Florida may have dodged the bullet – for now — but other states could be targeted for an unwelcome influx of migrants, courtesy of the U.S. government.
After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis publicly objected to an airlift of hundreds of southwest border crossers to Palm Beach and Broward counties, federal officials backed down.
On Sunday, acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said the Sunshine State was no longer in consideration. He said the plan “wasn’t going to be an effective use of government resources.”
Yet the Department of Homeland Security reports that some 9,000 asylum seekers and illegal border crossers were released into U.S. communities between May 6 and May 13 – with no end in sight.
Since Dec. 21, 2018, the Trump administration has released 177,600 border crossers and illegal aliens. Some 69,200 were dropped off in San Antonio; 61,500 got their walking papers in El Paso.
Though denounced by President Donald Trump, catch-and-release practices persist as overwhelmed federal agents let border crossers disperse into America’s interior. Maybe these migrants will show up for an immigration court hearing at a future date. Maybe not.
Meantime, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official told National Public Radio over the weekend that the agency continues to explore moving migrants to undisclosed locations around the nation.
Without the resources to do the transport job on its own, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is looking at hiring a private contractor to shuttle approximately 225,000 migrant children and families to shelters across the country over the next five years as they wait for their asylum claims to be processed.
ICE’s call for “on demand escort services” did not specify where the migrants would end up. Another agency, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, would have “sole authority” to place unaccompanied minors and families.
Whichever way this massive people-moving enterprise shakes out, it is critical that immigration-enforcement agencies maintain control of their charges. The ultimate destination for illegal border crossers and bogus asylum claimants is somewhere south of the border. And the sooner the better.