Tag: Catch and Release

Border Patrol Union Signals Concern Over Proposed Biden Immigration Policy

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The Biden administration’s proposed “Safe Third Country” agreement attempting to crack down on an expected surge in illegal immigration at the southern border has a major loophole that still allows migrants to be released into the country en masse, according to a document the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) sent to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Daily Caller News Foundation exclusively obtained.

The policy, which was proposed in anticipation of the end of the Title 42 public health expulsion order on May 11, would make migrants seeking asylum that already passed through a safe country on the way to the U.S. ineligible for asylum. The Border Patrol union raised its concerns to DHS, asserting that the rule would still allow for “catch and release” because of loopholes, such as making a claim of credible fear to trigger the need for years-long adjudication, according to the NBPC response.

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Florida Judge Strikes Down Biden Administration ‘Catch and Release’ Border Policy

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A federal judge in Florida ruled Wednesday that the Biden Administration’s “catch and release” border policy is illegal.

Federal Judge T. Kent Wetherell, of the Pensacola Division of the Northern District of Florida, entered a 109-page ruling ruling that the policy that allows Border Patrol agents to release undocumented immigrants who cross the border to the United States instead of deporting them is illegal and “should be struck down.”

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Commentary: All the President’s Border Policies That Have Illegals Heading North

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While a federal court has stayed the Biden administration’s attempt to lift pandemic-prompted restrictions on immigrants pouring across the southern border, that is just one setback in a largely successful push by the president to make it easier for migrants to enter, live, and work in the U.S.

Since Joe Biden’s first day in office, when he signed seven executive orders on immigration that, among other things, suspended deportations and ended the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program that had eased the crush of those awaiting asylum hearings, the president has in word and deed sent signals that migrants have interpreted as welcoming. The initiatives include reviving the Obama-era policy known as “catch and release,” “paroling” illegal border crossers so they can enter the country, resettling migrants through secret flights around the country, and ending the “no match” policy that had helped the government identify people who were using fraudulent credentials to find work.

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Commentary: Biden Reinstates Catch and Release with More Than 227,000 Illegal Aliens Released Since January 2021

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President Joe Biden has reinstated “catch and release,” a policy allowing illegal aliens to be released into the United States pending an immigration hearing — which had been discontinued under former President Donald Trump — resulting in more than 227,000 illegal aliens being released on their own recognizance through Aug. 2021.

That is out of 535,000 aliens apprehended in Fiscal Year 2021 by the U.S. Border Patrol, a porous 42 percent catch-and-release rate by Biden.

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Court Rules Against Catch and Release for Migrants

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A federal trial court in Texas ruled against the Biden administration’s directives to catch and release some migrants on Thursday.

A Texas federal judge blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from enforcing the Biden administration’s Jan. 20 and Feb. 18 memoranda prioritizing certain migrants for detention over others, granting Texas and Louisiana’s motion for a preliminary injunction, according to the court opinion.

“The States point out that the priority categories enumerated in these Memoranda omit certain others—namely, aliens convicted of serious drug offenses, aliens convicted of crimes of moral turpitude, and aliens subject to a final order of removal,” the opinion continues.

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Immigrant Activists Storm Biden Headquarters, Demand He Apologize for Deportations

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by Jason Hopkins   Immigrant rights activists protested inside Joe Biden’s campaign headquarters in Philadelphia, demanding the former vice president apologize for the deportations that took place during the Obama administration. “We are here with families who have had their families separated both under the Obama and Trump administrations, and we are demanding that Biden apologize for overseeing 3 million deportations under the Obama administration, and we are calling for Biden and 2020 Democratic candidates to commit to ending deportation and detention in their first day in office,” said a spokeswoman Wednesday during the Facebook live coverage of the protest. The group behind the rally, Movimiento Cosecha — which translates to “Harvest Movement” in English — has been behind other immigration-related protests, such as a push to give illegal immigrants driver’s licenses. Members of the organization wanted to bring attention to the Obama administration’s record on immigration enforcement. The protest highlighted a seemingly incongruous fact: Deportations were higher during the Obama administration than they are under the Trump White House. Norma is currently shutting down @JoeBiden's campaign office to share her story. Her son, who came at the U.S. at age 10, would have qualified for the "Obama-Biden DACA program"…

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Three Keys to Understanding the Attorney General’s Move to Limit ‘Catch and Release’

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by Fred Lucas   Attorney General William Barr has announced a new asylum policy to curb the government’s practice of catching illegal immigrants and then releasing them into the nation’s interior. The American Civil Liberties Union already has vowed to challenge the change in court even as President Donald Trump seeks to use all legal tools at his disposal to control the flow of illegal immigrants. BREAKING: Attorney General William Barr tonight directed immigration judges to deny bond hearings to asylum seekers. Our Constitution does not allow the government to lock up asylum seekers without basic due process. We'll see the administration in court. Again. — ACLU (@ACLU) April 17, 2019 The Justice Department contends that the attorney general is enforcing the text of the Immigration and Nationality Act, in line with a Supreme Court ruling last year. Barr is on firm legal ground, the department says, in determining that illegal immigrants who seek asylum are not eligible for release on bond until their case is adjudicated. Barr’s decision is already effective, so the Department of Homeland Security can conduct planning for additional detentions and parole decisions. Here’s three things to know about the attorney general’s decision. 1. How Barr…

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Commentary: Congress Is to Blame for the Trump Administration Reverting Back to ‘Catch and Release’

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by James Carafano   Reports have surfaced, citing government officials, that border officials no longer will refer detained migrant families to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Instead, due to constrained resources, they will “begin releasing hundreds of families caught each day in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.” As a result, tens of thousands will join the ranks of millions of illegal immigrants already in the United States. This practice contradicts the Trump administration’s promise to end “catch and release” and to detain illegal immigrants until they are deported. Technically this does not repudiate current policy, but it offers more proof that there is, in fact, a real crisis at the border. Detention before removal is by far the most effective means to ensure that illegal immigrants comply with lawful deportation. At present, the Immigration Reform Law Institute estimates there are about 1.7 million individuals in the U.S. who are unlawfully present and have been ordered to leave the country. Not surprisingly, none of them were in detention when they were ordered to leave. A common tactic to avoid deportation is just not showing up to deported. That problem is growing as migrants have adopted new tactics at the border to…

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Overwhelmed ICE Facilities Forced to Release 100,000 Illegal Aliens in Past Three Months

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by Jason Hopkins   ICE detainment centers have become so overwhelmed with illegal aliens that the agency has been forced to release over 100,000 migrant family members in the past three months. While speaking to reporters on Thursday, Nathalie Asher, a senior official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, revealed that her agency has had to reallocate resources as it deals with a “crushing” surge of illegal aliens on the country’s southern border. ICE has not only been forced to reduce its activity in the interior of the U.S., but the agency’s overcrowded detainment centers have released 107,000 migrant family members in the past three months, averaging more than 1,000 illegals a day. “What you’re looking at is our interior arrests have been affected,” Asher said, explaining why ICE arrests have dropped in the past few months. She said her agency is redirecting manpower to their first priority: “addressing what has been occurring and continues to occur at an alarming rate at the border.” ICE arrests have dropped 12 percent between Oct. 1 and Dec. 29 of last year, according to the agency’s latest statistics released Thursday. Agents arrested 34,546 during this time period. At the same time, an overburdened ICE…

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