Biden admin says it released 6,000 migrants into US before court order blocking parole policy
Fox News
The Biden administration said in a court filing on Monday that it released 6,000 migrants into the U.S. on Thursday before it was blocked from doing so ahead of the end of Title 42 – even as the administration says it is not mass releasing migrants.
“According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) systems, 6,413 individuals were released under Parole with Conditions on Thursday May 11, prior to the [temporary restraining order] taking effect at 11:59 p.m.
The Biden administration was blocked by a court order last week from carrying out its “parole with conditions” policy for two weeks. The ruling, in response to a Florida lawsuit, came just hours before the end of Title 42 on Thursday evening.
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The policy, outlined in a Border Patrol memo, outlined how migrants can be allowed into the country on parole – a process typically reserved for “urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit” – if Customs and Border Protection (CBP) faces overcrowding. Migrants released under the policy are required to make an appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or request a Notice to Appear by mail.
Under a parole release, migrants are rapidly released into the country, do not get an alien registration number and do not receive a court date. The policy came amid a fresh surge in migrants ahead of the end of the Title 42 order.
Judge T. Kent Wetherell blocked the order, finding it similar to a “Parole + ATD” policy he had blocked in March. The government subsequently requested a stay, but was denied.
On Monday, the court ordered the government to address a Washington Times report that DHS had paroled 2,500 migrants after the court imposed the order, and suggested the government could be held in contempt if the report was accurate.
In its response, the government says the Department of Homeland Security took “immediate steps” to ensure compliance with the restraining order, and says that instructions “generally were followed” – although it is looking into “some data indicating possibly noncompliance with respect to a relatively small number of individuals.” It said the data shows approximately 167 individuals who do not have a processing date that occurred before 11:59 p.m.
FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS BIDEN ADMIN FROM RELEASING MIGRANTS WITHOUT COURT DATES AS TITLE 42 EXPIRES
It pointed to a Border Patrol notice sent approximately an hour after the order came down, telling agents to cease processing under parole with conditions by 11:45 pm.
It then noted that more than 6,400 releases took place that Thursday. It also said that 2,576 migrants had been processed for parole with conditions when the order took effect and since releases do not typically take place at night, some of the migrants were released on Friday morning.
The Biden administration has repeatedly denied that it is engaging in “mass releases” – a claim that is likely undercut by the revelation that it released over 6,000 in a single day.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Friday said the claim that “CBP is allowing or encouraging mass release of migrants is just categorically false, that’s not what’s occurring.”
DHS has noted that migrants who are released on parole must still report to immigration authorities in the interior, and has claimed that those encountered undergo “strict national security and public safety vetting and are subject to immigration consequences and potential prosecution.”
Meanwhile, Texas and 12 other states filed a separate request for an order blocking the “parole with conditions” policy.
Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.