Border Patrol official warns facilities are being overwhelmed by flow of migrants and family units
Our facilities were not designed to handle this, U.S .Border Patrol Law Enforcement Operations Directorate Chief Brian Hastings says.
A top border patrol official said Monday on “Fox & Friends” that facilities intended to house migrants and illegal immigrant detainees were “not designed to handle [the] type of flow” being seen along the Mexican border.
“This is a challenge unlike any we’ve ever faced before,” U.S. Border Patrol chief of law enforcement operations Brian Hastings said.
“We’re up to 474,000 arrests so far this fiscal year,” he added.
Hastings said that the prevalence of unaccompanied alien minors and family units adds to the stress the facilities are facing.
He said that as the situation at the border continues, the border patrol has had to release “processed, noncriminal family units” into the public.
“With outdated laws, we simply cannot apply a consequence” to those people, he said.
Late last month, President Trump called for a sweeping overhaul to the asylum system, floating a new application fee for asylum seekers.
Border agents made more than 100,000 arrests or denials of entry in March -- the highest figure in 12 years, according to recent Fox News reporting.
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The White House said in an April memo that "out of every 100 aliens subject to expedited removal who claim a fear of persecution, only about 12 will ultimately be granted asylum."
