Horowitz: 12 astounding numbers that show the whole invasion of our border

After the media lied to the public throughout the border debate — when we actually had a chance to fix things in the budget — now the media suddenly admits we have a crisis at the border. A Washington Post reporter conceded that the numbers were "bonkers." The New York Times put in a headline the Customs and Border Patrol chief's warning that the border is at a "breaking point."

Here are 12 facts about the border apprehension numbers and the trends that demonstrate why the Trump administration should immediately shut down all asylum requests. Now is the president's opportunity to make a new case to the American people and go beyond simply addressing a few billion in border funding.

● 76,325 – The number of total illegal aliens and inadmissible aliens apprehended at and between points of entry in the month of February. That is the highest number for a single month since April 2008, but very likely one of the highest months of all time for unique (non-repeating) illegal aliens, given that many of the apprehensions from last decade were multiple crossings of the same individual within hours or days. Today, according to Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, "We rarely arrest the same person twice in one year, much less in the same work shift."

● 916,000 – The annual pace of February's border flow if this continues. But Customs and Border Patrol predicts that with the weather getting warmer over the next few months and the incentives for illegal immigration unaddressed, the numbers will grow larger.

● 40,325 – A record number of family unit apprehensions (number of people apprehended with family members) in February. That beats the record we just set in December 2018 by a whopping 26 percent.

● 136,150 – The number of family unit apprehensions between points of entry for the first five months of fiscal year 2019. This far surpasses the numbers for any previous full year.

● 165,568 – The number of family unit apprehensions between points of entry since Judge Dana Sabraw ruled last July that all parents or adults brought with children must be released with the children. During that last seven months, as many family units have been apprehended as in the previous 23 months.

● 2,023% – The percentage increase in monthly family unit apprehensions since the low of the "Trump effect" in April 2017 through February 2019. Yes: 2,023 percent increase.

● 311% – The percentage increase in family unit apprehensions by Border Patrol for the first five months of this fiscal year over the first five months of last fiscal year.

● 97% – The total percentage increase in all illegal alien apprehensions for the first five months of this fiscal year over the first five months of last fiscal year.

● 1,689% – The increase in family unit apprehensions in the El Paso sector for the first five months of fiscal year 2019 over the same period last year. El Paso saw its highest apprehensions in February since April 2006. And many of those in 2006 were the same people coming back after being deported immediately, and they were deported again. Almost all of these coming in currently remain here indefinitely.

● 70 – Number of large groups, defined as 100 or more, coming in at once to surrender to border agents and shutting down their resources. There were 13 such groups in FY 2018, mainly in the latter part of the year when this phenomenon began. It was almost unheard of in previous years.

● 31,000 – The number of projected aliens taken to American hospitals by the end of the year if the current pace holds, as compared to 12,000 last year.

● 57,000 – The number of man-hours Border Patrol had to spend with aliens in our hospitals just since Dec. 22. According to Brian Hastings, chief of Border Patrol operations, 25 percent to 45 percent of Border Patrol resources are now diverted to the processing and humanitarian functions rather than patrolling the border.

During the press conference when Trump announced his emergency declaration on Feb. 15, the media demanded from the president a set of data to demonstrate the problem. Well, here is the data that shows the most evident indicators of an emergency — a skyrocketing trajectory on all fronts.

The question for us all is how bad things need to get before we finally respect our own national sovereignty and stop allowing the courts to encourage illegal aliens to come here?

Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct "family units apprehended" in several places to "family unit apprehensions," meaning individuals apprehended with family members, for clarity.