News about President Obama’s Administration releasing hundreds of Haitians after the election will likely trigger a new pull factor similar to the one currently being experienced in south Texas, says a border patrol union leader.
Breitbart Texas has been reporting on the waves of Haitian immigrants who have been working Mexico’s lax system to get to the U.S. border and request asylum. The move has overwhelmed detention capabilities and prompted Mexican officials to warn about the possible spread of diseases.
On Thursday afternoon, the AP quoted an unnamed U.S. government official who claimed that “releasing immigrants with orders to report later to immigration court is a tactic used when detention space is scarce, under certain humanitarian conditions or as part of efforts to keep families together.”
The move by the current administration comes after the November 8 presidential election when the Department of Homeland Security had tried to present an image of a secure border despite claims by federal agents otherwise. The individuals have been arriving to Mexico’s southern border in Chiapas where they have been turning themselves in to local authorities. The migrants are given a special permit that grants them a 20-day stay in Mexico after which they must leave the country. Haitians have been using those permits to travel to the Arizona and California borders where they arrive at international bridges and request asylum or refugee status.
Speaking as a Vice President for the National Border Patrol Council Local 3307, agent Chris Cabrera said that news of individuals being released at the border will only help trigger more traffic.
“It will only add to the problem,” Cabrera said exclusively to Breitbart Texas. “We saw that with the Central Americans who continue to arrive because they know they will be released. We are already seeing record numbers, this will make the problem worse.”
The current move will add more pressure to an already overwhelmed U.S. Border Patrol since agents will not only have to deal with the increased flow of individuals, but it presents another challenge due to the inability to confirm their identities and backgrounds, Cabrera said.
Since U.S. law enforcement is not able to check on databases in Central America or Haiti, agents are often not able to properly vet the individuals requesting protected status.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project and you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.