Giving Compass' Take:

• In this opinion piece from the Heritage Foundation, James Jay Carafano argues that the United States' broken immigration system has created a crisis.

• How can border security advocates balance their concern for porous borders while not violating international asylum rights and jeopardizing the safety of immigrants?

• To hear an opposing argument for why immigration may actually be good for the United States, click here.


The situation at the U.S. southern border continues to deteriorate. Thousands now cross the border illegally every day. In March, authorities apprehended 92,607 immigrants who entered the country illegally — the highest monthly total in more than a decade.

Unlike past waves of immigrants, those now entering our country illegally are not primarily from Mexico, nor are they primarily single men. Instead, they come mostly from the Northern Triangle: Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Nearly two thirds (64 percent) of those coming in illegally arrive as either whole or partial families (i.e., parents with minor children) or are unaccompanied children.

The number trying to claim asylum also has been rising steadily. It is now commonplace for those who are apprehended crossing illegally and those who are denied entry at ports of entry to claim asylum. Most who claim asylum are able to pass the initial “credible fear” hearing, but only around 10 percent of Central Americans who claim asylum will ultimately be granted it.

What do these various types of immigrants – family units, unaccompanied children, and asylum seekers—all have in common? When they are stopped or caught, all are given court dates and then released into the U.S. Most fail to show up to their court hearings. They just stay and hope the system never catches up with them.

Almost inevitably, it doesn’t. Of those caught entering the country illegally in FY 2017, either as family units or unaccompanied minors, 98 percent remain in the U.S. today. Of those who pass a credible fear hearing and are released, 40 percent never file for asylum.

Read the full article about the crisis at the border by James Jay Carafano at The Heritage Foundation