President Donald Trump preached throughout his campaign speeches that he would have a wall built that would prohibit individuals from crossing into the U.S. at the Mexican border, however, it may no longer be necessary. According to Newsweek, the number of immigrants apprehended by U.S. Customs Border and Protection(CBP) has already decreased from 31,582 in January to 11,125 in April. The fact is, with all the efforts being put into motion, immigrants, both undocumented and legal, have become fearful of might happen to them. And many aren’t willing to take the risk of entering illegally which is why these numbers have fallen.
What are some of the things the Trump Administration has been able to accomplish so far?
With Trump in office for just under a year, he has managed to:
- Round up tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants regardless of their age or criminal history.
- Expand detention space in private for profit prisons and step up workplace audits.
- Restrict the number of refugees permitted to enter the country.
Sadly, many individuals living in the U.S. who have yet to obtain their green card or work visa are worried about their status and some avoid coming out of their homes when they know CBP Officers are out in their area.
But, the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. is still fairly high. According to the Pew Research Center, there were approximately 11.3 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. in 2016. With the way things are going, it would appear that if the President cannot get Congress on board with building the wall he promised would go up, he will continue with his efforts to remove and restrict individuals from entering the U.S. Unfortunately, this could mean many families won’t be given the opportunity to reunite or make a living if they cannot obtain the proper documentation required to do so.
