As President Trump’s national border emergency declaration continues to be debated, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Kevin McAleenan and Brian Hastings, chief of operations, US Border Patrol, hold a public briefing to release their new jaw-dropping statistics on apprehensions at the U.S. southern border.  WATCH:

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[U.S. Border Patrol] […] Family Unit Aliens (FMUA) are crossing our borders in record numbers. This fiscal year to date, CBP has seen a more than 300 percent increase in the number of family units apprehended compared to the same time period in fiscal year 2018.

Today, family units and unaccompanied alien children (UAC) make up 60 percent of apprehension that have occurred along the southwest border and are predominantly from Central America, namely Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

[Link to Statistics]

In the first 5 months of Fiscal Year 2019 (October ’18 through March ’19), BorderPatrol agents have apprehended more family units than in all of Fiscal Year 2018.

In FY19 to date (5 months), USBP agents have apprehended over 136,000 individuals classified as a family unit. That compares to 107,212 total in FY18 (12 months).

Additionally, there have been 70 large groups of 100 or more individuals totaling 12,069 apprehensions, compared to what Border Patrol encountered in FY18, which was 13 large groups, and in FY17, which was only two.

“We are currently facing a humanitarian and national security crisis along our southwest border. The vast increases in families and children coming across our border, in larger groups and in more remote areas, presents a unique challenge to our operations and facilities, and those of our partners, including the NGOS who work to assist these individuals and families throughout their immigration proceedings,” said CBP Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan. “This is why I am working with our government partners and have identified additional funding for humanitarian resources in the field, including expanded medical protocols, and the addition of a more appropriate central processing center to handle the increased volumes of family units and unaccompanied minors.”

In response to the vast increases of Family Units and Unaccompanied Children encountered along the Southwest Border, CBP has implemented a directive to increase medical support for migrants while in CBP custody. The Interim Medical Directive works to address emerging health concerns with an emphasis on treatment for juvenile detainees.

CBP will also expand contracted medical support in major “high-risk” locations at and between ports of entry along the SWB where we have seen or anticipate large numbers of FMUA and UAC. This contracted medical support includes medical assessments by certified medical professionals (usually Registered Nurses and Family Nurse Practitioners) and translation services.

In addition, CBP is standing up a Centralized Processing Center (CPC) in El Paso, Texas, to increase the care of and provision for UAC and FMUA in the temporary custody of CBP while awaiting disposition by ICE and/or placement with HHS. (Link)

CBP

✔@CBP

ICYMI: In the first 5 months of FY19, #BorderPatrol agents have apprehended more family units than in all of FY18. In FY19TD, USBP agents have apprehended over 136,000 individuals classified as a family unit, compared to 107,212 total in FY18. More: http://bit.ly/2ENK6UV 

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8:27 PM – Mar 5, 2019

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CBP

✔@CBP

February 2019 had the highest number of encounters of any February in the last 12 years with more than 76,000 total apprehensions and inadmissible arrivals. More here: https://bit.ly/2DZrwJ8 

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2:06 PM – Mar 5, 2019

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Ohio Representative Jim Jordan appears on Laura Ingraham show to discuss the National Security Emergency at the U.S-Mexico border and the Pelosi impeachment plan.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham appears with UniParty apologist Martha MacCallum for a discussion about current political events and challenges for President Trump.

According to Senator Lindsey Graham, President Donald Trump and Senator Graham spent an hour-and-a-half discussing challenges including the ongoing border crisis.

~ Compare and Contrast ~

To adequately absorb the scale being outlined here: it must be remembered in July 2014 President Obama and DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson declared a “border crisis” and requested $3.7 billion in budget appropriations for a total of 60,000 illegal border crossings during the migrant travel season.  That’s 60,000 TOTAL in 2014.

According to NPR, citing current DHS Border Patrol stats, in the period of October 2018 through last week there have been more than 260,000 border apprehensions.

(Via NPR) The U.S. Border Patrol apprehended more than 66,000 migrants at the Southern border in February, the highest total for a single month in almost a decade.

The majority of those arrested were migrant families or children traveling alone or without a parent, according to figures released Tuesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Many of the migrants say they’re fleeing criminal gangs and poverty in Central America to seek asylum in the United States.

“This is clearly both a border security and humanitarian crisis,” said CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan at a press briefing.

Between October and last week, Border Patrol agents have picked up more than 260,000 people — a 90 percent jump over the same period a year ago.

“The entire system right now is at full capacity. Actually, it’s overwhelmed,” said Manuel Padilla, a veteran Border Patrol agent who’s now director of Joint Task Force-West in San Antonio, part of the Department of Homeland Security. (read more)

Again, for scale: 2019 (Trump) -vs- 2014 (Obama):

July 10th, 2014 – Facing pushback from congress as well as sticker shock at the $3.7 billion he was requesting, President Obama sends his DHS team to Capitol Hill to ramp up anxiety, and threats of consequences:

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Thursday that as many as 90,000 unaccompanied child migrants could cross the southwest border before the end of this fiscal year in September.

That will place a huge strain on immigration agencies, which will badly need new money to get through the summer, Johnson says.

The 90,000 number — the highest yet given by the administration — is spelled out in written Senate testimony by Johnson as well as Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who must also deal with the border crisis.

“We are preparing for a scenario in which the number of unaccompanied children apprehended at the border could reach up to 90,000 by the end of fiscal 2014,” Johnson’s testimony reads, and he bluntly warns that without an infusion of new funds, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will run out of money in August. (read more)

Now to 2019:

[…] Between October and last week, Border Patrol agents have picked up more than 260,000 people — a 90 percent jump over the same period a year ago. (read more)

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CBP

✔@CBP

February 2019 had the highest number of encounters of any February in the last 12 years with more than 76,000 total apprehensions and inadmissible arrivals. More here: https://bit.ly/2DZrwJ8 

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Earlier today President Trump signed an Executive Order: “President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide”—the PREVENTS Initiative.

The President delivered remarks during the signing ceremony for the initiative:

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[White House] The Executive Order establishes a task force that includes the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security. The task force will develop a comprehensive public health roadmap for helping veterans pursue an improved quality of life and ending the national tragedy of veteran suicide.

• The roadmap will include a national research strategy for engaging with public- and-private sector stakeholders to better understand the underlying factors of suicide, and to lead to earlier identification and intervention.
• The roadmap will also include a proposal for equipping State and local governments with the resources and tools they need to empower veteran communities and provide needed services.

* To prevent suicide, the Federal Government must work side-by-side with partners across all levels of government and with the private and non-profit sectors.

* The Administration’s roadmap will help create a national and local ecosystem that cultivates active engagement with each veteran, rather than a passive system wherein the onus for engagement is placed on veterans.

A NATIONAL TRAGEDY: Veteran suicide is a national tragedy that has taken too many of our Nation’s heroes.

* Despite significant efforts and billions of dollars invested, suicide rates among veterans rose 26 percent from 2005 to 2016.

* In 2016, the suicide rate was one and a half times greater for veterans than for non-veteran adults.

* Each day, an average of 20 service members and veterans die by suicide, nearly 70 percent of whom are not engaged with the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) for their healthcare.

* Veterans often endure traumatic experiences—either emotional or physical—which make them susceptible to mental health issues.

STRENGTHENING VETERAN SUPPORT: This Executive Order will amplify the existing efforts of the Trump Administration to improve quality of care for our veterans.

* President Trump previously signed an Executive Order directing his Administration to improve access to mental health treatment and suicide prevention resources for veterans.

* President Trump secured a record $73.1 billion in funding for the VA to provide quality medical care for our veterans.

• This included $8.6 billion for mental health services and $206 million for suicide prevention.

* The President revolutionized the VA healthcare system by signing the VA MISSION Act.

* The President has expanded access to telehealth services to help reach more veterans, including through his “Anywhere to Anywhere” VA healthcare initiative.

[LINK]

U.S. Trade Rep Robert Lighthizer’s work on the U.S-China trade negotiations is easily the most technically challenging and legally complex trade deal in the history of U.S. Commerce. Lighthizer is not focused on selling more U.S. product, he is focused on bigger issues and enforcement therein.

Think about it.  This is a deal between a U.S. open market economy and a communist controlled closed market economy in China.  No nation has a comprehensive trade deal with China on anything except individual business sectors.

Despite China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, no nation has ever achieved anything close to an aggregate FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with China.  This deal would be the first comprehensive deal, and as such Lighthizer is essentially mapping out an agreement that all other nations could follow….  This is big-league.

The protection of intellectual property; cyber security; patent protections and trade secrets; the removal of non-tariff trade barriers; protection for U.S. ownership of companies doing business in China; the confrontation of currency manipulation; and the sector-by-sector enforcement provisions are the primary objectives of Ambassador Robert Lighthizer.

The Chinese trade delegation wanted a relatively light framework for the MOU (Memo of Understanding); basically a six page outline. However, Bob Lighthizer and President Trump demanded heavy contractual terms that can be directly transferred from the initial agreement (MOU) into the final legally binding deal; a very ‘heavy’ MOU.

If there is to be a trade summit between President Trump and Chairman Xi Jinping, this is the contract they would be committing themselves to.

In this video interview below CEA Chairman Kevin Hassett is cautious to stay in his lane, but he hints that Lighthizer and Trump’s contract framework, the agreement in principle, is already “north of 100 pages” and still being worked hard.

[Video at 25:00 prompted, just hit play]

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