Trump and the Border

Border Solidarity Day

Border Context

·      The Border Community is 2,000 miles long, expanding from California to the Gulf of Mexico. It includes uninhabited desert, small and large cities, and el Rio Grande.

·      The US considers Border Territory anything 100 miles from ports of entry. This includes the Southern and Northern Borders as well as all coasts, meaning that about  2/3 of the entire US population live within Border Territory.

·      About 200 million people live within the 100-mile zone; including 11 states that lie almost entirely within the zone and 9 of the 10 largest cities in the country: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego and San Jose.

Border Enforcement

·      The United States spends billions of dollars a year on border enforcement under the narrative of ‘national security’, which is primarily spent on the Southern Border.

·      Customs and Border Patrol is the largest federal law enforcement agency in the country. Today there are about 22,000 Border Patrol agents, 18,000 of them stationed on the Southern Border.

·      CBP has full authority to operate anywhere within the 100-mile zone, including stopping and searching vehicles and persons on reasonable suspicion, regardless of legal status.

·      The Department of Justice exempted Border Patrol from its most recent orders to local and federal police against racial profiling.

·      The budget for border enforcement increased by 75% in the last decade, to add up to 13.5 billion dollars per year. This is more than the DEA, FBI, and Secret Service budgets combined.

·      Internal Border Patrol immigration checkpoints exist all throughout the 100-mile zone, way beyond Ports of Entry. In New Mexico, these checkpoints are located well beyond urban locations, forcing all undocumented immigrants to remain within the region.

·      The current wall covers about 650 miles along the border and has already cost the US $7 billion, that’s about $5 million per mile in some areas.

The Border & the Trump Administration

·      Trump’s executive orders call for the immediate construction of a wall, which is estimated to cost $25 billion, and the hiring of 15,000 more ICE and Border Patrol agents that would cost up to $15 billion in 10 years.

·      An initial $3 billion has already been requested from Congress to begin the construction of a wall and to immediately hire 1,000 ICE agents and 500 Border Patrol agents.

The Sacramento Immigration committee has established a hot line to report ICE activity in the neighborhoods, at schools, parks, and other areas. 

916-245-6773

If you see ICE activity, please report it.  When you report the activity, volunteers and legal observers will go to the location.