Border Patrol officials report fewer illegal migrants entering just now, but don’t think the crisis is over.
The key tool President Joe Biden’s using to slow the tide, Title 8, is just setting up the nation up for bigger nightmares later.
Title 8, which the Bidenites rely on now that Title 42 has ended, allows deportation of migrants who enter without a legal basis. And those who reenter after are then subject to criminal prosecution.
Yet, as The Post’s MaryAnn Martinez reports, these repeat offenders typically get sent to holding cells to await a court date — which could take months or years, since the courts are backed up.
So available cells are filling up fast; some facilities are already at or beyond capacity.
Which triggers a mass release inside the country, with migrants simply getting handed a Notice to Appear in court later.
“That’s when you start hearing the words ‘catch and release,’ ” notes Thaddeus Cleveland, an ex-Border Patrol agent who’s now a Texas sheriff.
Per The Washington Post, the Border Patrol released about 21,000 migrants with NTAs in just the week after Title 42 ended.
In short, the new system at most means a bit more time waiting in jail: It’s not really stopping anyone who’s willing to endure that.
Now, many will simply be dumped onto US streets — and never heard from again.
Plus, in many cases, if migrants express fear of being returned (even if untrue, as is often the case), they may trigger an asylum process, get a court date (likely years off) and be released.
As for the current lull, it’s mostly likely the would-be migrants are just waiting to see how the new process shakes out, but still have every intention of crossing.
Mexico estimates 26,000 migrants are waiting in border communities.
And when word goes out the gate’s still open, even more will head this way.
So the flow to New York and other cities won’t stop, though they’re already overwhelmed.
Only days after Mayor Eric Adams opened the iconic,1,000-room Roosevelt Hotel to the newbies, it’s already nearly filled.
Look, if Title 8 were really the answer, Biden could’ve turned to it long ago. The real problem is unchanged: He’s just not willing to truly seal the border.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
