"This radical shift" in the release of illegal immigrants "was clear from the start," the report stated.
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A new report from the House Homeland Security Committee has revealed that over 85 percent of those who crossed the border illegally were released into the United States. This comes as the Biden-Harris administration has reportedly sought to cut federal detention space, and those illegal immigrants within the US for extended periods are rarely removed.
The report noted that "by 2022, the Biden-Harris administration had 'quietly ended the practice of detaining immigrant families' altogether. Dustin Caudle, deputy chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector, told the Committee during an official transcribed interview in September 2023 that 65-70 percent of encounters in his sector had ended in release since January 2021."
The report stated that in January, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had admitted that the then-current release rate for illegal immigrants caught at the southern border was "above 85 percent."
In a March 2023 decision, Federal judge Kent Wetherell wrote in a ruling striking down a release policy of Mayorkas, "the evidence establishes that in late January or early February of 2021, DHS made a discrete change in detention policy from ‘release only if there is a compelling reason to’ to ‘release unless there is a compelling reason not to.’"
"This radical shift" in the release of illegal immigrants "was clear from the start," the report stated.
The report later added, "It is important to note that the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) mandates any inadmissible alien who enters the United States be detained—from the moment they are encountered until they are removed or found to have a lawful basis to remain in the country. Instead of taking steps to meaningfully comply with this mandate, as previous administrations have, Biden, Harris, and Mayorkas devised and implemented a comprehensive and unlawful agenda of mass 'catch and release,’ which has led to the release of millions of inadmissible aliens into American communities."
The committee stated that "undermining the law ensures that illegal aliens will almost never be removed," noting that DHS data has revealed that 82 percent of illegal immigrants "neither expelled or repatriated directly by CBP nor continuously detained by ICE" remain in the US years later. Those illegal immigrants not removed from the country after 12 months "are rarely repatriated after that."
Highlighting another portion of Wetherell’s 2023 decision, the report stated, "the more persuasive evidence establishes that [the Biden-Harris administration] effectively incentivized what they call ‘irregular migration’…by establishing policies and practices that all-but-guaranteed that the vast majority of aliens arriving at the Southwest Border who were not excluded under the Title 42 Order would not be detained and would instead be quickly released into the country."
"One would expect that amidst skyrocketing illegal crossings that the administration would request more ICE detention beds to increase enforcement capacity," the committee questioned. Instead, the Biden-Harris administration has reportedly asked for "fewer ICE beds than the prior administration, while also failing to use all the beds made available by Congress."
"After requesting fewer beds and refusing to fill them, the Biden-Harris administration was even preparing to roll out a plan in July 2024 'to eliminate in-person check-ins for migrants and replace them with an app,' further reducing ICE’s ability to enforce immigration law."
The report stated that DHA data has revealed an estimated total of 16.8 million illegal immigrants in the US, with less than two percent being under any sort of ICE supervision, and just .25 percent being detained.
"If detention is one side of the immigration-enforcement coin, removal is the other. The Biden-Harris administration has largely refused to meet its statutory obligation to remove illegal aliens," the report added, saying that ICE removals under the Biden-Harris administration has grown.
The report noted that "by 2022, the Biden-Harris administration had 'quietly ended the practice of detaining immigrant families' altogether. Dustin Caudle, deputy chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector, told the Committee during an official transcribed interview in September 2023 that 65-70 percent of encounters in his sector had ended in release since January 2021."
The report stated that in January, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had admitted that the then-current release rate for illegal immigrants caught at the southern border was "above 85 percent."
In a March 2023 decision, Federal judge Kent Wetherell wrote in a ruling striking down a release policy of Mayorkas, "the evidence establishes that in late January or early February of 2021, DHS made a discrete change in detention policy from ‘release only if there is a compelling reason to’ to ‘release unless there is a compelling reason not to.’"
"This radical shift" in the release of illegal immigrants "was clear from the start," the report stated.
The report later added, "It is important to note that the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) mandates any inadmissible alien who enters the United States be detained—from the moment they are encountered until they are removed or found to have a lawful basis to remain in the country. Instead of taking steps to meaningfully comply with this mandate, as previous administrations have, Biden, Harris, and Mayorkas devised and implemented a comprehensive and unlawful agenda of mass 'catch and release,’ which has led to the release of millions of inadmissible aliens into American communities."
The committee stated that "undermining the law ensures that illegal aliens will almost never be removed," noting that DHS data has revealed that 82 percent of illegal immigrants "neither expelled or repatriated directly by CBP nor continuously detained by ICE" remain in the US years later. Those illegal immigrants not removed from the country after 12 months "are rarely repatriated after that."
Highlighting another portion of Wetherell’s 2023 decision, the report stated, "the more persuasive evidence establishes that [the Biden-Harris administration] effectively incentivized what they call ‘irregular migration’…by establishing policies and practices that all-but-guaranteed that the vast majority of aliens arriving at the Southwest Border who were not excluded under the Title 42 Order would not be detained and would instead be quickly released into the country."
"One would expect that amidst skyrocketing illegal crossings that the administration would request more ICE detention beds to increase enforcement capacity," the committee questioned. Instead, the Biden-Harris administration has reportedly asked for "fewer ICE beds than the prior administration, while also failing to use all the beds made available by Congress."
"After requesting fewer beds and refusing to fill them, the Biden-Harris administration was even preparing to roll out a plan in July 2024 'to eliminate in-person check-ins for migrants and replace them with an app,' further reducing ICE’s ability to enforce immigration law."
The report stated that DHA data has revealed an estimated total of 16.8 million illegal immigrants in the US, with less than two percent being under any sort of ICE supervision, and just .25 percent being detained.
"If detention is one side of the immigration-enforcement coin, removal is the other. The Biden-Harris administration has largely refused to meet its statutory obligation to remove illegal aliens," the report added, saying that ICE removals under the Biden-Harris administration has grown.
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