The Biden administration has confirmed leftist groups are picking hundreds of illegal immigrants daily to enter the U.S. to request asylum and the comeback of an Obama-era program to woo more Central American minors though there are already tens of thousands in government shelters nationwide. The double whammy was delivered just weeks apart as the migrant crisis reaches a boiling point and the nation sees record high illegal immigration along the nearly 2,000-mile Mexican border. High-ranking administration officials call it a “legal alternative to irregular migration.”
First, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finally verified to Congress that it conceded to the demands of the leftist national organization American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to admit approximately 250 illegal aliens daily, or 7,750 a month. DHS officials explained that certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are helping it identify potential illegal immigrants for asylum, veteran members of Congress revealed in late May. They include ranking members of the House Oversight, Judiciary and Homeland Security committees. The lawmakers disclose the information in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding the criteria being used by the administration for humanitarian exception for illegal immigrants as well as the NGOs that are determining eligibility of those seeking the exception.
This week a mainstream newspaper reports that nearly 4,000 illegal immigrants chosen by leftist NGOs were granted exceptions and allowed to cross the border in May. Citing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, the article documents a steady rise in exemptions even as the administration claims the border is closed. In April CBP let 1,790 migrants enter legally, up from about 719 in March. “In prior months, the numbers were in the low hundreds,” the story reads. In May alone, CBP encountered 180,034 illegal aliens attempting entry along the southwest border, agency figures show. In Tijuana more than 10,000 have requested to enter the U.S. seeking asylum under the Biden administration’s expanded exemption program. An open borders group called Al Otro Lado (on the other side) that promotes “justice for migrants” is screening the candidates along with the International Rescue Committee, which helps people whose lives are shattered by conflict and disaster, and the ACLU. To facilitate the process Al Otro Lado has an online form in Spanish to screen candidates. Questions include if asylum seekers have ever been deported from the U.S., if they identify as indigenous or LGBTQ, have experienced sexual abuse, kidnapping, homelessness, or hunger. To promote its new process, the group has distributed fliers at the Tijuana encampment and area shelters, the article says, adding that a popular mobile messaging app is also used to spread the word.
Also this week the Biden administration announced it is bringing back a program started under Obama in 2014 to allow more Central Americans under the age of 21 to come to the U.S. legally. Never mind that the administration is already housing tens of thousands of illegal immigrant minors seeking asylum in hundreds of facilities around the country. Data obtained by a national newswire shows the number of migrant youths, known as Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC), in U.S. custody more than doubled in the last two months and the government is currently housing more 21,000. Reinstating the Obama program will make tens of thousands of minors from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador eligible to come to the U.S. A statement issued jointly by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and DHS Secretary Mayorkas describes it as “reinstituting and improving the Central American Minors (CAM) program.” The presidential cabinet officials add that they “are firmly committed to welcoming people to the United States with humanity and respect, as well as providing a legal alternative to irregular migration.” They also claim that they are delivering on their promise to promote safe, orderly, and humane migration from Central America through this expansion of legal pathways to seek humanitarian protection in the United States.
