The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday said that illegal migration into the United States was down in fiscal year 2015 versus a year ago, including a drop in the number of Central Americans trying to enter the country.
DHS said that in FY ’15, the Border Patrol apprehended 337,000 illegal migrants nationwide, down 30 percent from 486,651 in FY ’14 and down nearly 80 percent from the peaks of 1.6 million in FY ’00.
On top of the apprehensions by the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended 69,478 individuals in the interior of the U.S., most of which were convicted criminals. In FY ’15, ICE removed or returned 235,413 individuals, with 86 percent of these considered a top priority for removal due to border security or public safety threats, DHS said.
DHS also said that the number of convicted criminals removed from the interior of the country increased to 91 percent of ICE’s interior removals, versus 86 percent in FY ’14 and 67 percent in FY ’11.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the removal statistics show a priority on convicted criminals and the lower overall illegal migration numbers.
“First, last year’s removal numbers reflect the department’s increased focus on prioritizing convicted criminals and threats to public safety, border security and national security,” Johnson stated. “Second, the removal numbers were driven by the dramatic decrease in those apprehended at the border in FY ’15—333,117—the second lowest apprehension number since 1972, reflecting a lower level of attempted illegal immigration at our border.”
Johnson also said he wants more focus in FY ’16 put on interior enforcement to remove convicted criminals, which will be buoyed by “rebuilding ICE’s ties with state and local law enforcement.” He said that of the 25 largest jurisdictions that had restricted cooperation with ICE, 16 are working again with DHS and expects more communities to do so.
Johnson expects illegal migrants from Central American to continue to be an issue in FY ’16. The number of Central Americans apprehended in FY ’15 was down versus FY ’14, when a surge of unaccompanied children from that region made their way to the southwest border of the U.S. Still, DHS said that in FY ’15 the number of Central Americans apprehended in FY ’15 was still high.