Senator Jeff Sessions

News Releases

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and The National Interest, issued the following statement after the Obama Administration confirmed a clear increase in illegal immigration to the United States in FY 2016: 

Statistics published yesterday by the Department of Homeland Security finally admit what the American people have long known to be true: our southern border is not secure, and illegal immigration is surging. In FY 2016, 408,870 illegal aliens were apprehended at the southern border—up 23 percent from FY 2015. Of those apprehended, 59,692 were unaccompanied illegal alien juveniles (a 49 percent increase from FY 2015), and 77,674 were members of so-called "family units" (a 95 percent increase from FY 2015). 

This is only half the story . The 408,870 does not include those illegal aliens who evaded detection and successfully entered the United States. Earlier this year, Brandon Judd, the President of the National Border Patrol Council, testified  before the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and The National Interest that for every one illegal alien who is apprehended, another evades arrest. This statistic reportedly has been confirmed by DHS, but the Obama Administration refuses to release that information. Using that rate as a baseline, that means approximately 408,870 illegal aliens evaded detection, for a grand total of roughly 817,740 illegal entries into the United States last year. 

It is notable that today’s announcement did not indicate how many of the 408,807 apprehended aliens were actually removed from the United States. Although those numbers will not be known for some time, the simple fact is that tens, if not hundreds, of thousands, of those apprehended are still in the country. Indeed, Brandon Judd also testified at that same hearing that approximately 80 percent of the aliens that the Border Patrol actually apprehends are released and not immediately deported. Data revealed earlier this year indicated that the Obama Administration allowed 97 percent of the unaccompanied illegal alien juveniles it previously apprehended to remain in the United States, instead of being deported. And the percentage of members of so-called ‘family units’ who have been allowed to evade deportation from the United States is similar.                                                                                       

The Obama Administration’s open-border policies have made our country less secure than we were eight years ago, eviscerated any semblance of credibility in our immigration system, and have created an ever-growing financial burden on U.S. taxpayers. The country cannot sustain this course. The Obama Administration and the special interests may not believe in secure borders, but the American people do.”