Illegal Alien Arrests Set Record of 64,475 in March

U.S. Border Patrol officials in San Diego said Wednesday that local agents set a single-month record for apprehensions of illegal aliens in March, indicating a continuation of what authorities call an unprecedented “surge” of illegal immigration from Mexico.

During the month, supervisory patrol agent Ed Pyeatt said, agents recorded apprehending 64,475 aliens--an average of 2,079 arrests a day. That number represents an increase of 41% compared to March, 1985, and it eclipses by almost 11,000 the previous single-month record, set in January.

March is traditionally a busy time along the border, as farm laborers and other workers head north in search of seasonal jobs. San Diego County is considered the busiest crossing point for illegal immigrants along the 1,900-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

The sharp increase reflects a nationwide trend, authorities say. In February, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Alan C. Nelson said that the nation was experiencing “the greatest surge of people in history across our border.”

In the first four months of fiscal 1986, Nelson noted, apprehensions of undocumented immigrants were exceeding by 43% the record pace set the previous year. Officials of the INS, which includes the Border Patrol, expect to arrest a record 1.8 million aliens nationwide this year, far eclipsing the 1.2 million arrested in 1985.

INS authorities blame the deteriorating economic situation in the Third World for the increasing flow of illegal aliens.

“People are simply abandoning those countries for the greener pastures of the United States,” Pyeatt said.

Critics of the INS charge that the arrest numbers represent an inflated view of the supposed “threat” of illegal immigration. They note, for instance, that the numbers include aliens who are counted over and over again, each time they are arrested while attempting to enter the United States illegally. The vast majority of apprehended aliens are returned to Mexico almost immediately; many quickly attempt to re-enter the United States and are again arrested.

Moreover, INS officials acknowledge that part of the increase stems from the increased number of officers along the border. In San Diego, the Border Patrol is adding 239 employees.