Assaults Against Border Agents Up, Border Arrests Down In 2017

President Trump continues to push for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and while he does that new data suggests the border remains a tough and dangerous place for law enforcement.

According to the Washington Examiner, assaults against border agents has risen in 2017 by 45%.

CBP recorded 847 assaults against its officers in the just-finished fiscal year, compared to 585 in the previous year, government data said.

Despite the significant uptake in assaults, law enforcement officers are responding less frequently with lethal force, pursuant to instructions from CBP last year.

Other numbers released this week show that in fiscal year 2017, arrests have dropped while Trump has been in office. Border Patrol agents made 310,531 arrests this year which sounds like a lot but is actually down 24% since 2016 according to the NY Daily News.

Illegal migration was at its lowest level immediately following President Trump’s election win, perhaps because President Trump’s rhetoric on immigration deterred would-be border crossers.

“We have clearly seen the successful results of the President’s commitment to supporting the frontline officers and agents of DHS as they enforce the law and secure our borders,” acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke said in a statement.

Arrests picked back up in May though, according to the report.

Arrests of foreigners living illegally in the United States were up under President Trump — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers made 110,568 arrests between Trump’s inauguration and the end of the fiscal year, marking a 42% increase over the same period a year earlier, the figures show.

The NY Daily News also reported that the Border Patrol arrested over 500 gang members along the border, including those with ties to MS-13.