Global Courant 2023-05-09 08:59:35
The Biden administration is launching a “targeted enforcement operation” Tuesday in El Paso, Texas, to process and potentially deport and deport illegal immigrants in one of the migrant crossing hot spots — as numbers along the border before the end of the title soared to 42 later this week.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and agents will lead the operation in El Paso, where about 2,200 migrants are currently camping or living on the streets, a few blocks from the main entry gates that connect El Paso with the Mexican city of Juárez.
That’s amid a wider wave of more than 26,000 detentions and more than 7,000 “getaways” in just 72 hours, according to official statistics.
Fox cameras have already shown huge lines of migrants crossing parts of Texas – the majority of whom are single people.
FOX NEWS FOOTAGE OF HUNDREDS OF MIGRANTS CROSSING TEXAS AS THE END OF TITLE 42 APPROACHES
Migrants who recently crossed the US-Mexico border are seen in Brownsville, Texas, Friday, May 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Veronica G. Cardenas)
It comes at the end of the Title 42 public health order on Thursday, which has been used since 2020 to rapidly deport hundreds of thousands of migrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, nearly half of all migrant encounters ended in a Title 42 eviction.
The end of the order is expected to bring a huge number of migrants to the border, who believe they have a better chance of being admitted to the US once the order ends. The Biden administration has said this is not true and has warned that it is tightening penalties for illegal entry and urging migrants to use extensive legal avenues instead.
The operation will allow agents to “process individuals for vetting and placement in Title 42 eviction or Title 8 removal procedures, as appropriate,” CBP said in a release. Those deemed to pose a threat to national security or public safety will be transferred to ICE for detention.
“As we have said repeatedly, individuals who have no legal basis to remain will be removed,” acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement. “Individuals should not listen to the lies of smugglers and instead use lawful avenues of protection.”
BIDEN ADMINISTRATOR WARNS MIGRANTS WHO ENTER ILLEGALLY ‘WILL RESULT IN REMOVAL’ AS FEARS OF POST TITLE 42 SURGE
However, the agency stressed that neither agency will take action “in or near a location that would minimize people’s access to essential services or involvement in essential activities.”
Meanwhile, CBP will reduce operations at the nearby Port of Paso Del Norte. The agency encourages travelers to use alternate ports.
The Biden administration has tried to deter migrants from making the journey north while taking a number of measures to deal with what could become a historic number of encounters in the coming days.
TILLIS, SINEMA INSTALL BILL TO CONTINUE DEPLOYMENT OF MIGRANTS AFTER END OF TITLE 42
Last week it announced the deployment of 1,500 troops to the border, as well as the establishment of migrant processing centers across Latin America and a deal for Mexico to take back non-Mexican illegal immigrants.
The Department of Homeland Security also announced the distribution of an additional $332 million in funding to NGOs and local governments to help migrants released from custody.
The government has also upset immigration activists by moving forward with a rule that could make migrants ineligible for asylum if they cross the border illegally and fail to seek asylum in a country they have already traveled through.
Meanwhile, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reiterated claims that the border is not open, stressing that migrants could face consequences, including entry bans and criminal charges, if they enter illegally after Thursday.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks to reporters in Brownsville, Texas. (Fox news)
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“The border is not open,” Mayorkas said in Texas last week. “It has not been open and it will not be open after May 11. And the smugglers who exploit vulnerable migrants are spreading misinformation. They are spreading false information, lies to lure vulnerable people to the southern border and those individuals are only being sent back. “
Danielle Wallace and Bill Melugin of Fox News contributed to this report.
Adam Shaw is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.
He can be reached at adam.shaw2@fox.com or at Twitter.
