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U.S. data show few border apprehensions from Middle East, despite Trump claims

Migrant caravan won't reach US until December
At current pace, migrant caravan won't reach U.S. border until December 03:06

Though President Trump has conceded that he lacks proof for his claim that people from the Middle East are "coming up through the southern border," he still thinks "there very well could be." But data from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol show that the U.S caught more people crossing the southern border last year from Albania than it did from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Saudi Arabia combined.

The data show that the U.S. apprehended 49 people from Albania along the southwest border of the U.S., compared to 14 from Afghanistan in 2017. In a similar vein, the CBP caught 1,364 people from China, 51 people from Belize, and 433 people from Romania. For Middle East countries, the numbers are substantially lower -- here are some of those 2017 numbers:

  • Egypt: 6
  • Iraq: 1
  • Jordan: 10
  • Lebanon: 1
  • Saudi Arabia: 14
  • Syria: 6

Figures are similar throughout the past 10 years worth of data from the CPB, across different presidencies. In fiscal year 2016, for instance, 18 people were caught from Afghanistan, compared to 107 from Albania. Six hundred thirty-two people were caught from Bangladesh, and 2,320 from China. The 2016 numbers for Middle Eastern countries show that only 2 people were caught from Iraq, 3 from Egypt, and 2 from Syria.

And in fiscal year 2007, 1 person was caught from Afghanistan, 2 from Egypt, and 3 from Syria. By way of comparison, 730 entered the U.S. southern border from China.

More broadly, the numbers show more people being caught from the United States' neighbors to the south. CPB caught 127,938 Mexicans crossing the southern border last year.

On Tuesday, President Trump admitted he has no proof for the claim he had made Monday morning on Twitter that "unknown Middle Easterners" are mixed into the caravan of migrants heading through Mexico toward the United States. "There's no proof of anything," the president told reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office. "There's no proof of anything. But there could very well be."

"I think there's a very good chance, honestly, that you have people in there," Mr. Trump continued. "I also think there's a very good chance that over the course of a period of time you have. Or they don't necessarily have to be in that group. But certainly you have people coming up through the southern border from the Middle East that are not appropriate for our country. And I'm not letting them in."

The president's comments came after top administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence and White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, defended the president's claims. Mr. Trump has spent the last several days focused on the caravan of thousands migrants, railing against weak border security and faulting Democrats for immigration laws. The president has threatened to cut off foreign aid to several Central American nations over the episode.

With less than two weeks until the midterm elections, Mr. Trump continued today to focus on his vow to tighten U.S. borders. "We are a great Sovereign Nation. We have Strong Borders and will never accept people coming into our Country illegally!," he tweeted Wednesday morning.

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