Is the U.S. Southern Border Any Safer Today?

By Michael Fisher

Michael J. Fisher is the former Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol and a member of the Senior Executive Service.  He was responsible for planning, organizing, coordinating, and directing enforcement efforts designed to secure the Nation's borders.

Statistics show that illegal entries along the U.S.’ southwest border peaked in March 2000, with 220,063 people captured.  Capture numbers have fluctuated modestly, but have been in steady decline for almost 20 years. The number of captures stood at  11,127 in April 2017, according to CBP statistics. 

Despite the history and progress in “securing the border,” the statistics don’t tell the whole story of whether we have more border integrity now than ever before. 

Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Sign Up Log In


Related Articles

Search

Close