That’s the question we’re left to ask ourselves after reviewing new documents we obtained from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. These records detail FY 2010 apprehension statistics for illegal alien smugglers and illegal aliens from countries considered a high threat to the United States because of their suspected ties to terrorism.
Here are the highlights from the documents, which we obtained pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request filed on January 26, 2011:
- U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended 463,382 individuals smuggled across the border, including 8,905 smugglers. (3,027 of the smugglers apprehended were deemed “deportable.”)
- U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended 59,017 “Other Than Mexican” illegal aliens through October 7, 2010.
- Among the nations represented in apprehension statistics are the four countries currently on the State Department’s list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism,” Cuba (712), Iran (14), Syria (5) and Sudan (5), as well as Somalia (9), Afghanistan (9), Pakistan (37), Saudi Arabia (5) and Yemen (11).
- Overall, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended 663 “Aliens from Special Interest Countries.” These countries are deemed “special interest” because of their suspected ties to terrorism.
- The countries yielding the highest “Other Than Mexican” apprehensions include: Guatemala (18,406), El Salvador (13,723), and Honduras (13,580).
The U.S. Border Patrol estimates that three out of every four illegal aliens who cross the border evade apprehension. So while these apprehension statistics are alarming, it’s the ones that got away that should cause us the most concern. And I don’t think there’s any doubt that a significant number of these illegal aliens intend to do us harm. (You should also know that many of those “apprehended” simply cross the border illegally again within moments of being deposited in Mexico by Border Patrol.)...[Full Article]
