The "Trump Effect" is alive and well at the Southern border. The latest figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show arrests of illegal aliens at the border fell again in April, the fifth straight month of declines since President Donald Trump took office. Overall, the number of illegals apprehended at the Southern border has fallen by nearly two-thirds during the Trump era, from 42,373 in January to 15,780 in April. The April figure represents a 17-year low.
Hector Garza with the U.S. Border Patrol believes these statistics show the President's policies are already working. "Our border patrol agents appreciate the support and appreciate that Donald Trump is actually looking to secure the country," says Garza. But he and his fellow border agents still want to see the President's border wall become a reality. "We do need that wall, because it really is going to save American lives...we desperately need it," says Garza.
The trend of plummeting border crossings in recent months is welcome news to Hans Von Spakovsky, policy analyst with the Heritage Foundation. "There's been a huge drop in illegal aliens trying to get across the border, and that's good because that's going to help diminish the problem we're dealing with," he says. Von Spakovsky tells KTRH these numbers are proof that word of the president's immigration policy is spreading. "We are not going to allow our laws to be broken, nor for people to basically jump in line and be treated as if they're citizens when they have come here illegally."