Fmr. Obama Acting ICE Director: ‘Majority’ of Arrivals at Border Will Be Released for Years, and That Will ‘Draw People Here’

On Friday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” John Sandweg, who served as acting ICE Director during the Obama administration, called for better funding for the asylum system and stated that most of the people arriving at the border now “will be released into the United States” and won’t be in court for several years and that this is “what’s going to continue to draw people here.”

Sandweg began by saying that the Biden administration is probably happy with how things are going at the border in the wake of Title 42 ending so far, and their strategy has been a success so far.

He added that there need to be more resources for the asylum system and “unless and until we fund this, we’re not going to get a handle on the situation, unless people know there’s integrity in the system. Look, I hate to say it, a lot of the people, the majority of the people we’re seeing in these images…will be released into the United States. They will be subject to enforcement. They will have court dates, but those court dates won’t be for three, four, five years before there’s a decision on their asylum case. And it’s just — that’s what’s going to continue to draw people here. And it’s hard to say that we have true enforcement unless and until we have a system in place where — look, I want to give asylum to people who deserve it, but, at the same time, we just can’t take three, four, five years to make a determination.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett