DEL RIO, Texas — A law enforcement source with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), speaking on the condition of anonymity, informed Breitbart Texas more than 130 single adult Venezuelan and Cuban nationals who recently entered the United States will be flown to Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Friday. The flight will depart from Laughlin Air Force Base and likely land at Kirkland AFB.
There are no ICE detention facilities located in Albuquerque, according to the published list of such facilities. To the seasoned anonymous source, this seems odd.
“In my decades of experience with ICE, usually when you load a full plane, the destination is the home country.” He added, “You don’t fly into the interior of the United States, especially when there are places to detain closer to the border.”
The source says he is astonished by the move.
“There is no way ICE intends to detain these aliens through the lengthy asylum process–my intuition is there will be some quick move to release them under the Alternatives to Detention Program, which means they will be released in Albuquerque or some other city in the United States rather than removed to their home country.”
Del Rio has seen a surge in recent illegal crossings by Venezuelan nationals. This border city currently leads the nation in the apprehension of Venezuelans. Prior to the cancellation of the Migrant Protection Protocols by the Biden Administration, Venezuelan nationals were being quickly expelled to Mexico while their asylum claims were weighed.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.