NOGALES, Ariz. (KGUN) — In Nogales at the Mariposa Port of Entry Customs and Border Protection is celebrating a fiscal year of improvement. They say there is a reduction in illegal immigration and a jump up in interdiction of illegal drugs.
CBP displayed a sample of what success looks like—large collections of fentanyl seized at the ports before it could bring danger to the streets of the U.S., and powerful guns seized before they could bring danger to the streets of Mexico.
Troy Miller is the acting CBP Commissioner. He says:
“We're going after the smuggling networks with our partners, both here, domestically and foreign. We're going to continue to work with our partners. It's regional, like I said, I was just in El Savador. We're sharing information on smuggling networks. They're helping us with migration at their borders. Keeping a list of actors who are moving through this hemisphere.”
CBP has long said most drugs do not come in on the backs of smugglers walking loads through the desert. They come in through the ports where inspectors find the drug loads. CBP says it’s applying more technology to help inspectors be faster and more effective in finding those drugs.
Changes in policy have helped bring the number of undocumented immigrants down. Tucson Sector Chief John Modlin says last December Border Patrol was encountering about 80 thousand migrants a month. Now that number is down about 85 percent. And many of those get a quick deportation.
“We're apprehending right now about 350 people a day. The vast majority of those are being put into an expedited process.”
The border has been an issue in political campaigns for a long time but CBP says the current election did not lead them to talk now about improving performance. Acting Commissioner Miller says they track stats by fiscal year, and their fiscal year just wrapped up.