Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is warning that the nation's border security system is reaching a breaking point with the nation facing a "system-wide meltdown" due to the overwhelming influx of illegal immigrants crossing over the U.S. border.

In a letter to Congress yesterday, Nielsen writes, "We face a system-wide meltdown … We are witnessing the real-time dissolution of the immigration system."

Neilsen called the crisis a "humanitarian and security catastrophe," and said without additional assistance, ICE would be forced to release illegal aliens in "large numbers."

Advertisement

"The result is a dangerous and growing backlog of individuals in custody that has forced us to begin releasing large numbers of aliens … Without additional assistance, we will be forced to increase the releases of the single-adult population from ICE — the only population for which we can currently effectively enforce U.S. immigration laws," Nielsen writes.

Nielsen's letter comes as a recent Breitbart report points out the United States is projected to add 1.5 million illegal aliens this year.

The publication notes, "This year, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Catch and Release policy — whereby border crossers and illegal aliens are readily released from federal custody into the interior of the U.S. — is on track to release roughly 434,000 border crossers and illegal aliens into the country by the end of the year. This projection is based on current estimates that more than 36,000 border crossers and illegal aliens have been released from DHS custody every month since the beginning of the year."

On top of the 434,000 immigrants expected to be released from federal custody, Princeton Policy Advisors estimates up to 500,000 illegal aliens will cross into the country undetected by border agents.