U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on Monday it has seen a continued rise in illegal immigrants attempting to cross into the country via international trains in the El Paso Sector.
The increase in catching illegal immigrants on trains comes at the same time the U.S.-Mexico border has seen a historic surge of illegal aliens crossing into the U.S. after Joe Biden became president in January. Officers have found illegal immigrants on top of railroad cars, holding onto the undercarriage, and within brand new vehicles that are being shipped north.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
CBP reports since the beginning of this fiscal year, officers "working the two downtown rail crossings have removed 292 undocumented migrants from the trains. That is up more than 60 percent when compared to the 181 noncitizens CBP officers apprehended during the same timeframe a year ago. And in all of [the] fiscal year, 2019 CBP officers encountered only 50 people who attempted to enter the U.S. without inspection via rail crossings."
"We cannot stress how dangerous of a practice this is and we encourage any considering this to not proceed with their plans," said CBP Director of Field Operations Hector Mancha. "People are climbing on rail cars and hiding in places not designed to accommodate human beings. Fortunately, we have yet to encounter anyone who has been maimed while attempting this but I am afraid that at some point we will."
Because the trains usually cross during the nighttime, CBP says the danger for harm is high because of the lack of lighting.
"The potential for a misstep is greater when it is dark and visibility is limited," said Mancha. "In addition, they are also unprotected from the elements including cold winter temperatures and extreme summer heat."
CBP revealed for the month of March they had "encountered more than 172,000 persons attempting entry along the Southwest border. This total represented a 71 percent increase over February 2021." At least 18,890 unaccompanied minors were taken into custody.