Officials said more than 53,000 families trying to cross the southern border were apprehended in March, the highest number since records began.

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Despite the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on the number of immigrants arriving at the nation's borders, officials said Tuesday more than 53,000 families were apprehended in March, the highest number recorded in a single month. The number was a significant spike from the 36,531 families apprehended in the month of February and the most since US Customs and Border Protection began tracking the figure in 2012. "The Border Patrol is facing an unprecedented humanitarian and border security crisis," Brian Hastings, Border Patrol chief of law enforcement operations, told reporters. "We're seeing record numbers of apprehensions, large groups, and high numbers in custody and we've arrived at a breaking point." In total, CBP apprehended 103,492 people along the southern border in March. Of those, Border Patrol agents arrested 92,607 people between ports of entry, a 12-year high.

#USBP has experienced a rapid increase in family units and unaccompanied children, who make up 62% of Southwest border apprehensions. Family unit apprehensions have increased nearly 375% compared to the same time period last FY.

The announcement comes a day after a federal judge in California blocked the Trump administration's policy of forcing Central American migrants to wait in Mexico while their asylum cases proceed in the US. It was the latest of several court rulings blocking the administration's attempts to discourage migrants from entering the US.

In a tweet Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, criticized the judge's decision, calling him a "liberal activist" and saying, "It’s sad that Mexico is now doing more to secure our border than Democrats." But border authorities said that while Mexican officials have set up additional checkpoints in the South, a key route for Central American migrants hoping to reach the US, they haven't seen the results. Last summer, the Trump administration instituted a "zero tolerance" policy at the border that resulted in the systemic separation of parents from their children after being charged with illegal entry. In June, a federal judge ordered the administration to end separations for most families attempting to cross the border.

On Tuesday, President Trump struck down reports that his administration was once again considering separating families, saying, "We're not looking to do that." Trump compared the plight of asylum-seekers to families traveling for a vacation. "They're coming like it's a picnic, because 'Let's go to Disneyland,'" he said.

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