Obama administration cuts border security budget, releases illegals
At Thursday’s congressional hearing, it was revealed that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is planning to cut 50 percent of the budget for aerial surveillance along the U.S.-Mexico border while U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are being told to release illegal immigrants and no longer order them to appear at deportation hearings.
“We might as well abolish our immigration laws altogether,”suggested agent Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council.
Testifying on the two-year border surge of immigrant youths, Judd said the policy shift was prompted by Obama administration “embarrassment” that just over half of illegals ordered to appear in court actually do.
Photo By Bill Koplitz/FEMA
“The willful failure to show up for court appearances by persons that were arrested and released by the Border Patrol has become an extreme embarrassment for the Department of Homeland Security. It has been so embarrassing that DHS and the U.S. attorney’s office has come up with a new policy,” he testified before the immigration subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee.
The biggest change: Undocumented immigrants are no longer given a “notice to appear” order, because they simply ignore them. Judd said that border agents jokingly refer to the NTAs as “notices to disappear.”
The Department of Homeland Security, however, said that the government continues to be strict on the border.
“The U.S. Border Patrol continues to enforce immigration laws consistent with the department’s enforcement priorities, which are focused on border security, national security, and public safety. As secretary [Jeh] Johnson has said many times, our border is not open to illegal migration and those who do so will be sent back,” said spokesman Michael Friel.
“The Border Patrol’s resources are most effectively focused on the border – prioritizing the apprehension and removal of individuals attempting to unlawfully enter the United States. Our removal numbers reflect that. Border Patrol agents are issuing Notices to Appear, consistent with law, regulation, and the department’s enforcement priorities.
Jeh Johnson
