Today Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) issued the following statement in response to recent news that apprehensions of unaccompanied children and families along the border have decreased by 42 percent in the last year:

“While I am certainly happy to see that the number of unaccompanied children and families from Central America has decreased by 42 percent over the past year, we need to keep a couple of things in mind.

“First, there has been a recent spike in the number of immigrant children and families caught crossing over illegally. In September, almost 10,000 were detained, an unseasonably high number.

“Second, the latest U.S. Border Patrol data shows that while the number of apprehensions of unaccompanied children and families along the border has fallen, 39,970 unaccompanied children were still apprehended over the last year, and 39,838 parents with children were still detained.

“New responses have been made to stem the flow of immigrants crossing over illegally. While positive changes are being made overall, we need to figure out how to further depress these numbers.

“Some action has been taken. According to the Migration Policy Institute’s U.S. Immigration Policy Program, immigrants may be responding to new checkpoints along busy routes near Mexico’s southern border. Mexican authorities have also implemented measures to keep people from riding on top of northbound freight trains while at the same time increasing deportations. On the U.S. side, the government is undertaking a $1.2 million international media campaign to caution Central Americans against taking the risky journey through Mexico to the United States.

“I believe in the right of migrants to enter our country, but I believe they must do so legally. I will continue to work toward this to further decrease the number of unaccompanied children and families entering the U.S. illegally.”

To see the latest apprehension numbers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, please click here.