Roughly 50,000 migrants had reportedly been released into the United States without court dates, and few have reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities.
In the unprecedented routine, which began after President Joe Biden took office, migrants are told to visit an ICE station rather than be ordered to appear before a judge.
Only 6,700 individuals who were suspected of crossing the border illegally between March and July have shown up at ICE field offices, while 16,000 people have skirted the 60-day window to appear before the government agency, a source briefed on the data from the Department of Homeland Security told Axios. Another 27,000 migrants have yet to visit ICE facilities, though they are still within the roughly two-month window to do so.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION BEGINS EXPEDITING RETURN OF SOME MIGRANT FAMILIES TO MEXICO
The unnamed DHS official said 70% of the 50,000 have either shown up to an ICE office or are within the legal window, though that figure could quickly decline if migrants opt not to make contact of their own accord. If they do not report, ICE reserves the right to remove them from the country.
“While individuals have 60 days to check in with ICE, many are proactively reaching out to ICE to begin their official immigration processing, including by receiving a Notice to Appear,” a DHS spokesperson told the Washington Examiner in an email. “Those who do not report, like anyone who is in our country without legal status, are subject to removal by ICE.”
Officials have banked on the migrants appearing in ICE offices to obtain work permits after they reach their chosen destination in the U.S., though the volume of releases may serve to be a challenge for border authorities. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, told the news outlet that more than 7,300 migrants in the area of the Rio Grande Valley were released over the last week without court dates.
Approximately 190,000 people attempted to cross the southern border illegally from Mexico into the U.S. in June, the most seen in more than 21 years, Customs and Border Protection said this month.
On Sunday, Rio Grande Valley Chief Patrol Agent Brian Hastings reported that law enforcement nabbed more than 20,000 migrants in the last week alone.
Despite what many consider to be a crisis at the southern border due largely to Biden’s loose stance on the immigration issue, the White House on Tuesday railed against former President Donald Trump’s “cruel and reckless” hard-line immigration policies.
“In the six months since, the Administration has made considerable progress to build a fair, orderly, and humane immigration system while continuing to call on Congress to make long overdue reforms to U.S. immigration laws,” a statement read.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“The Biden-Harris Administration has accomplished this and more while reckoning with the prior Administration’s cruel and reckless immigration policies, which exacerbated long-standing challenges and failed to securely manage our border,” the statement added.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
