How federal border policies impact reported apprehension numbers
FOX 9's Adam Klepp speaks to immigration experts to get a better understanding of what they mean
YUMA, Ariz. (KECY, KYMA) - While the apprehension numbers reported by Customs and Border Protection are breaking records, they can be misleading.
Because of Title 42, one migrant can be apprehended multiple times, driving up the total number of apprehensions along the border.
Policy director at the American Immigration Council Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
"Apprehensions do the count of the number of times the border patrol took a person into custody, but the border patrol can take the same person into custody more than one time," Melnick said. "Last year one person was apprehended as many as 71 different times and was expelled under Title 42 in each instance. that counts as 71 different apprehensions for the same person."
In an update to immigration policies, the Biden Administration now has officially ended Remain in Mexico.
The controversial immigration law made some asylum seekers wait in Mexico for their court hearing in the U.S., which often can take years.
Now, Title 42 is the predominant border policy.
It's a 1940s health law which gives the government the authority to quickly expel migrants for public health reasons, like the ongoing pandemic.
While the law allows border patrol to quickly expel some migrants of some nationalities, immigration policy expert Danilo Zak says it has unintended consequences, like closing ports of entry to asylum seekers.
"You have a lot of migrants crossing the border to turn themselves into border patrol and you know that's an additional strain on our border patrol, which is trying to apprehend people who are trying to get away and maybe the smugglers," Zak said. "Right now we really don't have that, we have policies in place largely closing asylum-seekers to accessing protections through legal ports of entry."
Title 42 is expected to be in place the rest of 2022, and at least for the first few months of 2023.
