Illegal Immigrants Surge Across Border to Preempt Presidential Election
Just before the election, the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border surged
In one of the wildest weeks in modern American history, Donald Trump has been elected as President of the United States over highly-favored Hillary Clinton. As this unpredictable outcome has grabbed the attention of the whole country, people may be missing out on what has been happening just outside the southern borders of the US, and how that relates to this year’s election.
The Time to Cross is Now
According to US Border Patrol agents, there have been mass surges of illegal crossings in the weeks and days leading up to Tuesday’s presidential election. Immigrants who have been caught during these surges have disclosed of hearing rumors that there would be a better hope of amnesty for them if Hillary Clinton is elected, or that if Trump is elected, a massive wall will be built that will make it impossible for them to cross in the future. Either way, potential illegal immigrants have been convinced that time is of the essence in their attempts to flee to America. Another factor influencing the spikes in illegal immigration attempts is the way in which Border Patrol agents have been asked to handle those who are caught.
Catch & Release – Letting Potential Illegal Immigrants “Off the Hook”
Agents securing the US border have been asked to run what can be essentially referred to as a catch-and-release system. Immigrants apprehended during illegal attempts to cross the border are simply let go, almost like a simple traffic violation that the immigrants don’t take seriously. Each day, it is estimated that 500-800 would-be illegal immigrants are caught, turned around, and released. Even more alarming is the estimation that only 50-60 percent of illegal immigrants crossing the borders are caught each day. Doing a little bit of simple math, that means that of the potentially 1,600 people attempting to cross the border each day, half of them will successfully breach the border, while the other half will be apprehended, slapped on the wrist, and set free to potentially try again another day. Border Patrol agents know this needs to change, and they are excited about the platform President-elect, Donald Trump, stands on regarding border security.
Immigration & Deception Detection
We are all interested to see what will truly happen as Trump takes the presidency, and potentially builds a wall to secure the US border. Even if this physical fortification is erected, there will still be a need to secure the American borders from other kinds of outside threats. As part of the vetting process of letting legal immigrants come into our country, or even in deciding the deportation of illegal immigrants, new lie detection technology can play a vital
role.
EyeDetect, by Converus Inc., is an innovative technology that measures pupil dilation as a means to detect deception. Whether coming into the country legally or illegally, EyeDetect could be employed to help Border Patrol agents more accurately question and determine the intent of US immigrants. EyeDetect is already being used in businesses worldwide to prevent workplace fraud. This technology allows deception testing to be customized to a variety of situations, including issues related to immigration intent and could be a major part of the solution to border security in the US.
