According to court documents filed on Monday, the Border Patrol has processed and released over 6,413 migrants into the United States since early Thursday without court dates or the ability to track them. Among them, 2,576 were released after a judge had ordered the agency to cease this practice the following day.
In a sworn declaration, David BeMiller, Chief of Law Enforcement Operations for the Border Patrol, acknowledged that the agency was aware of the court’s ruling blocking the release of migrants under the “parole with conditions” policy. This policy allowed border agents to release migrants without court dates or tracking when their facilities became overcrowded.
BeMiller explained that due to the timing of the court order, 2,576 migrants who had already undergone full processing were awaiting release, leading them to be released under the provisions of the policy.
Following the issuance of the temporary restraining order, BeMiller stated that “all sectors had ceased releases for the day for any noncitizens who were fully processed.” Consequently, on Friday, the Border Patrol released those noncitizens who had been fully processed before the court order took effect.
It is important to note that, in addition to the migrants released under “parole with conditions,” there have been other migrants released into the country to pursue asylum claims with court dates. These individuals have undergone thorough security screenings.
The policy of “parole with conditions” was introduced by the Biden administration shortly before the expiration of the Title 42 Covid ban. Title 42, which had been in effect since 2020 and blocked over 2.5 million border crossings, expired recently. In the days leading up to its expiration, there was a surge in the number of migrants crossing the border. However, since the end of Title 42, the number of migrants crossing the southern border has declined for the fourth consecutive day. On Monday, Border Patrol apprehended just over 3,700 undocumented migrants.
The number of migrants in Customs and Border Protection processing centers has also decreased from over 28,000 last Wednesday to slightly over 18,000 as of late Friday, according to an administration official.
Furthermore, Blas Nuñez-Neto, Assistant Secretary of Border Policy and Immigration at the Department of Homeland Security, reported that 2,400 Mexicans, along with hundreds of Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans, have been returned to their respective countries since the lifting of Title 42. The department has also facilitated the return of thousands of migrants to their home countries since the end of the Covid ban.
