what was said

“What the president reiterated again yesterday, and he has said every day from when he sought this office, is we have a crisis of illegal immigration.”

— Vice President Mike Pence, meeting with members of Congress on Wednesday.

“These smugglers know these rules and regulations better than the people that drew them. As a result, there’s been a 325 percent increase in minors, and a 435 percent increase in the smuggling or attempted smuggling of families and minors into our country.”

— President Trump, speaking to the National Federation of Independent Businesses on Tuesday.

“In the last three months we've seen illegal immigration on our southern border exceed 50,000 people each month. Multiples over each month last year.”

— Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, at a news conference on Monday.

This requires context.

The Trump administration, defending its “zero tolerance” immigration policy that has resulted in separating families, has repeatedly pointed to a “crisis of illegal immigration” at the border.

But government data shows that monthly crossings along the border with Mexico are dramatically lower than they were years ago.