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<\/a><\/p>\nThe Hearing is ongoing and the story will be updated. Please return for latest updates and stories.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Commissioner for U.S.\u00a0Customs and Border Protection\u00a0Kevin K. McAleenan strongly rebuked claims by opponents Wednesday that the border is not a crisis. He said he \u201cfundamentally disagrees\u201d with those who called President Donald Trump\u2019s national emergency a \u201cfake emergency\u201d and laid out<\/span> a litany of statistics exposing the serious humanitarian crisis and national security implications for the United States.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n McAleenan spoke after opening statements from Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Ca, and Chairman Lindsey Graham gave their opening statements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The issues discussed ranged from drug smuggling, penetration of drug cartels deep in the United States and the counternarcotics efforts being addressed by Department of Homeland Security and its divisions. McAleenan argued \u2014 with statistics to back his claims \u2014 that Trump\u2019s request for $5.7 billion for border wall infrastructure is an absolute necessity as part of a comprehensive plan to address the crisis.<\/p>\n The\u00a0growing humanitarian crisis<\/a>\u00a0took precedence as well. McAleenan spoke at significant length about trans-national criminal trafficking organizations, which he said are expected to make roughly $2.5 billion a year off of illegal immigration into the U.S. alone. He addressed the long journey of children being trafficked into the U.S. In one example, he spoke of children from Guatemala, who travel more than 1500 miles under gruesome conditions. Some of the children spend more than 30 days being trafficked and are subjected to physical, sexual abuse and in many cases have contracted infectious diseases that threaten their lives, he said.<\/p>\n Sen. Graham, R-SC, did not mince words.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be direct \u2013 contrary to what some political opponents and media outlets claim the situation at our southern border is dangerous and growing worse,\u201d Graham said in his opening statement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a hoax. It\u2019s not a manufactured crisis.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a cable television ploy.\u00a0It is real.\u00a0 It is serious.\u00a0 It is a threat. And it poses a direct challenge to the safety and security of the citizens of the United States. To believe otherwise is to deny reality and ignore the facts,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n The testimony provided by McAleenan backed up Graham\u2019s statements. The commissioner laid out what Border Patrol agents have endured over the first months of the new year and how the increase in migration traffic has tied both the hands of agents and resources to protect the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have heard a number of commentators observe that even with these alarming levels of migration, the numbers are lower than the historical peaks, and as a result, they suggest what we are seeing at the\u00a0border today<\/a>\u00a0is not a crisis,\u201d said McAleenan. \u201cI fundamentally disagree. From the experience of our agents and officers on the ground, it is indeed both a border security\u2014and a humanitarian\u2014crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n Two weeks ago, in a period of seven days Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley, sector apprehended more than 7,000 people crossing illegally into the country, said a Border Patrol Agent, who spoke to SaraACarter.com.<\/p>\n \u201cThe numbers are staggering,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n McAleenan noted one reason why. He said the biggest issue is \u201cfor the first time in history, more than half of all those crossing are members of family units\u2014typically one adult and one child.\u201d<\/p>\n The Border Patrol has already apprehended more families crossing illegally than during all of last year, McAleenan said. McAleenan noted that 87 percent of illegal entries come through areas of the border outside of the Ports of Entry.<\/p>\n \u201cWe absolutely need barriers,\u201d McAleenan told Sen. Graham during questioning. He added that the ten areas along the border selected to build a wall \u201cis absolutely essential.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a brand new set of phenomenon with families and children,\u201d McAleenan added. \u201cThe trends are going the wrong way.\u201d<\/p>\n If the new laws are implemented, the border walls requested are built, then the criminal trafficking organizations won\u2019t be able to promise the migrants refuge in the U.S., McAleenan accessed.<\/p>\n He noted that as of now\u00a03,000 families<\/a>\u00a0a day are entering into the United States daily. And McAleenan projected that roughly 75,000 family units could enter the U.S. by May, which would be the highest on record.<\/p>\n The number is staggering and Sen. Feinstein said \u201cwow,\u201d surprised at the growing numbers of illegal crossings this year.<\/p>\n \u201cI find no reason to disagree with you,\u201d said Feinstein to McAleenan with regard to keeping family units together and getting healthcare to children immediately. McAleenan spoke heartfelt about the two young children who died in Border Patrol custody but explained that \u00a0the Border Patrol has saved the lives of many illegal migrant children who arrive with severe medical issues.<\/p>\n Earlier in his testimony he noted \u201cin the first four months of the fiscal year, CBP has encountered an average of 60,000 migrants crossing illegally and presenting at ports of entry without documents.<\/p>\n \u201cIn February, DHS projects that we will apprehend or encounter over 76,000 migrants, 87 percent of whom are being interdicted crossing the border illegally\u2014a 25 percent increase from January, and what would be the highest February total in more than a decade. By the middle of March\u2014less than six months into the fiscal year\u2014 we will have apprehended more people crossing illegally than all of FY 2017,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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IT\u2019S NOT A MANUFACTURED CRISIS.\u00a0 IT\u2019S NOT A CABLE TELEVISION PLOY. IT IS REAL.\u00a0 IT IS SERIOUS.\u00a0 IT IS A THREAT, SEN. GRAHAM<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nStaggering Numbers<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Border Patrol Statistics<\/strong><\/h3>\n