Border memo contradicts Biden asylum ban- Washington Examiner

EXCLUSIVE — U.S. Border Patrol agents in Southern California have been instructed to admit migrants from far-off countries rather than place them in removal proceedings, a move that goes against the White House’s Tuesday ban on asylum-seekers.

A government document given to federal law enforcement in San Diego, California, following President Joe Biden’s executive order to keep migrants from seeking asylum in the United States advises that migrants from all but six of the more than 100 countries in the Eastern Hemisphere be released into the United States rather than deported.

The instruction contradicts what senior Biden administration officials told reporters in a call on Tuesday would be the case for migrants from Eastern Hemisphere countries who traveled through multiple countries without seeking asylum in order to reach the U.S., referred to as extra-hemispheric migrants.

“Extra-hemispheric migrants have always been a challenge. They will be subject to these rules, provisions,” a senior administration official said. “We’ve also been working with governments all over the world to enhance our ability to repatriate individuals to countries that have historically been challenging. We have, for example, operated repatriation flights to India, to China, to Uzbekistan, to Mauritania, to Senegal over the last few months, and those are all countries that historically would have been much more challenging for us to return individuals to and we anticipate we will continue to enhance our ability to return migrants to the Eastern Hemisphere.”

“So, we do think that the rules measures will allow us to impose an immediate and fast consequence to migrants no matter what country they’re coming from,” the same official said.

The guidance was distributed to agents in the San Diego region, one of the nine areas the Border Patrol divides the southern border into. Each region carries out border enforcement at its own discretion, which is affected by the demographics of migrants who are crossing the border.

For example, in South Texas, migrants from Central America and Mexico who cross are easily removable compared to California, where migrants from Asia, Europe, and Africa are encountered daily and much more difficult to repatriate.

The instructional document leaked to the Washington Examiner on Thursday states that the following orders were in effect in southwestern California in response to Biden’s order.

“Please see updated Presidential Proclamation guidance below, this is effective immediately,” the Border Patrol instructional document states.

Of the more than 100 countries in the Eastern Hemisphere, which includes Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe, just citizens of six countries will not be admitted into the U.S. and allowed to seek asylum.

Only adults from Georgia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan will be referred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for speedy removal. All other migrants from “hard or very hard to remove countries” in the Eastern Hemisphere will be released with documents ordering them to appear in court in the U.S.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection official authorized to speak told the Washington Examiner on Friday morning that under the Biden administration, the government had carried out repatriation flights to more countries in the Eastern Hemisphere than any other. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security conducted 36 repatriation flights, and this year, it has flown illegal migrants back to 15 countries in the Eastern Hemisphere.

However, the CBP official did not disclose the number of removals or the percentage of Eastern Hemisphere migrants whom it claimed are being removed.

The CBP official stated that agents in San Diego would “continue” to put migrants “of all nationalities” into expedited removal proceedings despite the instruction given to agents this week. The official also pointed to a lack of funding to carry out the president’s order to a broader extent and said it would be scaled up.

Adults who are from select Western Hemisphere countries are to be quickly returned to their country through a process called expedited removal. This speedy return process exempts migrants from going through the lengthy legal process of appearing in immigration court, which would lead to their being released into the U.S. and waiting five to 10 years to go before an immigration judge.

Adult migrants from anywhere in the Caribbean, South America, or Central America other than Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Venezuela will be let into the U.S. and placed in immigration proceedings (NTA/OR).

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Additionally, families from just seven countries — Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru — could face removal, while all others will be released into the country.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.