Status of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Six-Pivotal Plan and Expected Improvements in Transport, Immigration, and Asymmetries
The DHS released a six-pillar plan in the spring but has since been updated according to a document obtained by CNN. It includes scaling up ground and air transportation capabilities to transport migrants for processing and remove them, leaning on a CBP One mobile application to process asylum seekers, and increasing referrals for prosecutions for repeat border crossers, the document said.
As the agency expects a surge of migrants with the lifting of Title 42, it plans to impose legal consequences on those who cross unlawfully and don’t have a legal basis to stay in the United States, the plan states.
The document says that there is a surge in resources to the southern border and that it includes the hiring of 1,000 Border Patrol processing officers, as well as 2,500 contractors and personnel from government agencies.
The federal government has also added 10 soft-sided facilities to increase Customs and Border Protection holding capacity by over one-third since 2021, the plan states. The agency said that it had doubled transportation capacity for detained migrants.
We will continue to increase our ground and air transportation capabilities, which include hundreds of flights and bus routes per week, to bring noncitizens who are arrested at the border back to their home or third country.
According to the six-pillar plan, CBP spends 30% less time processing migrants now compared to early last year – which will help mitigate overcrowding of CBP facilities.
Increased referrals for prosecutions are being made for non-citizens trying to evade apprehension, repeat offenders, and those engaged in smuggling efforts, according to the plan.
DHS also plans to continue targeting transnational criminal organizations who smuggle migrants and working with international partners and nongovernmental agencies on the border.
The Biden Administration Prepares a Surge at the Border: Comments on a Phone Call from the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
As administration officials considered a border proposal reminiscent of the Trump era this month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Ron Klain, President Joe Biden’s chief of staff, with concerns, according to three sources with knowledge of the call.
It was indicative of the precarious position Biden was in as officials tried to fend off Republicans hammering the administration over its handling of the border and appease Democrats worried about barring asylum seekers from the US.
The termination of the authority is expected to lead to an increase in border crossings since authorities will no longer be able to quickly expel them as has been done since March 2020.
There is a legislative sprint underway, and Schumer and Klain speak frequently to one another. But the border issue’s emergence in discussion provides a window into a complex policy and political moment.
Schumer, a New York Democrat who has long pressed the administration to terminate Title 42, is far from alone. Administration officials have received a steady stream of calls from lawmakers as well as state and local officials, reflecting often sharply divergent views on the merits of the authority, people familiar with the matter said. The calls, however, all echoed consistent concerns about the termination of Title 42 and what it will mean along the border in recent weeks.
It’s a dynamic that has played out as the Biden administration intensively prepares for a moment officials have long grappled with how to navigate. The latest phase of the effort has already been going on for years and officials were aware at the beginning of the season that the policy would come to an end. Increased levels and resources are expected in the days ahead, with personnel and technology infrastructure directed to key entry points.
When asked if the administration had concerns about a surge at the border after Title 42 goes away, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre listed a series of personnel, processing and infrastructure attempts that have been put into place.
Jean-Pierre told reporters at the White House that the work would be done and that they would be prepared.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/14/politics/biden-administration-prepares-surge/index.html
Biden Administration Preparing a Surge: Bipartisan Immigration Strategy for the Western Hemisphere Beyond the Second Lorentzian Congress
Still, the cross-cutting viewpoints on border policy have converged with the significant diplomatic component tied to managing a rapid shift in the countries of origin of the migrants apprehended at the border, one that has added a new layer of difficulty for the administration.
Administration officials have said that congress will be the only viable long-term solution, noting the bipartisan framework released in the Senate last week.
According to sources familiar with the discussions, however, the long-shot bipartisan immigration deal led by Sens. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, and Kyrsten Sinema, who recently announced that she is leaving the Democratic party and registering as an independent, is essentially dead this Congress.
The framework was unlikely to build much steam in the last minute of the session.
They have already had to deal with tens of thousands of migrants crossing the border daily and are expecting more in the coming days and weeks.
CNN reported that White House officials talk to DHS officials about plans on a daily basis. The National Security Council has been involved in the management of migration in the western hemisphere.
We have worked really hard to make sure we put in place a process that is orderly and humane. Jake Sullivan, national security adviser, said that they can protect their security concerns by doing so.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/14/politics/biden-administration-prepares-surge/index.html
The 21st Immigration Crisis: State, Local, and Non-Mexicans Coordinated with El Paso Mayorkas
If adopted, the asylum proposal would be reminiscent of a policy put in place during the Trump administration that dramatically limited the ability of migrants to claim asylum in the US if they resided or traveled through other countries prior to coming to the US. Nobody has made a decision on the proposal.
Administration officials have also set other plans in motion in anticipation of a surge of migrants when Trump-era Covid restrictions are lifted this month following a court order blocking the use of Title 42. The legal fight intensified this week when 19 Republican-led states asked a federal appeals court to rule on their request to suspend the termination of the policy by Friday, according to a court filing.
Two Homeland Security officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity stressed there have been hours long meetings each day to plan for possible temporary facilities and ways to return non-Mexican migrants to Mexico through existing legal mechanisms.
The current asylum system is under severe strain and the need for congressional action to update outdated statutes is required by the DHS.
The 21st will be a disaster. There are so many things in the pipeline, but nothing is ready (to) go,” one official said, referring to December 21 when Title 42 is set to end.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas underscored the whole of government approach in a statement, noting that mass movement of people around the globe has posed a uniquely difficult challenge.
“Despite our efforts, our outdated immigration system is under strain; that is true at the federal level, as well as for state, local, NGO, and community partners. He said that a large increase in migrant encounters will strain the immigration and asylum system because there is no Congressional action to reform it.
It will take more resources and time, and so we need the cooperation of Congress, state and local officials, NGOs, and communities.
He doesn’t understand why they keep avoiding the border and saying that other things are more important than visiting it. You should show up if there is a crisis. Just show up.”
El Paso city officials said Tuesday they’re monitoring the situation and are in ongoing discussions with federal, state, and local partners. Mayorkas also visited El Paso on Tuesday where he met with the Customs and Border Protection workforce and local officials.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/14/politics/biden-administration-prepares-surge/index.html
Biden’s Ask for $3 billion to Prepare for Title 42: Reply to the Biden Administration’s Office of Border Security and Implications to Nonprofits
A source familiar with the Biden administration’s ask said they were asking for $3 billion as they prepare for the end of Title 42.
“If Republicans in Congress are serious about border security, they would ensure that the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security have the resources they need to secure our border and build a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system,” White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan said in a statement.
If nonprofits can’t handle the influx of arrivals then the city may bus migrants to other locations as they have done in the past.