“If you are hungry or thirsty, need medical care, fear persecution or torture if removed from the United States, have been a victim of abuse, have been a victim of a sexual assault, have witnessed a crime, tell an officer. Your claim will be heard.”
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has sent a memo to employees that appears to make it easier for those crossing the border illegally to claim asylum. This comes as Biden signed an executive order Tuesday that issues new restrictions on the number of illegal immigrants being allowed into the country, but still lets at least 1.5 million in every year.
ICE acting director Patrick J Lechleitner sent the instructions to employees on Tuesday. The memo, obtained by the New York Post, states that signage must be posted in areas such as intake and in-processing areas, housing units, medical units, and dining areas. These signs appear to instruct illegal immigrants on what to say to qualify for asylum in the country.
The language on these signs provided by ICE headquarters states, "If you are hungry or thirsty, need medical care, fear persecution or torture if removed from the United States, have been a victim of abuse, have been a victim of a sexual assault, have witnessed a crime, tell an officer. Your claim will be heard. You may be referred to a medical professional, an asylum officer, or other law enforcement professional."
The signs are required to be posted in English and Spanish, and additional translations to languages such as Arabic, Haitian Creole, Punjabi, Russian, and Simplified Chinese will be available to ICE officers.
ICE officers were also instructed to play a video in in-processing areas on a loop "explaining to noncitizens that they should raise these concerns."
The memo also states that illegal immigrants may display a "fear or intention to apply for asylum or related protection" that can be "manifested in many different ways" that could be verbal, non-verbal, or physical.
These behaviors include statements of fear or being harmed, evidence of physical injuries stemming from abuse or self-harm, and non-verbal actions such as "hysteria, trembling, shaking, unusual behavior, changes in tone of voice, incoherent speech patterns, panic attacks, or an unusual level of silence."
Biden’s executive order allows 2,500 illegal immigrants to cross into the country each day. Additionally, the ongoing Biden program allowing an additional 30,000 illegal immigrants to schedule their crossing into the US through the CBPOne app will continue.
Exceptions to this order are those who arrive as "unaccompanied children, victims of a severe form of trafficking, those who face an acute medical emergency or an imminent and extreme threat to life and safety," senior administration officials said on Tuesday.
Retired Deputy Patrol Agent in Charge of the El Paso Station Clay Thomas told the Post that these exemptions will be utilized by cartels and smugglers.
By announcing these exemption categories to the public, "you just gave them the answer," Thomas said of the cartels’ operations. "They already know how to do this and they basically are rewriting their business plan based on what the Biden administration outlined."
Libby’s Desk
Commentary and must-reads from Libby’s desk, straight to your inbox.
TPM Newsletter
The Post Millennial’s top stories, delivered to your inbox.
