Gustavo Solis

The Desert Sun

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said border security and a wall are not enough to stop the growing number of people coming into the United States from the southern border.

The head of the Department of Homeland Security urged Congress and the next administration to pass comprehensive immigration reform and address the root causes of migration on Monday, after releasing statistics showing that 77,000 more immigrants were apprehended at the border this fiscal year than the last one.

“Border security alone cannot overcome the powerful push factors of poverty and violence that exist in Central America,” Johnson said in a statement. “Walls alone cannot prevent illegal migration. Ultimately, the solution is long-term investment in Central America to address the underlying push factors in the region.”

Johnson’s statement comes three weeks before the Nov. 8 presidential election between Republican businessman Donald Trump, who has proposed building a border wall and having Mexico pay for it, and Democrat Hillary Clinton, who has called for immigration reform and supports President Barack Obama’s executive actions that grant temporary deportation relief to non-criminal undocumented immigrants.

More people, 409,000 total, were caught crossing the border illegally in the 2016 fiscal year – between October 2015 and September 2016 – than the previous year. Despite the increase, the number of apprehensions remains well below what it was ten years ago, 1.07 million, according to statistics from Customs and Border Protection.

The numbers do show a dramatic increase of unaccompanied children attempting to cross the border. This year’s apprehensions came close to 2014’s total, during a so-called surge of child immigrants from Central American countries.

“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,” Johnson said. “In 2014, Central Americans apprehended on the southern border outnumbered Mexicans for the first time. In 2016, it happened again.”

The number of unaccompanied minors trying to cross the border was more than 68,000 in fiscal year 2014. It dropped by nearly half last year but crept up to 59,000 in 2016. Most of the children got caught while crossing in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, data shows.

According to experts, the 2015 drop is more attributable to increased immigration enforcement in Mexico than to improved conditions in Central America.

Johnson finished his statement by asking lawmakers to fix a broken system.

“For one thing, we must reckon with the millions of undocumented immigrants who live in the shadows in this country, who’ve been here for years, and who should be given the opportunity to come forward and get right with the law,” he said. “It is my profound hope that the next Congress will finally address this and other issues, and enact comprehensive immigration reform.”

Immigration Reporter Gustavo Solis can be reached at 760 778 6443 or by email at gustavo.solis@desertsun.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @journogoose.