Homeland Security

Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee are skipping a hearing in Texas on Wednesday, marking the second instance this year of a group of congressional Democrats refusing to attend an official field hearing at the border with Republicans. 

Committee ranking member Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said Democrats made the decision “after careful consideration” and accused Republicans of “traveling to the border to attack the Administration” instead of going on a “fact-finding mission.”

“Unfortunately, it has become clear that Republicans planned to politicize this event from the start, breaking with the Committee’s proud history of bipartisanship,” Thompson said in a statement shared by Fox News. . . . Read more about Democrats to Skip Another Border Hearing, Claim GOP Going to Texas ‘to Attack’ Biden

President Joe Biden’s border chief has hired a lawyer who champions civil rights for migrants — but who also urges officials to use the “magic answer [of] prosecutorial discretion” to negate the civil rights of Americans.

The lawyer, Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, has been invited to work as the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Officer (CRCL) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to her employer, Penn State. The office uses Americans’ civil rights laws to help pull migrants into Americans’ society.

Wadhia won the job after repeatedly urging border officials to negate Americans’ immigration with “the magic answer [of] prosecutorial discretion,” as she told a UCLA interviewer in November 2020. . . . Read more about Biden Pick Touts ‘Magic Answer’ to Nullify Popular Border Laws

“In a remarkable admission, the Biden Department of Homeland Security concedes that the overwhelming majority of migrants pouring across our southern border are attempting to defraud our political asylum system. That crisis is about to get a whole lot worse when Title 42 is canceled, and an estimated 11,000-13,000 illegal migrants are expected to be encountered every day.

“DHS’s response is a 153-page proposed “temporary” rule change that is designed not to halt the flow of illegal migrants, but merely to create a more orderly process for people to abuse our asylum system. In other words, the real objective is not to end large-scale asylum abuse, but rather to get them through the next election cycle. . . .

  Read more about DHS Proposed 153-Page Rule Change Concedes that Asylum Fraud is the Real ‘Root Cause’ of the Border Crisis

Migrants are entering El Paso, Texas, at a crushing rate of 2,500 a day, but Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas managed to miss them during his visit to the beleaguered border city this week. The surge of illegal aliens is spilling onto the streets of El Paso, taxing already strained social services. Frustrated city officials report that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is releasing migrants into the community en masse.But    Mayorkas didn’t witness any of this for himself. In a tightly choreographed stop on Tuesday, the secretary met with Border Patrol agents at headquarters but did not tour any CBP processing centers, and he skirted around streets and alleys where migrants are dumped. . . . Read more about Mayorkas Turns a Blind Eye to the Bad Optics in El Paso

EAGLE PASS, Texas — Groups of migrants crossed the Rio Grande as the Border Patrol braces for the end of Title 42 enforcement. The parties forded the river and surrendered to authorities near the heart of the city on Tuesday.

The groups, numbering up to 30 in size, walked from the riverbank and surrendered to Texas Army National Guard soldiers posted in the vicinity. The guardsmen detained the migrants and arranged for their transfer to Border Patrol custody.

The crossings are significantly reduced during the daylight hours, according to law enforcement sources in the Eagle Pass area. A source within CBP says . . . Read more about Steady Stream of Migrants Flow into West Texas Border Town Before Title 42 Ends

Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended nearly 10,000 migrants during the past week. Officials estimate more than 4,000 more got away without being apprehended.

Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens tweeted a weekly recap for his sector reporting the apprehension of 9,992 migrants during the last week. In addition, another 4,232 migrants are classified as known got-aways. . . . Read more about 10K Migrants Apprehended in One Texas Border Sector Last Week, 4K More Got Away

President Joe Biden’s border agency has sent a small number of rescued Cuban migrants into a holding center at a U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a U.S. government broadcast network.

“More than 20 Cuban citizens are currently in the Migrant Operations Center, at the Guantánamo Naval Base (MOC), waiting for a third country to grant them refuge,” Radio Television Marti reported. The site added: The 28 migrants were rescued [at sea] by the Coast Guard and, later, transferred to the Guantánamo Naval Base in boats of the official entity between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022. . . . Read more about Mayorkas Detains Cuban Migrants in Guantanamo Bay

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