Despite the Biden administration claiming that more than 10,000 illegal immigrants massed at a makeshift migrant camp in Texas are being deported, thousands of them are being released into the United States on a “very large scale” — simply being told to report to an immigration office in 60 days.
Some of the illegal immigrants numbering up to 15,000 holed up under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas, for the past week are being put on buses by Department of Homeland Security officials and sent to El Paso, Laredo and other locations along the Texas border, The Associated Press reported.
Others are being put on flights to Tucson, Ariz., the report said, citing US officials.
The sources said the mostly Haitian migrants have been freed on a “very, very large scale” in recent days and the number could reach into the thousands.
Many of them have been freed after being given a notice to show up at an immigration office within 60 days to hasten the processing time for Border Patrol agents who have been overwhelmed by the throng coming across the Rio Grande.
The illegal immigrants will be processed when they arrive at their destinations in the US.
An official told the AP that a large number of Haitians were being processed under immigration laws and not being put on the deportation flights that began Sunday, but the source couldn’t be specific about the numbers.
The revelation that illegal immigrants are being released in the US comes just days after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned that people crossing the border would be returned to their countries.
“If you come to the United States illegally, you will be returned. Your journey will not succeed and you will be endangering your life and your family’s lives,” Mayorkas said during a visit to Del Rio on Monday, insisting the border is closed.
One migrant, Mackenson Veillard, found himself at a gas station in Del Rio waiting for a Greyhound bus to take him and his pregnant wife to San Antonio, where a cousin lives.
Three hours earlier, the couple was in the migrant camp under the International Bridge in Del Rio.
“I felt so stressed,” Veillard told the AP. “But now, I feel better. It’s like I’m starting a new life.”
He and his wife were processed and released on Monday.
Wade McMullen, an attorney with the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights nonprofit, said the administration has not been forthcoming about what’s happening with the illegal immigrants, as well as how many have been released in the US or deported.
Mayorkas, testifying before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday, failed to come up with a “ballpark” estimate for how many of the more than 1 million illegal immigrants apprehended at the border this year have been released in the US, were deported or are still being held.
“You have repeatedly stated that our borders are not open, they’re closed. Do you honestly believe that our borders are closed?” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) pressed him during the hearing.
After a tense exchange between Mayorkas and Johnson, the DHS secretary admitted he didn’t have the data.
At a House hearing on Wednesday, Mayorkas was once again asked to come up with the numbers.
“I worked 18 hours,” he complained, claiming that when he returned from Tuesday’s Senate hearing, he was focused on the situation rather than finding data.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki was later pressed on who would have the data.
Mayorkas, testifying before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday, failed to come up with a “ballpark” estimate for how many of the 1.3 million illegal immigrants apprehended at the border this year have been released in the US, were deported or are still being held.
“You have repeatedly stated that our borders are not open, they’re closed. Do you honestly believe that our borders are closed?” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) pressed him during a hearing.
After a tense exchange between Mayorkas and Johnson, the DHS secretary admitted he didn’t have the data.
At a House hearing on Wednesday, Mayorkas was once again asked to come up with the numbers.
“I worked 18 hours,” he complained, claiming that when he returned from Tuesday’s Senate hearing, he was focused on the situation rather than finding data.
She replied that it was DHS, then said, ‘‘We wanted to have the most up-to-date numbers and we will venture to get you those — I promise — this afternoon.’’ By Wednesday evening, that hadn’t happened,.
Besides the government releasing illegal immigrants into the US interior, private groups are helping them enter.
Fox News reported that a group of illegal immigrants was put on a bus after being processed and given a notice to appear before an immigration judge in 60 days.
In McAllen, Texas, they were met by charity workers who provided them with food, shelter and, sometimes, transportation.
