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The Biden administration is trying to enhance the variety of deportation flights carrying unlawful immigrants to Venezuela, as migrant numbers have damaged records on the southern border – and it’s unclear when a deal will be reached on border safety in Washington.
In a name with reporters on Tuesday night, senior administration officers mentioned they recommended Mexico for starting deportation flights to Venezuela within the final week, which echoes an analogous transfer by the U.S. to start flights to Mexico in October.
The transfer comes as U.S. and Mexican officers met final week to focus on the migration challenges dealing with the 2 international locations, a gathering that officers described as productive, however that drew scrutiny from Republicans for the inclusion of talks in regards to the “benefits” of “regularizing” unlawful immigrants already within the nation.
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Officials on Tuesday mentioned that Mexico has taken “enhanced enforcement operations” to decongest the border area, which can enable ports of entry to re-open on Thursday at areas in Eagle Pass, Texas, San Ysidro, California, Lukeville, Arizona and Nogales, Arizona.
Migrants line up after being detained by U.S. immigration authorities on the U.S. border wall, seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Officials mentioned they’d seen elevated enforcement in Mexico, main to a lower in encounters in latest days, as effectively as elevated safety on trains to cease migrants utilizing them to head to the border.
“We’ve seen Mexico really step up in terms of taking actions, and so that’s been greatly appreciated,” one official mentioned.
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However, any drop in encounters comes after December shattered records for migrant encounters, with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources telling Fox News that there have been over 302,000 encounters – which incorporates unlawful immigrants and migrants showing at ports of entry. The earlier file was set in September, when there have been 269,000 encounters.
That comes on the finish of a calamitous 12 months on the border, which noticed day by day records damaged repeatedly and an FY 23 which broke the all-time file for yearly encounters with 2.4 million encounters.
It’s led to huge political strain on the Biden administration from not solely Republicans but additionally state and native Democratic officers who’ve seen migrants flooding into cities like New York, Chicago and Denver. There, mayors have demanded more funding and more federal motion.
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Republicans have blamed the disaster on the administration’s insurance policies and known as on it to impose stricter limits on asylum and restrict the usage of humanitarian parole. A supplemental funding request containing support for the border as effectively as Ukraine and Israel is presently being held up as lawmakers strive to come to an settlement. Any limits on asylum are seemingly to face fierce opposition from left-wing Democrats.
The administration has dismissed the Republican narrative that it has fueled the disaster with “open border” insurance policies. Officials have mentioned they’re rising penalties for unlawful entry, whereas additionally increasing “lawful migration pathways” and on Tuesday mentioned it has carried out more than 460,000 returns of unlawful immigrants since Title 42 resulted in May, more removals than in all of FY 19.
One official on Tuesday mentioned that “we do have the intention of ramping up repatriation flights to Venezuela” and that the administration sees it as a “critical part” of the broader immigration technique.
“It’s an important deterrent,” they mentioned.
US-MEXICO MIGRATION TALKS INCLUDED BENEFITS OF ‘REGULARIZING’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS LIVING IN US
On the continuing talks with Congress in regards to the supplemental funding request, which incorporates $14 billion for the border, the administration struck an optimistic tone.
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“Our negotiations with the Senate continued over the holidays, and we continue to be encouraged by the progress being made. And while we are not there yet, we believe we are moving in the right direction,” one official mentioned.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Griff Jenkins contributed to this report.
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