Be it the fulfillment of an electoral promise or evidence of an extremely aggressive government, the numbers speak for themselves.

According to data published by the Immigration and Customs Agency, "the number of migrants taken into custody along the U.S. southern border soared to nearly 1 million during the government’s 2019 fiscal year that ended September 30," the Washington Post reported.

These numbers show the highest peak of undocumented traffic on the border in twelve years, including an increase in the amount of Central American families detained.

"These are numbers no immigration system in the world is designed to handle," said interim commissioner for Customs and Border Protection, Mark Morgan, at a press conference in the White House.

Agents made "more than 975,000 arrests" during the fiscal year 2019, representing an "amazing” uptick of 88%.

Even with the aggressive strategies put in place by the Trump administration since its inauguration, these figures show a significant rise in the number of people apprehended at the border.

As the Post recalled, a generation ago, most immigrants who crossed the border without documents "were single adults from Mexico who could be quickly processed and deported."

Currently, most are entire families trying to cross the border and who, instead of trying to evade capture, "seek U.S. agents to surrender" and request asylum.

Morgan explained that, despite the surprising figure for the fiscal year, during the month of September, there were only 52,000 arrests, a 60% decrease from the 133,000 arrests during the month of May.

The Trump Administration has implemented several strategies that seek to fulfill the president's promise to "reduce illegal immigration in the country."

Between improvised immigration courts in tents, and the suspension of strategies like "catch and release," the protocol called Migration Protection (MPP) has resulted in the deportation of more than 50,000 immigrants, according to CNBC.

Similarly, the Third Safe Country agreements established with Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras have reinforced the government's campaign to prevent immigrants from entering the country at all costs.

Meanwhile, hundreds are trapped in Mexican border cities, often subjected to dangerous conditions and, in some cases, not being able to return to their home countries.

The former secretary of housing and presidential candidate Julian Castro wrote on Twitter: "What I saw in across the border in Matamoros, Mexico, is a national embarrassment – one entirely of Trump’s creation.”

"Make no mistake: his agenda is killing people–and it’s on purpose," he added.