Immigrants from Central America are again surging across the border between Mexico and the United States, with the numbers approaching the same figure that sparked off a humanitarian crisis two years ago back in 2014. Although the immigrant flow appeared to slow down in 2015, the current wave of immigrants appears undeterred by any related moves made by the US government.
Controversial camps for family detention have been opened in the state of Texas by immigration officials, who publicized a wave of roundups earlier in the year, and have announced that there are more on the way. This is happening alongside a significant public relations campaign in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to warn would-be undocumented immigrants that they are not wanted in the United States. Jeh Johnson, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, also recently traveled to Central America to deliver the same blunt message.
The message, however, does not appear to be getting through, although immigration officials seem less concerned about a repeat of the border crisis in 2014 that resulted in headline news worldwide. Today, the US government is equipped with new holding facilities for immigrant families, with undocumented unaccompanied minors often sent to church camps with many staff members.
Nonetheless the sheer numbers appear daunting, with an average of 330 apprehensions per day between October 2015 and March this year, according to a Pew Research Center analysis, , representing a 100 percent increase from the same time period a year earlier.