Arrest data from the Homeland Security Department reported that an increasing number of people from around the globe have tried to sneak in the U.S. among the hundreds of thousands of other, mostly Latin American migrants caught at the Mexican border within the last year.
(FOX)- More than 8,000 people from different countries, such as: India, China, Romania, Bangladesh and Nepal between October 2015 and August 2016. The increase in arrests has created a challenge for officials who are in charge of identifying immigrants and deporting those caught crossing the border illegally.
More than 408,000 people were caught illegally crossing the Mexican border in the last year. The arrests suggest a rising trend in migrants searching for an alternative route that would be moving across the seas to South America, over land to Central America and then through Mexico before arriving at the U.S. border illegally.
Illegal immigration has been a hot button topic during the presidential campaign season, stemming from Republican nominee Donald Trump who has pushed back on the illegal immigration this year with controversial comments.
While in the past Mexico has led the numbers for most immigrants using the border to come to the U.S. illegally, that number has since dropped in recent years.
India and China are now among the top 10 countries of origin for people caught trying to sneak into the United States. Large numbers of immigrants from those two countries have long come to the United States legally and many have overstayed visas to remain here.