US Border Patrol Video Claims to Show 57 People Illegally Crossing Border

Video has emerged showing Federal agents stopping a group of individuals illegally crossing the US border from Mexico.

The aerial video was released by the US Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) on June 26. It shows Border Patrol agents encountering 57 people crossing the border from Mexico into the United States near Lukeville, Arizona, on June 22.

The CBP said the people were from Central America and that they were detained.

The video was released on June 26 amid ongoing national debate over illegal migrant policy.

Americans’ views on immigration policy

Americans tend to believe illegal immigrants should be treated well. But they also would prefer for them to stay out of the country, according to a recent CBS poll.

A majority (54 percent) of Americans wanted illegal immigrants “treated well, as an example of America’s kindness to all people,” rather than “punished, as an example of America’s toughness on illegal activity.”

But a majority (51 percent) also thought the border wall is a good idea.

A large part of the poll probed respondents’ views on the issue of some illegal immigrants getting separated from their children in detention facilities, a situation that has recently affected more people because of President Donald Trump’s more stringent enforcement of existing immigration laws.

While most Americans (77 percent) agreed the problem needs to be solved, the most popular way to handle it was deportation.

Only 21 percent supported the common policy of the previous administration to “release the entire family in the U.S. temporarily and require that they report back for a hearing later.”

Even fewer (15 percent) supported the current policy of detaining the families either separated or together.

The most popular option, supported by 48 percent of respondents, was to return the families to their countries of origin.

That’s also what the president has been pushing for.

“People must simply be stopped at the Border and told they cannot come into the U.S. illegally,” he wrote in a June 25 tweet.

Asylum system

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants are crossing the southwest border every month and claiming asylum, according to statistics by Customs and Border Protection.

In March, more than 37,000 unaccompanied minors and family units were apprehended by Border Patrol after illegally crossing.

Most unaccompanied minors and family units seek out Border Patrol agents after crossing because they know they will get processed quickly and, usually within three weeks, will be released into the United States with a court date set for years down the road.

This is known as “catch and release.”

Half of those who claim asylum, or “credible fear,” at the border do not file an official asylum application within the requisite year, according to administration officials, and most will not show up to their hearing.

If applicants do file an asylum claim (which is free) and it has been pending for six months, then they are routinely provided with work authorization—regardless of the merit of the application.

The number of cases that began with a credible fear claim leaped from approximately 3,000 in 2009 to more than 69,000 in 2016, according to the Justice Department.

If the problems aren’t fixed, “then the inducement to come to this country unlawfully, or to file frivolous claims for asylum, will not be abated,” a senior administration official said, according to this Epoch Times report.

With additional reporting by Charlotte Cuthbertson and Peter Svab

Watch Next:

US Border Patrol: ‘There is no policy to separate families’

The United States Border Patrol on Sunday allowed reporters to briefly visit the facility where it holds families arrested at the southern US border, responding to questions over the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy.