A memo appeared in the press on Thursday, according to which the head of the organization directly responsible for border protection tasks (US Border Patrol) authorized regional border patrol managers to release illegal arrivals without conducting the asylum procedure and without a court date, in case of staff overload, using the so-called pardon using its legal institution.
This is usually used in exceptional cases and rarely, when someone has to be admitted to the country without documents due to an extraordinary event.
According to data from the United States Border Patrol, more than 30,000 illegal border crossers have been apprehended at the US-Mexico border in the past three days.
Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas said at the White House press conference on Thursday that the government "did everything it could, given the available resources and the operating system."
He named the lack of resources as the fundamental cause of the crisis, and added that they have to operate within the framework of a flawed immigration system. In response to a question, he admitted that
they are preparing for chaos at the border and he mentioned a very difficult situation.
Big cities in the United States are also preparing for the arrival of illegal immigrants, the mayor of Denver has asked for financial support from the central government, while in New York, emergency shelters are being set up in Central Park. On the orders of Mayor Eric Adams, several groups of immigrants were transported by bus from the big city to the rural areas of New York State to accommodate them there.
On Thursday, the head of the federal epidemiologic authority asked everyone to be more careful, referring to the expected increase in uncontrolled immigration. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the legislative committee meeting that the agency can rely on the epidemic forecasting network.
At the same time, he drew the attention of doctors to the fact that people who are considered "under-vaccinated" may settle in their communities, and therefore asked them to pay attention to the risks of epidemics.
The Republican majority of the House of Representatives also accepted the border protection bill presented by the party's representatives on Thursday. Among other things, the legislation stipulates the continuation of the construction of the border protection fence, would increase the personnel of the border protection by 22 thousand and improve the technical equipment of the border guard. The acceptance of the law in the upper house, the Senate, which has a Democratic majority, is questionable, after the Democrats in the House of Representatives also rejected it, and President Joe Biden also indicated that he would veto it if it came before it.
According to the executive authority, in the case of admitted migrants, the amnesty measure can be applied on the condition that they undertake to appear at the immigration authority (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) within 60 days, so that the office can start the asylum procedure in their case.
MTI
Cover photo: Migrants from Haiti near the Rio Grande River on the US-Mexico border on September 18, 2021. Del Rio, Texas. SOURCE: AFP/PAUL RATJE
