumping the border and getting caught is at an all-time high. So far, the U.S. Border Patrol has picked up over 10,500 — more than twice the number at the same point last year.

The number of families trying to cross also has surged, with more than 12,500 people caught — a 173 percent increase over last year. The family surge underscored the changing nature of the flow of migrants, with parents increasingly risking the journey with young children in tow, hoping to take advantage of what they believe are lenient deportation policies under President Obama.

Border children surge overwhelms immigration officials; emergency measures imposed

 

[waltky]

FOB's in disarray...

IG: 4 of 11 Forward Bases at Border ‘Not Operational’—Others Lack Proper Security Cameras, Gates, Safe Water
February 29, 2016 | A new report from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (IG) shows that 4 of 11 Forward Operating Bases of the Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) along the southwest border are “not operational”; at several other bases the security cameras do not work, the security gates do not meet standards, and providing safe drinking water for the officers is a recurring problem.

The report, Conditions at CBP’s Forward Operating Bases Along the Southwest Border, also found other problems, including an access road that is “treacherous” and a “safety concern”; air-conditioning that does not work properly; expired fire extinguishers; irregular inspections; and in nearly all these instances, despite numerous work orders, repairs that have not been made over the course of many years. The inspector general review states that the IG’s office visited the Forward Operating Bases in 2015, and its report was prepared for the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and released on Feb. 8, 2016.

A Forward Operating Base, or FOB, is a permanent station “established in forward or remote locations to sustain Border Patrol operations,” reads the report, primarily in areas where there is a high degree of illegal alien crossings and drug running. A FOB is indispensable to Border Patrol intelligence, deterrence, and rapid response. There are 4 FOBs on the U.S.-Canadian border and 11 FOBs at the U.S. Mexico border. The IG’s office looked at the FOBs on the U.S.-Mexico border.

At the time of the IG's review, 3 of the 11 FOBs "on the southwest border were not operational." So the IG visited 7 FOBs in the El Paso, Rio Grande Valley, and Tucson Sectors. Six of the FOBs -- 3 in El Paso Sector, 3 in Tucson sector -- were operational; 1 FOB in the Rio Grande Valley was not operational. For a FOB, several Border Patrol agents are assigned to work and live there, usually in 7-day stints, an 8-hour shift each day. The FOB is required to have bedrooms, showers and restrooms, a kitchen, a common area with TV, and a fitness room.

MORE

 

[Jroc]

Report: Illegals Rushing to Get into U.S. Before Trump Wall

“They think they need to take advantage while they can,” Blanca Rivera, a manager of the Ciudad Juarez migrant shelter, told Reuters. Rivera noted that she has seen the recent increase in northward migration.

According to Reuters, between October and February Customs and Border Patrol apprehended 150,304 people attempting to illegally enter the U.S. via the southern border, about 24 percent more than the same timeframe last year. Additionally, the number of unaccompanied minors detained illegally entering the U.S. from October to January — 20,455 — is up by over 100 percent compared to those same months last year.

Interviews with migrants, people smugglers and officials show many migrants are trying to cross now instead of facing tighter policing and new policies to halt illegal immigration if Trump or another Republican wins the Nov. 8 election.

Report: Illegals Rushing to Get into U.S. Before Trump Wall - Breitbart