enforcement

On Monday, a large group illegally crossed the southern border into the United States at El Paso, Texas and attacked Border Patrol agents. One individual in the group was carrying a giant Venezuelan flag.

Bill Melugin and Adam Shaw of Fox News reported:

[Border Patrol] said one of the protesters assaulted an agent with a flagpole while another threw a rock at agents, injuring one in the process. That in turn led Border Patrol to initiate crowd-control measures.

"These measures included the use of the authorized less-lethal force pepperball launching system," the statement said. "The crowd then dispersed and returned to Mexico." . . . Read more about Venezuelans Swarm Across Rio Grande at El Paso, Attack Border Patrol

EAGLE PASS, Texas — A source within Customs and Border Protection says an announcement was sent to Border Patrol ordering them to immediately discontinue using Title 42 authority to expel applicable migrants from the United States on Tuesday. The source, not authorized to speak to the media, says “the nightmare is just beginning for us — there is no ‘Plan B’.”

The operating instruction to Border Patrol comes after a court ruling was issued on Tuesday ordering a halt to the use of Title 42 to expel certain migrant cohorts. The ruling was issued by United States District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the District of Columbia. . . . Read more about EXCLUSIVE: ‘Nightmare is Beginning’ as Title 42 Ends, Says CBP Source

WASHINGTON—The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a Florida federal district court opposing the Biden administration’s latest attempt to rid itself of the state of Florida’s lawsuit challenging its policy of catching and releasing illegal aliens.

In moving for summary judgment against Florida, the administration claims it has unbounded discretion about whether to detain and deport illegal aliens, and so its policy of simply not enforcing the law cannot be reviewed by a court. In its brief, IRLI shows that, in fact, Congress very clearly and sharply limited the administration’s discretion when it mandated that illegal aliens be detained and removed from the country. . . . Read more about IRLI Defends Florida in Catch-and-Release Suit

Raul Ortiz was appointed Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol in August 2021 by President Biden because of his willingness to go along with the administration’s lax border enforcement policies. In that role, Ortiz has towed the administration’s line that our borders are secure and our immigration laws are being enforced, even as it is plainly evident that they are not.

However, while Ortiz has been willing to lie for the administration in the media, he drew the line at perjuring himself. In July, Ortiz was deposed, under oath, by the office of the Florida Attorney General in a lawsuit brought by the state against the Biden administration’s handling of the border. A video of that deposition was publicly released in September. In it, Ortiz, under penalty of perjury, effectively calls Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Vice President Kamala Harris liars for claiming that our borders are secure. . . . Read more about Biden’s Handpicked Border Patrol Chief Admits There are No Consequences to Illegal Immigration

Late on Friday October 21, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) finally released the September numbers for illegal aliens encountered at the Southwest Border: 227,547, an all-time high for any September on record. The numbers themselves make it clear why the Biden administration is so keen on keeping them out of the press and away from public view. In a functioning administration, legally mandated reporting of routine data doesn’t require coaxing or righteous vows. Unfortunately for Americans, the Biden administration’s sole function on the border seems to be allowing as many illegal aliens to cross as possible while trying to obscure that fact from the interested public. . . . Read more about Biden’s Belated Border Numbers Tell a Terrifying Tale

In May, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated that the objective of the Biden administration was “safe, orderly… pathways for individuals to be able to access our legal system”, usurping the congressional mandate for a secure border. However, it seems that under current leadership, DHS can’t handle even this watered-down mission. A scathing new report shows that the Biden administration failed to deliver this promised “orderly access” to tens of thousands of illegal aliens it has let into the country. The sheer scale of this failure threatens our already overloaded immigration court system. . . . Read more about Border Incompetence Leaves Over 60,000 Aliens in Limbo, Drawing Fire from All Sides

WASHINGTON—Yesterday, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) submitted a friend-of-court brief in a Maryland district court in support of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is being sued by aliens in a case putting at issue whether immigration law should be rewritten by the court in a way that would provide a large incentive for marriage fraud.

The plaintiffs are a class of aliens who have been given final orders of removal but still seek to stay in the country. The aliens, who had married U.S. citizens at some point but never received green cards on that basis, seek to have the execution of their removal orders suspended so they can apply for certain discretionary relief without being arrested and deported while applying for that relief. If they are deported, they will have to wait years before they can return. If they apply for and are granted the discretionary relief, they still will have to leave the country, but will be able to return more quickly. . . . Read more about The Marriage Maneuver

Approximately 60 previously deported Venezuelan migrants rushed the northbound lane of an international port of entry leading to Brownsville, Texas, Friday. The effort forced a shutdown of the port for several hours.

Mexican authorities were unable to stop the group from entering the facilities of Gateway International Bridge as they made their way toward the U.S. side. Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection rapidly set up barricades and preventative measures to keep individuals from trying to force their way further north. . . . Read more about WATCH: Deported Venezuelan Migrants Shut Down Texas Border Port of Entry

The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), in response to Wednesday’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit declaring the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to be unlawful:

“Yesterday, the Fifth Circuit correctly upheld a federal district judge’s ruling that the Obama-era DACA program is unlawful. Presidents do not have the authority to exempt entire classes of immigration lawbreakers from enforcement, or provide them with authorization to work in the United States, when federal statutes explicitly bar them from being here or working here.

“This ruling could not have been timelier. Building upon what we once thought was the pinnacle of unlawful executive action during the Obama administration, President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have been working around the clock to negate virtually every immigration law on the books. The end result? The worst border crisis in the history of our country with no end in sight. . . . Read more about Appeals Court Ruling Sends a Clear Message that Presidents Cannot Nullify Immigration Law through Executive Action, Says FAIR

The Biden administration opened an investigation into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s flight of illegal immigrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, last month.

The Treasury Department’s inspector general confirmed it is evaluating whether DeSantis allegedly misused COVID-19 relief funds to send the illegal aliens to the wealthy liberal hotspot, said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Wednesday.

A Treasury Department inspector general letter (pdf), dated Oct. 7 and posted by the senator’s office Wednesday, told Markey and other members of Congress that it will evaluate Florida’s COVID-19-related spending. . . . Read more about Treasury Department Investigating DeSantis Illegal Immigrant Flights to Martha’s Vineyard