Republicans criticize Biden’s government move to allow 25,000 migrants detained in Mexico as part of a Trump-era policy that was a key plan in the former government’s efforts to “capture and end ‘release’.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Friday that it will begin processing migrants in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) next week. MPP, known as ‘Remain in Mexico’, was a policy implemented in 2019 that detained migrants in Mexico while awaiting their immigration trial.
The Biden administration estimates that approximately 25,000 individuals enrolled in the protocols are still active.
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MPP was a central part of a broad strategy by the Trump administration to end ‘capture and release’, detaining asylum seekers and subsequently releasing them into the interior of the US.
The Trump administration has said it is an effective way to reduce a key pull that brings migrants to the border, but critics, including President Biden, have described the policy as cruel and endangered migrants by bringing them to Mexico. keep.
“As President Biden has made clear, the US government is committed to building a secure, orderly and humane immigration system,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “This latest action is another step in our commitment to reforming immigration policies that are not in line with the values of our country.”
But Republicans were shocked by a wave of reversals of the Trump administration’s policy by the new government – including the border wall strike and attempts to take a 100-day break over deportations – and showed early signs of a brew. border crisis.
Rep. John Katko, RN.Y., the rank-and-file member of the Home Security Committee, said the move was “outrageous” at a time when Americans are being told to travel and stay home before seeing an increase in numbers at the border. .
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“Those who are reprocessed south of our border by international organizations that determine their eligibility will soon be released into the U.S. communities as they are added to the backlog of 1,000,000+ immigration courts. Judging will take years,” he said. “As more migrants gain wind from the re-implementation of ‘catch-and-release’, the boom at our border will be unthinkable.”
“As CBP encounters an average of 3,000 per day at the top of the border, we have quickly moved into the dangerous area of the 2019 border crisis,” he said. “The situation at the border, coupled with the raging pandemic, has created a perfect storm of security, humanitarian and public health problems.”
Fox News reported last week that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was forced to release some families in the interior of the US amid an increase in migratory traffic and Mexico’s refusal to provide additional families with children under 12 to accept in areas where migrant camps grow. increasingly large, which overwhelms the shelter and services.
Last week, the U.S. said it would add 700 beds for minor minors to a shelter in Carizzo Springs, Texas, and 500 extra beds at a processing facility in Donna, also in Texas.
Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Friday that the U.S. has a “humanitarian and security crisis on our southern border.”
“Returning effectively to capture and release – as the Biden government announced today – could very well lead to the release of COVID-positive people in the US, which will exacerbate the dual border and health crises by the Texas border communities making less secure and further hampering local resources, ”he said.
In a nod to the fear of a flood of migrants at the border, DHS as well as the White House warn migrants not to come to the border. White House press secretary Jen Psaki warned potential migrants on Wednesday that “now is not the time to come” and said that “the vast majority of people will be turned away”.
It was a message repeated by DHS on Friday, warning migrants that the announcement “should not be interpreted as an opening for people to migrate irregularly to the United States.
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“Eligible individuals will only be admitted by designated ports at designated times,” he added.
Administrative officials, according to the Associated Press, refused to name the ports of entry for fear they could encourage a rush of people to those places.
Fox News’ William LaJeunesse and Greg Norman contributed to this report, as did The Associated Press.