Border Patrol has been routinely releasing Arab illegal aliens near the Mexican border

U.S. Border Patrol agents have been anonymously reporting that large groups of Arab men have been apprehended near the Mexican border among groups of Mexican illegals, and then released pending hearings. Apart from the mystery, not explained in the story, of why the agents felt they had to report this anonymously (is PC that powerful in the Border Patrol?), what the heck is going on here? We’ve been long familiar with the problem of asylum applicants being released from custody and never showing up for their hearings. But who ever heard of the Border Patrol letting illegal aliens walk free after they had been apprehended?

Yet apparently it has been a routine practice with regard to non-Mexicans:

More than 1.2 million people attempt to cross US borders illegally each year. The vast majority are Mexicans who are immediately repatriated. But under existing laws, which take account [of] limited detention facilities, many non-Mexican illegal immigrants are released prior to a hearing with an immigration judge, which most fail to attend. Almost 22,000 non-Mexican immigrants have been released pending a hearing since last October. Once released, they are free to travel on their own throughout the United States. According to one Texas immigration official, those who slip through the net come “from all over the world”.

President Bush seems to be addressing the problem:

According to new laws, approved by President Bush and announced last week by the Homeland Security Department, illegal immigrants who are not Mexican will be repatriated within days, without a hearing. The effort comes in response to a prolonged campaign by Texas congressmen, who have argued that the president’s home state was in danger of becoming a gateway to America for terrorists.

In a letter to President Bush last week, [Rep. Solomon] Ortiz wrote: “Law enforcement agencies across the south-west border are alarmed that the US is releasing thousands of OTMs [Other than Mexicans]. Those released include individuals from nations the US defines as state sponsors of potential terrorism, or from those nations that have produced large numbers of al-Qaeda militants.”

Posted by Lawrence Auster at August 15, 2004 08:22 PM | Send