The Border Patrol union tore into the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday morning, calling its public warnings of “targeted” immigration enforcement a “sad joke” days after dubbing Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Vice President Kamala Harris “clowns.”
The National Border Patrol Council, the service’s official union, lashed out after a Monday press release announced the ops at the border crossing in El Paso, Texas, where thousands of migrants are waiting in the run-up to Title 42 ending Thursday.
“Nothing like publicly announcing that dangerous people will be arrested, while warning them ahead of time exactly where to run and hide to avoid arrest,” the union tweeted in reply to the press release.
“This entire operation is a sad joke – another pandering PR stunt.
“Serious law enforcement leaders don’t behave this way,” the union’s official Twitter page wrote.
The anger was sparked by Homeland Security announcing Monday that Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “will conduct a targeted enforcement operation in El Paso.”
Agents will then “process individuals for vetting and placement into Title 42 expulsion” ahead of it running out later this week, the announcement said. “Noncitizens who pose a threat to national security of public safety will be transferred to ICE for detention.”
“As we have said repeatedly, individuals who do not have a lawful basis to remain will be removed,” Acting Commissioner Troy Miller said in the release.
“Individuals should not listen to the lies of smugglers and instead use lawful pathways to protection.”
The union lashed out after Fox News reporter Bill Melugin noted that “from a strategic standpoint, it is puzzling that DHS would announce this publicly via a press release.”
It “essentially gives these evaders/gotaways a heads up that they are coming,” he tweeted.
“Already hearing from frustrated Border Patrol agents saying the operation will now be worthless,” he said.
What is Title 42 and what does its end mean for US border immigration?
What is Title 42?
Title 42 is a federal health measure enforced by the US Border Patrol. It allows the agency to kick certain migrants out of the US and return them to Mexico. This includes asylum seekers, who under international law have the legal right to make an asylum claim in America.
Currently, migrants who cross the border illegally and who are from Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua or Venezuela are subject to Title 42 and could be sent to Mexico.
How did Title 42 start?
President Donald Trump invoked the law in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue the policy. The Trump administration made the case that keeping migrants out of the country would slow down the spread of infections and maintain the safety of federal agents encountering migrants.
What has happened with Title 42 under Biden?
When President Biden took over, he continued to enforce Title 42 with one important change from his predecessor. Biden said Border Patrol agents were only allowed to expel migrants from certain countries under his direction. That meant migrants seeking asylum from countries like Cuba and Venezuela could still seek asylum if they arrived at the border and stay in the US while their cases were decided in court — unless they had a criminal record.
What is happening with Title 42 now?
Title 42 is supposed to be a health policy, not an immigration law. It will end at 11:59 p.m. May 11, when the Biden administration ends all COVID-19-related policies.
Why is it controversial?
Many have called for the policy’s end, saying it’s illegal and that international law guarantees people the right to seek asylum.
Others, like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, warn that the southern border could see up to 13,000 migrants per day crossing with the intention to stay in the country when the measure ends.
What would the end of Title 42 mean for immigration into the US?
It’s unclear exactly how many people have been expelled under Title 42 because there have been scores of people who have attempted to enter the country numerous times and been rejected again and again, but the US Border Patrol said it made an all-time high of more than 2.3 million arrests at the border in the last fiscal year. Forty percent of people who were expelled from the country were ejected under the rules of Title 42.
The pre-warning comes as El Paso has already been overwhelmed by thousands of fresh arrivals, with an estimated 80,000 South American migrants behind them in Guatemala, heading for the US.
The surge is expected as Title 42, the pandemic-era policy that allowed the US to expel 2.8 million asylum seekers over the past three years due to a health emergency, is due to end at 11:59 p.m. Thursday.
“Our border is getting absolutely crushed … and has been for over 2 years with the worst yet to come,” the Border Patrol union said in an earlier tweet.
After Thursday, “the massive crush of illegal aliens coming through our border will make the last 2 years look like amateur hour,” the union also warned.
“And [President] Biden doesn’t have one clue about how to contain what he’s unleashed. He has a clown running DHS and a worse clown as VP,” it said of Mayorkas and Harris.
“Watch what happens.”
