US Undocumented Population Continued to Fall from 2016 to 2017 and Visa Overstays Significantly Exceeded Illegal Crossings for the Seventh Consecutive Year

"US Undocumented Population Continued to Fall from 2016 to 2017 and Visa Overstays Significantly Exceeded Illegal Crossings for the Seventh Consecutive Year" highlights data to show that, in recent years, illegal entries across our southern border have decreased significantly, while the overall undocumented population in the U.S. has declined.  Undocumented migration is lower today than it has been in the past 25 years, and the numbers would even be lower but for the erroneous inclusion of asylum seekers in the statistics on undocumented immigration. Asylum seekers account for some of the increased arrivals after 2012. (Asylum seekers are exercising rights recognized by international and domestic law.) From 2000 to 2017, apprehensions at the border declined 81 percent, from 1.6 million to 300,000 — despite a 110 percent increase in the size of the Border Patrol (from 9,200 to 19,400). The author points out that if attempts at illegal entry had not been falling, the increase in number of Border Patrol agents would have resulted in an increase in apprehensions. The multi-year trends highlighted in this paper show there is no national emergency at the border — only a continuation of progress in thwarting illegal entries.  (Maurice Belanger, Maurice Belanger Consulting)

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