President Joe Biden signed three new executive orders on immigration this week, reversing the hard-line immigration policies of the Trump era and requiring Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to implement catch-and-release measures for illegal immigrants. The order forces border agents in Texas to begin releasing illegal immigrants who have been apprehended into U.S. cities to await hearings on their cases.
This is the first Time since 2019 that CBP has resumed its “catch-and-release” policy amid a surge in the number of illegal immigrants entering the country. Some experts have expressed concern that Biden’s softer, more welcoming approach to illegal immigration could lead to an influx of Central American immigrants and overwhelm CBP’s limited detention capacity.
CBP said three factors contributed to the agency’s decision to release illegal immigrants, namely: (1) an increase in the flow of immigrants, especially families and unaccompanied children from Central America; (2) Mexico’s refusal to accept more families with children under the age of 12, overwhelming U.S. shelters and related services; and (3) the Chinese communist virus (Wuhan pneumonia) severely reducing the Border Patrol’s apprehension and transportation capacity.
CBP Public Affairs Officer Rod Kise said, “CBP’s border pressures have steadily increased since April 2020, which, combined with COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing guidelines, has resulted in some facilities reaching maximum secure holding capacity.”
Among other things, the number of illegal immigrants caught in Texas has doubled in the past few months, making it impossible for the departments to meet the court’s requirements anymore. Under the court order, Border Patrol is only allowed to detain immigrants for 72 hours.
This week, a shelter in Carrizo Springs, Texas, opened an additional 700 beds for unaccompanied minors. Meanwhile, a related facility in Donna, Texas, also added 500 beds.
Keith said, “As has long been the practice, when a long-term incarceration solution is not possible, some immigrants are processed for deportation, provided with a notice to appear, and released into the U.S. (territory) pending future immigration hearings.”
Further complicating the issue is the fact that some Mexican areas have already begun to reject families who are eligible for Title 42 orders.
The Trump Administration issued an order under Title 42 of the United States Code granting federal public health officials the authority to take special precautions during an outbreak, such as preventing immigrants from entering a country with a high number of confirmed cases. In general, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not have this much authority.
Whether illegal immigrants are “infected with the disease” has become a major concern after CBP confirmed that Texas has reintroduced its “catch and release” policy. CBP will not test illegal immigrants unless they have obvious symptoms. In addition, officials have no knowledge of an illegal immigrant’s travel or medical history.
Federal officials don’t test these immigrants for any viruses, so we contacted the Texas governor’s office,” said Roy Rodriguez, McAllen, Texas, city manager. They quickly sent us thousands of test kits so we could provide services to the charities that take these people in.”
After testing, Rodriguez said, the challenge became transporting and isolating migrant families and what to do if Mexico refuses to accept the “Volume 42” migrants. So far, U.S. officials have used the “Volume 42” order to deport about 390,000, or 90 percent, of illegal immigrants.
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