Immigration and Customs Enforcement failed to deliver immigration court summonses to more than 80% of illegal immigrants caught and released under the Biden administration’s “parole” program just before the end of the Title 42 pandemic border policy, according to statistics that the government submitted to a federal judge.
The migrants were released on “parole” and given 60 days to check in with ICE.
More than 40% of the migrants never checked in at all. Of the rest, ICE failed to issue a notice to appear — the immigration summons — in more than two-thirds of the cases.
That works out to a success rate of just 18% for the test population.
District Judge T. Kent Wetherell said the poor rate confirmed his earlier ruling that parole was an ineffective way to enforce immigration laws.
“These statistics are troubling to say the least,” the judge said in a new order Tuesday. “But even more troubling is the fact that DHS apparently does not have a plan in place to track down the aliens who are in violation of the conditions of their ‘parole’ — and, thus, unlawfully in the country.”
In the court filings, officials said some of the migrants may still check in late. Officials also explained ICE’s failure to issue summonses as the result of “limited agency resources.”
The officials said they aren’t sure whether they will try to punish the rule breakers, though they suggested some interest in the idea.
“DHS maintains its commitment that individuals have an obligation to comply with requirements imposed by DHS, and ICE is prepared to take such actions as may be required to ensure that individuals who were released pending the initiation of their immigration court proceedings comply with the terms of their release,” Sarah B. Fabian, a Justice Department lawyer, told the judge in Florida.
That could include arrests, detention or attempts to deport the migrants, said Daniel A. Bible, deputy executive associate director at ICE.
That, too, was little comfort to Judge Wetherell, who said he was “skeptical that DHS is serious” about tracking them down.
He said he doesn’t have the authority to order the Department of Homeland Security to track down and arrest the migrants, but he did order the department to keep reporting on its efforts so the public can see the government’s struggles.
The migrants were among those caught in the days leading up to the May 11 termination of the Title 42 pandemic border expulsion authority. Expecting an overwhelming rush at the border, the Border Patrol announced that it would use “parole” to catch and release people rather than fully processing them and issuing court summonses.
The 2,572 in question were processed for parole before Title 42 ended but weren’t released until after the expiration.
The Washington Times was the first to reveal the releases.
Judge Wetherell had issued a ruling halting parole. He said the releases violated his order, and he threatened to hold the administration in contempt. He eventually decided against that step, saying that while he considered the releases a violation, his order was ambiguous enough that he wouldn’t issue sanctions.
He did demand an accounting of those who were released and whether they complied with the conditions governing parole, including a requirement that they checked in with ICE within 60 days of their release.
ICE said that of the 2,572 released, 1,507 checked in by July 10, which was the deadline. A check-in could include showing up in person, logging into the online system or sending a letter.
Of the 1,507, just 464 were issued a notice to appear.
That means 2,108 people — 82% of the catch-and-release population — still haven’t been entered into the immigration court docket.
Judge Wetherell said they were “only the tip of the iceberg,” pointing to thousands of other migrants who have been caught and released by the administration.
Andrew “Art” Arthur, a former immigration judge and longtime congressional staffer, says that number is at least 2.1 million people, and he said he expects their compliance rates to be just as bad as Judge Wetherell’s test population.
Indeed, he said the large noncompliance rate reported this week is likely a best-case scenario, since ICE had every reason to try to orchestrate good results for this population.
“This was one situation in which DHS should have done everything to get it right, and even then they’re not,” he said. “It’s a limited population of people with significant judicial interest that they knew they were going to have to answer for, and even then their efforts are extremely wanting.”
He added: “This underscores the Biden administration’s disregard for the laws Congress has written.”
The court filing also provided a striking look at who was in the catch-and-release population and where they were headed.
ICE has 24 regions, or “areas of responsibility,” and the New York City area was the top destination, with 264 of the migrants checking in there. Chicago was second with 158, followed by Boston with 137.
Venezuelans led the way with 559 migrants in the paroled population. Colombians were next with 429, and Peruvians were third with 319. There were also 43 from China, 20 from Uzbekistan, 17 from Nepal, six from Afghanistan and four from Azerbaijan.
Mr. Arthur said the fact that Venezuelans were so prevalent exposes a hole in the Biden administration’s policies.
Under a special pathway created by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Venezuelans who showed up at the border without scheduling their arrival were supposed to be quickly turned back — an enticement to go through regular border crossings. Yet the numbers show the administration was still welcoming large numbers who didn’t follow those rules.
The data also showed a surprising number of Mexican migrants who earned parole. Some 170 Mexican nationals were listed as caught and released, and most of them came as part of family units.
More broadly, of the 2,572 migrants, 1,246 came as part of families and 1,325 came as single adults. One migrant, from Mexico, was listed as an unaccompanied child.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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