New federal data reveals that authorities have released 61,000 migrants into the United States, while another 42,600 entered without being detected.
A report published in The Denver Gazette revealed that it is the first time that an administration has given the green light to the release of immigrants without telling them when to appear in court, as previous administrations did during the waves.
The recent release figures do not include the thousands of unaccompanied children who are also being released and handed over to family members or guardians in the United States.
According to Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, Border Patrol agents are so overwhelmed, that they have begun releasing families without providing them with documents that require them to appear before a judge.
Cuellar tweeted: “It’s critical that we address the factors that have increased migration to our southern border. While we’ve improved operational efforts once migrants are in our custody, we can’t let up on efforts on the inflow factors leading migrants to take this journey in the first place.”
In normal situations, people detained at the border are arrested by the Border Patrol to later be processed and their asylum petition cases analyzed.
According to the law, these people can spend up to 20 days in family residential centers monitored by ICE; However, due to the current crisis, there was a procedural delay that forced the authorities to release the majority.
The biggest change now is that the families are being released directly by the Border Patrol rather than being sent to ICE.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that it would implement measures to further relax restrictions on asylum.
According to the Associated Press, the Biden government eventually agreed to allow about 250 people each day through the border crossings with Mexico to request refuge in the United States.
