Tag: Migrants

Border Patrol’s Fentanyl Seizures Increase by 4,000 Percent Amid Crisis, Officials Say

Minnesota Sun Staff
Twitter post that states "Officers at #CBPLaredo remain at the forefront of border security operations to protect the public of lethal narcotics, as seen in this seizure of fentanyl worth $384K."

Border officials seized 4,000% more fentanyl in 2021 than in 2018 as the border crisis continues, NBC News reported Tuesday.

Cartels have taken advantage of increased federal resources allocated for migrant encounters to smuggle fentanyl into the U.S. between ports of entry, according to NBC News. Border officials have found 41 pounds of fentanyl in fiscal year 2021, compared with nine pounds in 2020, two pounds in 2019 and one pound in 2018.

“For the first time, we’re starting to see these tactics where fentanyl is being smuggled between ports of entry,” Chief Border Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez said, NBC News reported. “Cartels are very creative. They find ways to intimidate migrants and find ways to illegally have them transport that narcotic into the United States.”

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Biden Admin to Launch Government-Wide Effort to Make Up to 9 Million Immigrants Citizens

Minnesota Sun Staff

The Biden administration is expected to launch a government-wide effort to make up to 9 million immigrants living in the U.S. citizens, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Friday.

President Joe Biden asked federal agencies to work on “welcoming strategies that promote integration, inclusion, and citizenship,” through an executive order, according to CNN. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the agency’s plan to “breaking down barriers to U.S. citizenship” and promote naturalization for immigrants who are eligible.

“The idea is to find a whole-of-government way to reach out to people who are able to naturalize,” a USCIS official reportedly told CNN. The official said there are around 9 million immigrants living in the U.S. as lawful permanent residents who could be eligible for citizenship.

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Biden Admin Looks for Ways to Track Up to 100,000 Migrants Released into the U.S.

Minnesota Sun Staff
The temporary processing facilities in Donna, Texas, February 25, 2021, constructed to safely process family units and unaccompanied alien children (UACs) encountered and in the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol. The facility will provide processing capacity in the RGV while the permanent Centralized Processing Center in McAllen is renovated. CBP photo by Jerry Glaser

The Biden administration solicited information that could help form a National Case Management Program to track up to 100,000 migrants released into the U.S. annually, documents uploaded Monday show.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would manage the program aimed at migrant adults aged 18 to 21 and other “vulnerable populations” to make sure the migrants are safe and prepared to attend their immigration court hearings, documents show. The request is solely for information gathering and does not mean the federal government will contract with any company that responds.

The program would “ensure that the program participants are safe, stable, and able to prepare for and attend their upcoming court dates and other immigration obligations and have access to legal and other services as needed while in the community,” according to the documents.

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Trump Says Southern Border Is ‘More Dangerous Than It’s Ever Been’ Under Biden

Minnesota Sun Staff

Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday the southern border is “more dangerous than it’s ever been” after the Biden administration reversed most of Trump’s immigration policies, Fox News reported.

The Biden administration ended Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” program on June 1 and is eyeing an end to public health order Title 42 that allows border officials to rapidly expel most migrants to Mexico at the end of July, Axios reported June 20. Biden also said he would stop construction on the border wall, prompting Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to announce plans for the state to begin construction on its own wall, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported.

“There has never been a border so secure as the southern border that we had, and now it’s opened up,” Trump said, according to Fox News. “Now we have an open, really dangerous, border. More dangerous than it’s ever been in the history of our country, and we better go back fast.”

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Over 3,200 Migrants Waiting to Enter the U.S. Have Been Attacked in Mexico Since Biden Took Office: Report

Minnesota Sun Staff
Group of immigrants at border

More than 3,200 migrants were attacked in Mexico while waiting to enter the U.S. since President Joe Biden took office, an advocacy organization announced Monday.

Around 3,250 asylum-seeking migrants who were either prevented from entering or expelled from the U.S. to Mexico were targets of kidnapping, rape, human trafficking, sexual assault and armed assault from Jan. 20 through June 17, according to advocacy group Human Rights First.

“Violent attacks against asylum seekers and migrants unable to reach safety in the United States due to the failure of the Biden administration to uphold refugee law and restart asylum processing continue to rise,” the organization said in a statement.

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Biden Admin Considering Ending the Public Heath Order Allowing Officials to Expel Migrants Next Month

Minnesota Sun Staff

The Biden administration is considering ending a Trump-era public health order that’s allowed border officials to rapidly expel most migrants from Mexico on July 21, Axios reported Sunday.

The public health order, Title 42, was implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and border officials have expelled tens of thousands of migrants under the rule, according to Axios. Immigration advocacy groups and Democrats have criticized the Biden administration for the policy and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials protested using the order to expel migrants arriving at the border, Axios reported.

“It’s not a tool of immigration policy,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said of Title 42 during a trip to Mexico City Tuesday, Reuters reported. He added that the order would remain in effect as long as it would benefit public health.

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Immigration Cases Have Doubled Since 2017

Minnesota Sun Staff
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Immigration cases deciding if migrants will be legally allowed to stay in the U.S. have doubled since 2017, according to migration data released Monday.

Over 1.3 million cases are pending, with more than 110,000 pending in New York courts alone, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). Migrants wait an average of two and a half years for a judge to decide their case, Axios reported Monday.

“The number of pending deportation cases more than doubled during the Trump administration, but the court backlog still continues to grow under the Biden administration,” TRAC Assistant Professor Austin Kocher told the Daily Caller News Foundation Tuesday.

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Thousands of Migrants Biden Said Would Be Allowed to Enter the U.S. Turned Back to Mexico

Minnesota Sun Staff

Thousands of migrants ordered to remain in Mexico as their asylum cases were processed were returned to the country indefinitely despite the Biden administration admitting most of the remaining cases into the U.S., the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

President Joe Biden ended former President Donald Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) requiring migrants to “Remain in Mexico” and has admitted thousands of the 26,000 migrants with active cases into the U.S., the AP reported. Judges have terminated proceedings in nearly 6,700 MPP cases, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).

“Things have changed under the Biden administration and we’ve seen a little over 8,000 individuals previously in MPP have their cases transferred out of an MPP court, which suggests that they have been allowed into the US under the more standard asylum processing procedures,” Syracuse University Assistant Research Professor Dr. Austin Kocher told the Daily Caller News Foundation Thursday.

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Increased Number of Migrants from India and Haiti Attempting to Cross into the U.S.

Minnesota Sun Staff

An increasing number of migrants from India, Romania, Haiti and Cuba are attempting to enter the U.S. through the southern border, Axios reported Wednesday.

Migrants are reportedly flying to Central America since U.S. courts are backlogged with asylum cases preventing them from living or working in the country as their case is processed, according to Axios. Border officials encountered over 33,000 migrants from countries other than Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador attempting to enter the U.S. in April, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

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Nearly 500 Migrants Biden Admin Rejected Have Been Attacked, Kidnapped: Report

Minnesota Sun Staff

Nearly 500 attacks targeted asylum seekers waiting or stranded in Mexico since President Joe Biden’s inauguration, Human Rights First reported Tuesday.

Migrants waiting at the U.S.-Mexico border reported at least 492 instances of violent attacks including kidnapping, rape and assault, according to Human Rights First. Over 16,000 asylum-seeking migrants at the Mexican border were on a “metering” waitlist to request protection in the U.S. as of February.

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Over 172,000 Migrants Encountered at the Southern Border in March

Minnesota Sun Staff

More than 172,000 migrants were encountered at the southern border in March, according to Customs and Border Protection.

Officials apprehended nearly 19,000 unaccompanied migrant minors, around 53,600 family units and over 99,000 single adults, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Encounters were up 71% in March from February.

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Like a ‘Drunk Tank’ — CBP Union Official Describes Migrant Detention Facility with Concrete Benches and Limited Resources

Minnesota Sun Staff

RIO GRANDE VALLEY — The overcrowded Customs and Border Protection facility holding migrants in Donna, Texas, was not designed for long-term detention, National Border Patrol Council spokesman Chris Cabrera told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is holding migrants in overcrowded cells constructed from clear plastic curtains that contain a toilet, a water fountain and concrete benches, Cabrera told the DCNF on an exclusive tour near the border. Migrants are being held for long periods of time in a facility that was intended for short-term detention, Cabrera added.

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CBP Detaining as Many as 9,000 Migrants Daily, Around Half of Them Are Unaccompanied Minors and Families

Minnesota Sun Staff
border surge

Customs and Border Protection is detaining as many as 9,000 migrants daily and over half of them are unaccompanied minors and families, a senior U.S. Border Patrol official said Friday.

Around 6,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended Thursday including 1,900 unaccompanied migrant minors and families who were processed under Title 8, according to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) senior official. Title 42 is still used to expel most single migrant adults and U.S. officials are working with other countries to identify the migrants coming into the U.S., the official said.

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Ambassador Callista Gingrich Commentary: The Human Crisis at the U.S. Southern Border

Minnesota Sun Staff
Border Surge

The surge of migrants at the U.S. southern border has dramatically increased in recent months.  According to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas, “We are on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years.”

In February, changes in U.S. border policy and the search for a better life incentivized more than 100,000 migrants to travel to the United States and cross the southern border.  

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Border Patrol Holding Thousands of Migrant Children Past The Legal Limit, Some Detained Longer Than 10 Days

Minnesota Sun Staff

Customs and Border Protection has held at least 800 unaccompanied migrant minors in custody for over 10 days, Axios reported

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can legally hold unaccompanied minors for 72 hours, though over 3,300 were in custody over the limit as of Saturday, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by Axios. Over 2,200 unaccompanied minors were held for more than five days and around 820 were in custody for over 10 days.

The number of unaccompanied minors in CBP custody for over 10 days has quadrupled in the last week, Axios reported. Only around 180 unaccompanied minors were in CBP custody for over 10 days as of last Monday.

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Mayorkas: Southern Border Crossings on Pace to Hit 20-Year High

Minnesota Sun Staff

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Tuesday that the number of migrants apprehended at the United States’ southern border is on track to hit a two-decade high.

“We are on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years,” Mayorkas said in a statement. “We are expelling most single adults and families. We are not expelling unaccompanied children.”

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Analysis: Why Are So Many Migrants Rushing to the Southern Border?

Minnesota Sun Staff

Changes in Mexican asylum laws and modifications to U.S immigration policy combined with exploitation by smugglers are causing an increase in migrants at the southern U.S. border seeking entry, according to reports.

The Biden administration suspended the ‘remain in Mexico’ program allowing some asylum seekers to enter the U.S. and ended a policy preventing unaccompanied minors from coming into the U.S., The Washington Post reported. Mexico implemented laws banning migrant families from returning if facilities are full and smugglers in Guatemala are exploiting people saying the administration is taking a softer approach towards asylum seekers.

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Judge: US Must Free Migrant Children from Family Detention

The Associated Press

A federal judge on Friday ordered the release of children held with their parents in U.S. immigration jails and denounced the Trump administration’s prolonged detention of families during the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee – who was appointed by President Obama in 2009 – penned the order that applies to children held for more than 20 days at three family detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some have been detained since last year.

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Study: Traffickers Earned Up to $2.3 Billion Smuggling Migrants Into the US

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Jason Hopkins   Research estimates how much human smugglers make from transporting illegal migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border, revealing just how profitable the industry has become amid the current immigration crisis. Human traffickers made anywhere from $200 million to $2.3 billion in 2017 from smuggling migrants to the U.S.,…

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Border Agents Just Made the Biggest Migrant Apprehension Ever: Report

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Jason Hopkins   The U.S. Border Patrol reportedly apprehended the largest single group of illegal immigrants in history, more than doubling the previous record. Border Patrol agents nabbed 1,036 migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday morning, according to a report by NBC News,…

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After More Than a Thousand Fake Families Found, Trump Administration to Begin DNA Testing Illegal Border-Crossers

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Jason Hopkins   The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will soon begin on-the-spot DNA testing of migrants apprehended at the southern border, officials said Wednesday. The pilot program, which is expected to start as soon as the coming week, will take place at two different locations on the U.S.-Mexico…

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Migrant Smugglers Used a Drone to Sneak Illegals Through the Border at Night

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Jason Hopkins   Illegal migrants were spotted using a drone for the first known time to help them cross the U.S. southern border. U.S. Border Patrol agents near El Paso, Texas, monitoring the area with an infrared camera spotted a small airborne object traveling over the U.S.-Mexico border in…

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More Than 103,000 Migrants Reached Southern Border in March

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Jason Hopkins   Law enforcement agents apprehended or turned back 103,492 migrants attempting to reach the U.S. southern border in March, marking the highest month in 12 years. The U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 92,607 individuals between ports of entry at the southern border. Another 10,885 migrants appeared at a…

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Another Migrant Caravan Is Heading Toward The US

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Jason Hopkins   A caravan of mostly Central Americans began its trek toward the United States over the weekend, setting the stage for what will likely be another showdown between border enforcement officials and migrants. Around 1,200 migrants formed a caravan in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas and,…

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Illegal Border Crossings are Down Because Migrants are Applying for Asylum Instead

Admin

by Jason Hopkins   While the number of apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border have gone down, applications for asylum are reaching all-time highs. Around 304,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended at the southwest border during the 2017 fiscal year, a dramatic plunge from the 1.6 million apprehensions recorded in 2000. At…

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Communist Group Encourages Migrants to ‘Remove’ Trump

Admin

by Luke Rosiak   The caravan of migrants that traveled from Honduras to Mexico includes foreign nationals pledging to abolish the U.S. immigration authorities, openly discussing their intent to illegally enter the U.S., and reading communist literature about overthrowing President Donald Trump, according to an in-depth report by journalists on…

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Republicans See Boost From Migrant Caravan Before Midterm Elections – While Democrats Continue to Avoid the Issue

Admin

by Henry Rodgers   Republicans believe their opposition to the migrant caravan filled with thousands of illegal immigrants who are approaching the U.S. border will help energize their base before the Nov. 6 midterm elections, while many Democrats have continued to remain silent on the issue. The caravan, which was roughly…

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