The Biden administration will ease some key immigration restrictions ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's second term, opening the door to thousands more illegal immigrants.
President Trump has declared a national emergency and threatened to use military assets to carry out mass deportations. But the Biden administration is taking steps to make President Trump's plans for the border more difficult. The Biden Department of Homeland Security plans to launch an ICE Portal app in December that will allow immigrants to skip in-person check-ins at ICE offices and instead communicate with immigration officials via phone or computer app, according to reports. You will be able to check in. According to the New York Post.
The app reportedly has a serious flaw that prevents it from tracking a migrant's location if they are using an Android smartphone or laptop.
Additionally, the app does not check immigrants' past arrest records or outstanding warrants, and allows them to opt out or challenge government orders to be electronically tracked.
Experts say President Trump will roll back immigration program that is habitually 'fraudulent'
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on November 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The New York Post reported that up to 100,000 immigrants will be enrolled in the first wave of the new program.
This comes after the Biden administration set a record for the most illegal immigrants in a single year, with 3.2 million people entering the country in 2023. This surpassed the previous record of 2.7 million people set the previous year.
One of the cities hardest hit by this surge is New York, where more than 223,000 migrants have arrived since spring 2022. As a sanctuary city, New York spent $3.7 billion on housing, food, and other expenses in fiscal year 2024 alone.
Immigrants gather in Tompkins Square Park as volunteers hand out food and clothing in New York City's East Village neighborhood. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Republican New York City Councilman Joe Borelli told Fox News Digital that many people hope the crisis will “calm down” as Trump's second term in office approaches.
Instead, he said, “These actions, taken in the midst of the Biden administration's death gargle, are disappointing to say the least.”
“This appears to run counter to the spirit of the peaceful transition of power that Mr. Biden has promised,” he added. “This is a last-ditch effort to usurp the will of those who voted steadfastly against sanctuary city policies and unlimited illegal immigration.”
Mayor Eric Adams speaks to the media about the arrest of an illegal immigrant from New York Police Department headquarters in Manhattan on February 5, 2024. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)
Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents New York's suburban 17th Congressional District, told Fox News Digital that the administration's decision to further ease regulations immediately after the murder trial of Laken Riley's killer was based on “logic and common sense. It's against that,” he said.
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“It's amazing that this news came out just one day after Jose Ybarra was sentenced for killing Laken Riley,” he said. “Mr. Ybarra lived in a taxpayer-funded hotel in Queens and received a plane ticket from taxpayers to Athens, Georgia, where he committed the brutal murder of Ms. Riley.”
“It's scary that in the waning days of the Biden administration, Alejandro Mayorkas is trying to ease restrictions on people crossing the border illegally in the nation's largest sanctuary city,” he added.
