Staff Reports
A final positive development for Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the issuance of hundreds of deportation charging documents to unauthorized immigrants apprehended and released in May, close to the conclusion of the Title 42 pandemic border expulsion policy. The aforementioned action was prompted by a federal magistrate, who advised the agency to proceed.
ICE makes progress in tracking down Title 42 ‘parole’ violatorshttps://t.co/NUnCi70mG0 pic.twitter.com/wNEDt1e9t2
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) November 24, 2023
It has come to light that almost all of the 2,572 unauthorized immigrants apprehended by the Border Patrol and subsequently released on "parole" have presently submitted their reports to ICE. ICE has exerted considerable effort over the past month to serve them with Notices to Appear, the official charging document for immigration court, of which 645 were issued between mid-October and mid-November.
Notwithstanding this, 413 migrants who have been in the country for six months have yet to be issued an NTA. The absence of action on the part of these entities guarantees that they are not formally subject to deportation proceedings. This directly challenges the assertion made by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that apprehending and releasing migrants is followed up on and expeditiously deports those whose cases do not succeed.
Despite a court order prohibiting parole, the migrants were "paroled" into the country in anticipation of the expiration of the coronavirus pandemic emergency and the end of the Title 42 border policy. The government has been ordered by a federal magistrate to provide an update on their whereabouts and adherence to the parole conditions.
The deputy assistant associate director for detention and deportation at ICE, Daniel Bible, has attributed the delay to a scarcity of resources. Due to the overall high volume of encounters and the limited number of officers tasked with various facets of interior enforcement, he noted, the procedure has taken longer than anticipated.
Possibly most alarming is the fact that, according to a court filing from October, ICE determined that eight of the migrants it detained that month had returned home voluntarily. Concerns are raised regarding the effectiveness of the parole system and ICE's enforcement and monitoring operations in light of this circumstance.
Notably, the Biden administration has in the past advocated for reductions in both the overall budget of ICE and its capacity to apprehend unauthorized immigrants. President Biden, in an unexpected turn of events, has recently requested additional funding from Congress to enable ICE to increase the number of deportation flights and detention accommodations.
While acknowledging the commendable endeavors of ICE in tackling the matter of unauthorized immigration, it is imperative that the organization prioritize the enforcement of immigration laws in order to safeguard the nation and its security. Concerns are raised regarding the efficacy of ICE's operations and the necessity for sufficient resources to accomplish its mission in light of the current situation.
