U.S.: Fewer children crossing border; adult deportations speed up

By David Nakamura July 22 at 4:28 PM

Obama administration officials said Tuesday they have successfully sped up deportations of Central American adults and reduced the influx of migrant children, but warned that federal border control agencies will run soon run out of money without emergency funds from Congress.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is sending up to 10 flights a week to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador full of illegal immigrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said. The agency has reduced the time needed to deport adults from 33 days to four days.

The number of unaccompanied children apprehended at the border has dropped from 355 per day to 150 per day last week, the administration announced this week.

Officials said they were cautiously optimistic that a surge of federal resources was paying dividends but emphasized that they must remain vigilant in their stepped-up enforcement efforts.

“We’re seeing the numbers of illegal migrants into the Rio Grande Valley drop over the last four to six weeks,” Johnson said at a news conference in Washington. “We’re not declaring victory. This could be seasonal, but the numbers are dropping. This requires a sustained, aggressive campaign.”

But Johnson said he had briefed congressional lawmakers that the effort to stem the flow of immigrants into Texas has drained federal resources. ICE is set to run out of money next month and U.S. Customs and Border Protection by September, Johnson said.

President Obama has requested $3.7 billion in emergency aid, of which $1.5 billion would go to the Department of Homeland Security. But members of Congress have reacted skeptically and could significantly reduce that request.

House Republicans also plan to call for deploying the National Guard along the border and for accelerating the deportations of the thousands of unaccompanied children who have trickled across the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months, according to congressional aides familiar with the plans.

“The funding we’ve requested is very targeted for deterrence and removal,” Johnson said. “The other key to our funding request is transfer authority. If the assumptions behind the numbers change, we need the ability to transfer money within Homeland Security.”

So far more than 57,000 unaccompanied minors and an additional 55,000 adults with children have been apprehended on the border since October. Internal Border Patrol estimates conclude that as many as 90,000 unaccompanied minors could arrived by the end of September.

Johnson’s announcement came a day after Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) announced that he is sending 1,000 of his National Guard troops to the border to help state law enforcement agents combat Mexican drug cartel activity inside Texas. Perry accused the Obama administration of not keeping the state secure while dealing with the crisis involving the minors.

But Johnson said DHS has increased resources since June under Operation Coyote, which has arrested and charged 192 human smugglers and their associates over the past month.

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