EXCLUSIVE: Fox News confirmed on Sunday that border patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) have begun processing and releasing illegal border crossings claiming asylum without issuing a notice (NTA), enabling them to custody without setting a court date for a trial.
The unprecedented move places the responsibility on seeking immigrants through immigrants and customs enforcement (ICE) or legal aid.
BORDER PATROL WHICH ALLOWS ILLEGAL CROSSERS IN US WITHOUT COURT DATE
Several border patrol agents confirmed the new process to Fox News and revealed that they had been ordered to use indictment discretion (PD) to require the hours-long process of paperwork to issue an NTA amid the rise of migrants to the border.
Instead, migrants are registered with the system using biometric data that is largely released to the public at a bus station in McAllen, TX. The processing is usually done on a temporary outside processing site. Border patrol agents stressed that it does not apply to unaccompanied children.
PRAYER ADMIN ALLOWED MAJORITY TO MIGRANT FAMILIES WHO HAVE SURRENDERED ON THE BORDER IN US
A senior source from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told Fox News on Saturday that officials are considering the controversial move because the ongoing crisis at the border ‘has become so dire that BP [Border Patrol] has no choice but to release people almost immediately after the fear, because there is no room to hold people to do the necessary NTA paperwork. ‘
The process of issuing an NTA to each migrant can take hours per individual or family.
The decision comes as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is opening another facility for unaccompanied child migrants in Pecos, Texas, the Refugee Resettlement Office (ORR) announced Saturday.
The temporary inpatient care facility would house at least 500 minor minors to start, with the capacity to house 2,000 children.
“While ORR has worked to build its licensed bed capacity to nearly 13,500 beds, additional capacity is urgently needed to manage both improved COVID-19 mitigation strategies and the increasing number of DHC referrals from DHS,” an ORR spokesman said. said.
Alejandro Mayorkas, head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said last week that border crossings are on track in 20 years.
CBP announced that they encountered more than 100,000 migrants at the border in February, while the number of child migrants in detention also increased dramatically. The Biden government has moved to increase the capacity of facilities for migrants, and to build a number of additional facilities – including the exploration of NASA sites and military bases.
The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.