On July 18 at the Republican National Convention, Sen. Jeff Sessions said, “There are about 350,000 people who succeed in crossing our borders illegally each year.”
Our ruling
Sessions said, “There are about 350,000 people who succeed in crossing our borders illegally each year.”
The most common way federal officials track illegal entry is border apprehensions. In fiscal year 2015, the border patrol had 337,117 apprehensions nationwide, a decline from previous fiscal year and a significant drop from peaks in 2000. But those numbers represent people who are unsuccessful in crossing the border. Sessions said the opposite.
Also apprehension numbers do not necessarily represent number of people crossing borders, since they track events, not individuals, according to Department of Homeland Security. The number of immigrants illegally in the country is staying the same or getting smaller.
We rate Sessions’s statement False.
To read the full fact check, go to www.politifact.com.