Step.- Immigration authorities announced that starting this Tuesday, May 9, “a “directed law enforcement operation” begins in downtown El Paso.
The objective is to detain migrants who have not registered their status upon entering the United States, that is, those who crossed illegally and who did not request political asylum. To this group belongs the majority of the 3,300 who have camped outside the Church of the Sacred Heart and the Opportunity Center for the Dispossessed (OC).
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and officers will participate in the operation in coordination with elements of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), as announced in a statement.
Immigration agents will process individuals for investigation and placement in Title 42 removal or Title 8 removal proceedings, as appropriate. Non-citizens who pose a threat to national security or public safety will be transferred to ICE for detention.
“As we have repeatedly said, individuals who do not have a legal basis to remain will be removed,” Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said. “People should not listen to the lies of smugglers and instead use legal avenues for protection.”
Guidelines for enforcement actions in or near protected areas remain in effect, and ICE and CBP will not take enforcement action in or near a location that restricts people’s access to essential services or participation in essential activities in the protected area. extent possible, the agency said.
Before dawn Tuesday, plainclothes Border Patrol agents distributed fliers to migrants in Sacred Heart, most sleeping, advising them to turn themselves in if they haven’t already, El Paso Matters reported. There were no flyers to be seen at the Opportunity Center, but a plainclothes federal agent was waiting to speak with the migrants, the news website notes.
