'Doing Nothing': Border Patrol Union Chief Rips Biden Migrant Policies for 'Benefiting Smugglers'
© REUTERS / ADREES LATIF
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Since taking office, Joe Biden has done away with a number of restrictive measures against illegal migrants set in place by former President Donald Trump. His actions have been slammed by his opponents and vehement GOP critics as fueling the current migrant crisis on the US southern border.
Joe Biden has been torched for not putting an end to the ongoing “catch-and-release” regarding illegal border crossings, with his policy slammed as filing the pockets of drug and people smugglers and cartels.
The current US administration has miserably failed at adequately punishing illegal border crossings, believes Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council.
“First thing I would do is, I would re-implement the Migrant Protection Protocols, but even if he chose not to do that, he could operate within his parameters. Stop the catch-and-release, hold people in our custody here in the United States pending their deportation or asylum proceedings. If he did that, people would stop coming, said Judd, appearing on Friday on "Jesse Watters Primetime."
Migrant Protection Protocols had first been used by ex-president Donald Trump to force asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims were processed in the US.
According to the Border Patrol union chief, the right approach on the issue could have the effect of a “light switch.”
“They will not give the cartels thousands of dollars to be smuggled to the United States if they know they're going to go back. The only people that are benefiting from this are illegal border-crossers, the drug smugglers and the cartels. They're generating billions of dollars ... it is policy that is allowing these people to generate the billions of dollars,” he emphasized.
‘More Illegals, Flow of Deadly Drugs’
Earlier, Judd had weighed in on the impending rescinding of Title 42 by the US Centres for Disease Control as of 23 May.
The immigration measure dates back to the era of former president Donald Trump. It was first invoked by the US public health agency in March 2020 as COVID-19 swept through the country, yet the previous administration in the White House used it effectively to expel persons trying to enter the country illegally via the southern border.
1 April 2022, 16:29 GMT
The Biden administration announced that it was ending the use of Title 42, with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas saying on Friday:
“Title 42 is not an immigration authority, but rather a public health authority used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect against the spread of communicable disease.”
In its statement, the CDC said that after considering current public health conditions, it determined that “an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary.”
"If in fact they do get rid of it on May 23 they're barely giving us a month and a half to get prepared," Brandon Judd voiced his concerns to ABC News.
"There's just no way to get an operation of that magnitude in place in that short of a period of time without there being complete chaos. It's impossible."
The same sentiments have been expressed by border patrol and lawmakers from states bordering Mexico.
1 April 2022, 11:46 GMT
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, faulted the Biden administration for not more expansively implementing the Migrant Protection Protocols.
"Reports the president will rescind Title 42 after refusing to properly implement MPP is setting the stage for hundreds of thousands more illegal encounters and the continued flow of deadly drugs that will poison our communities, as well as opening the door to further human trafficking and misery," said McCaul.
Critics of Title 42 had lambasted the directive as "unjust", claiming its predication on public health concerns was no more than a pretext. However, supporters touted the measure as one of the few remaining after Biden took over the Oval Office to allow the government to swiftly expel illegal migrants.
Immigrants walk along the rail tracks after getting off a train during their journey toward the US-Mexico border in Ixtepec, southern Mexico
© East News / Eduardo Verdugo/AP/MXEV115
Title 42 allows people to be removed from the US in hours as compared with a typically lengthier stay in CBP custody under Title 8 processing.
Concerns expressed by officials and law enforcement come as border arrivals are surging. On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that about 7,100 asylum seekers were arriving daily. This is a substantial high from the daily average of about 5,900 people in February.
