EXCLUSIVE: Fox News confirmed on Sunday that Border Patrol agents in the Vale do Rio Grande (RGV) Sector have started to prosecute and release illegal cruisers seeking asylum without issuing an Attendance Notification (NTA) – allowing them to leave custody without scheduling a court date for a hearing.
The unprecedented shift places the responsibility for seeking an asylum hearing for migrants through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or legal assistance.
BORDER PATROL RELEASING ILLEGAL CRUISES FOR US WITHOUT COURT DATE
Several Border Patrol agents confirmed the new process to Fox News, revealing that they were instructed to use the prosecutor’s (DP) discretion to forgo the hours of paperwork required to issue an NTA amid an increase in border migrants.
Instead, migrants are registered in the system with biometric data collected and widely disseminated to the public – in one instance – at a bus station in McAllen, TX. Processing is being done mainly at a temporary external processing location. Border Patrol agents emphasized that this does not apply to unaccompanied children.
BIDEN ADMIN ALLOWED MOST MIGRANT FAMILIES THAT SURRENDER ON THE BORDER FOR US
A senior Customs and Border Protection (CBP) source told Fox News on Saturday that officials were considering the controversial move because the ongoing border crisis “has become so dire that BP [Border Patrol] you have no choice but to release people almost immediately after the seizure, because there is no space to hold people back or even to do the necessary NTA paperwork. “
The process of issuing an NTA for each migrant can take hours per individual or family.
The decision comes while the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working to open another facility for unaccompanied migrant children in Pecos, Texas, the Refugee Resettlement Office (ORR) announced on Saturday.
The Temporary Influx Care Facility would house at least 500 unaccompanied minors to start, with a capacity to house 2,000 children.
“While ORR has worked to increase its licensed bed capacity to almost 13,500 beds, additional capacity is urgently needed to manage improved COVID-19 mitigation strategies and the growing number of DHS UC referrals,” said a spokesperson. voice of the ORR.
The head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, said last week that border crossings should be the highest in 20 years.
The CBP announced that it found more than 100,000 migrants at the border in February, while the number of migrant children in custody has also increased dramatically. The Biden administration has moved to increase the facility’s capacity to house migrants and build a number of extra facilities – including observing NASA sites and military bases.
The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection did not respond to Fox News’s request for comment.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.