The group from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua – possibly the largest in history – ran across the Rio Grande into El Paso, where local officials are releasing hundreds of migrants back onto the streets and border officials are bracing for a surge in crossers. Footage shows the migrants wading through the water carrying belongings and then waiting in line on the river’s bank to be processed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials.
Title 42, the COVID policy of expelling migrants when they reach the border, is set to come to an end on December 21 – just four days before Christmas. Overworked border guards fear thousands could cross into the U.S. from Central America every day and will be overwhelmed by the influx.
Mexican authorities appeared to have assisted the illegal crossings, with images emerging of police escorting nearly 20 buses filled with migrants into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which is directly across the border from El Paso.
As the pandemic-era policy winds down just before Christmas, House Republicans warn in a letter obtained by DailyMail.com that the Biden administration’s use of Air Marshals to assist along the border could put ‘the lives and safety of airline passengers at risk’ over the holidays.
Title 42 helped quell the migration crisis at the southern border as immigration officials were able to immediately expel those seeking asylum in the midst of the public health emergency.
President Joe Biden tried to put an end to the policy in May, but received a slew of backlash from Republicans who claimed it was wrong to end a policy while the U.S. was still under health emergency orders. Title 42 was first enacted under former President Donald Trump.
El Paso reports that after the 1,000 crossings on Sunday night, Border Patrol now has more than 5,000 illegal immigrants in custody and has released hundreds onto the streets of U.S. cities.
As Title 42 ends just before Christmas, House Republicans are also warning that the Biden administration’s use of Air Marshals to assist along the border could put ‘the lives and safety of airline passengers at risk’ over the holidays.
GOP Representative Mike Carey of Ohio is leading a request for more information from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose department oversees both Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) as well as the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) – which runs the Federal Air Marshal Service. (SOURCE)
