An internal Border Patrol memo, obtained by Fox News, instructs agents in the San Diego sector to release single adults from all but six countries in the Eastern Hemisphere and classify them as “hard” or “very hard” to remove.
The memo was sent out after President Biden’s executive order banning asylum for most illegal immigrants took effect last week.
Biden announced the order on Tuesday and said he was “moving past Republican obstruction and using executive authorities available to me as president to do what I can on my own to address the border.”
Details in the memo, first reported by the Washington Examiner’s Anna Giaritelli, instructs agents that all single adults from the Eastern Hemisphere are to be processed via “NTA/OR,” which means Notice to Appear/released on Own Recognizance, except for migrants from Russia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan – which are “mandatory referral” countries.
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There are more than 100 countries in the Eastern Hemisphere, meaning that despite the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and President Biden’s threats of consequences and promises to remove migrants who cross illegally under the new executive order, the overwhelming majority of the migrants in the San Diego sector are being released into the U.S.
Video recorded by Fox News continues to show Border Patrol buses releasing hundreds of migrants at a trolley station in San Diego almost daily.
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There are also many countries the U.S. government considers “recalcitrant,” who won’t cooperate with U.S. deportation flights and refuse to take their citizens back.
In a DHS background call with reporters on Friday, the agency acknowledged that it’s difficult for them to remove certain Eastern Hemisphere countries but that they are working with them, including China, to gain cooperation.
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In the short term, mass catch-and-release continues, despite the way the executive order was advertised.
The presidential proclamation will temporarily suspend the entry of migrants across the southern border once the number of average border encounters exceeds 2,500 a day over seven days, officials said. It is accompanied by a rule from DHS and the Department of Justice that will increase standards for asylum.
However, the rule comes with a series of significant exceptions.
The rule does not apply to legal immigrants, unaccompanied children or to those judged to be “victims of severe forms of trafficking.” It also doesn’t apply to those who schedule an appointment on the CBP One app at a port of entry, where about 1,500 enter each day.
There is also an exception for those who are allowed to enter “based on the totality of the circumstances, including consideration of significant law enforcement, officer and public safety, urgent humanitarian and public health interests that warrant permitting the noncitizen to enter.”
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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