As President Joe Biden’s border crisis continues spiraling out of control, with U.S. Border Patrol encountering more than 2.1 million illegal aliens this federal fiscal year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the expansion of Title 42.
Title 42—the pandemic health order that allowed for the quick expulsion of illegal aliens from select countries—will now apply to Venezuelans.
According to DHS, “Venezuelans who seek to enter the U.S. illegally will be returned to Mexico.”
However, the National Border Patrol Council called the announcement a “PR stunt,” saying a vital piece of information was left out: “There’s a daily cap on how many MX [Mexico] will accept – a small percentage of what’s actually coming in. They can come right back once the daily cap is exceeded.”
DHS made a big deal about a new program sending Venezuelans back to MX.
What didn't they tell you? There's a daily cap on how many MX will accept – a small percentage of what's actually coming in. They can come right back once the daily cap is exceeded.
Basically a PR stunt.
— Border Patrol Union – NBPC (@BPUnion) October 13, 2022
In the only expansion of Title 42 since President Donald Trump implemented the program, DHS will return any Venezuelans who enter the U.S. illegally—between the ports of entry without authorization—to Mexico (up to the cap). Those returned to Mexico will also be unable to take part in DHS’s new legal pathway to entry for Venezuelans fleeing their failing communist government.
Former U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott called the move “a tiny step forward for border security – a giant bite of crow for all the open border Biden appointees.”
The Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed, stating, “Mexico will temporarily allow some Venezuelan citizens to enter our national territory across the northern border.”
In return, DHS agreed to grant an additional 65,000 H-2B visas, which allow U.S. employers “to temporarily hire nonimmigrants to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the United States.”
Beginning Wednesday, the “United States will take steps to allow 24,000 Venezuelan migrants to enter the U.S. by air,” according to the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry.
However, local border officials don’t expect much improvement.
“This new rule only affects the port of entries and those individuals who are surrendering to Border Patrol,” said Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith. But even Smith’s Border Patrol contacts don’t expect it to “have much impact at the port of entries.”
The illegal trafficking that occurs in Kinney County is not connected to any form of asylum claims, but involves individuals evading detection by law enforcement. In fact, this new rule might make our situation even worse.
According to Smith, “Venezuelans will likely now join the ranks of thousands of others that attempt to avoid detection by law enforcement.”
