[Wash Times] Illegal border crossing tumbled to a 45-year low and interior arrests of illegal immigrants soared in 2017, according to data released Tuesday that showed President Trump’s enforcement crackdown netted tangible results during his first year on the job.The numbers, released by the Department of Homeland Security, reflected a stunning turnaround from the nearly nonexistent interior enforcement of immigration laws under President Obama.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 310,531 apprehensions nationwide in fiscal 2017, which ended Sept. 30, a decline of 25 percent from a year earlier and the lowest level since 1971.
Nearly all of the Border Patrol arrests ‐ 303,916 ‐ were along the southwestern border, which the agency said underscored the need for a security wall that Mr. Trump wants to build.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who are responsible for capturing and deporting illegal immigrants, made 110,568 arrests ‐ a 40 percent increase from the previous year.
The agency said interior removals ‐ people deported after being arrested away from the border ‐ jumped 25 percent to 81,603.