US brick-walled almost one million undocumented migrants in 12 months

ANI
09 Oct 2019, 17:07 GMT+10

Washington DC [USA], Oct 9 (ANI): United States border agents have stopped nearly one million undocumented migrants at the nation's southern border with Mexico in the past 12 months, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official on Tuesday.

"US border agents arrested or stopped nearly one million undocumented migrants at the nation's southern border with Mexico in the past 12 months," Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of CBP stated in a press brief at the White House, as quoted by CNN.

Morgan also said that "CBP enforcement actions at the border in the fiscal year 2019 involved 977,509 undocumented migrants, with a staggering 88 per cent growth from the previous year.""These numbers are numbers that no immigration system in the world is designed to handle, including ours," Morgan added.

The acting commissioner also gave an update on the construction of physical barriers along the US-Mexico border, a pre-election promise made by President Donald Trump.

"To date, a total of 71 miles of new wall has already been constructed and by the end of 2020, CBP expects to have approximately 450 miles (724 km) of new border wall system constructed," she added.

Since Trump came into power Washington has tightened its immigration system, with curbing illegal immigration at the border a policy priority.

For far too long, the US President has been pressing for a border wall but the US Congress has repeatedly refused to approve funding for it, slammed by Democrats as costly and ineffective.

Earlier in September, the US Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration's rule that dramatically limits the ability of Central American migrants to claim asylum to go into effect nationwide while the appeals process plays out. (ANI)

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to South America Times.

More Information

null in null

International

Section

Putin fires transport chief, later found dead in suspected suicide

MOSCOW, Russia: Just hours after his sudden dismissal by President Vladimir Putin, Russia's former transport minister, Roman Starovoit,...

Thousands gather in Himalayas as Dalai Lama celebrates 90th birthday

DHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama turned 90 on July 6, celebrated by thousands of followers in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala,...

Fans perform WWII-era Fascist salute at Marko Perković’s mega concert

ZAGREB, Croatia: A massive concert by popular Croatian singer Marko Perković, known by his stage name Thompson, has drawn widespread...

U.S. Treasury Secretary says Musk should steer clear of politics

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Elon Musk's entry into the political arena is drawing pushback from top U.S. officials and investors, as his decision...

TikTok building U.S.-only app amid pressure to finalise sale

CULVER CITY, California: TikTok is preparing to roll out a separate version of its app for U.S. users, as efforts to secure a sale...

Trump defends use of 'Shylock,' citing ignorance of slur

WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump claimed he was unaware that the term shylock is regarded as antisemitic when he used it in...

Latin America

Section