40,000 Illegal Immigrants Caught On Protected Borderland This Year, Forest Service Says

40,000 illegal immigrants caught on protected borderland this year, Forest Service says

Approximately 40,000 people have been arrested on federal forest land this year after attempting to enter the United States illegally from Mexico through the protected spaces, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

A senior official at the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest System headquarters in Washington told members of the House natural resources panel that U.S. Forest Service rangers, particularly in Arizona, worked closely with Border Patrol agents to catch tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who, unlike the millions who cross and surrender to police in other areas, attempted to evade police and sneak in undetected.

“There were about 40,000 individuals apprehended on National Forest System lands this year,” said Chris French, deputy chief of the National Forest System within the U.S. Forest Service. “We’ve apprehended about, or worked with the Border Patrol and apprehended about, 40,000 individuals.”

French appeared before the panel’s subcommittee on oversight and investigations for a hearing titled “Securing the border, saving our national parks,” in which lawmakers asked immigration experts and government employees about the impacts of illegal immigration through conservation land.

The 40,000-figure includes apprehensions since Oct. 1, 2022, the start of fiscal 2023. The 40,000 apprehensions are some of the 322,000 illegal immigrants Border Patrol agents processed between last October and August this year, according to federal data. —>READ MORE HERE

Source