The federal government is moving undocumented immigrants caught at California's southern border out of the state on buses and planes, fearing the potential for bad publicity just weeks before the November election, one local official said. The possibility of releasing them on the street has been ruled out.
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said he was informed by the U.S. Border Patrol last week that migrant releases could resume. He told FOX News Digital that from September 2023 to June 2023, approximately 155,000 immigrants were released in San Diego.
Until June, San Diego migrants were dropped off at the Iris Avenue station, Desmond said. Currently, three buses leave the county each day to transport migrants to Yuma, Arizona. In addition, three to four planes fly illegal immigrants each week from San Diego to the Texas border city of McAllen, but the facility is not full, supervisors said.
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After being processed by U.S. immigration authorities, migrants gather at a transit center to continue their journey from San Diego to the United States on September 20, 2023. (Reuters/Mike Blake)
“Instead of getting people off the streets, it seems like the federal government is trying to cover up by busing people out of the area,” Desmond said. “For me, I think the idea of dropping out more people, or starting that dropping process again, is politically toxic, so I wouldn't do it until potentially after the election. ”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Border Patrol. Desmond recalled that immigrants were released in droves onto the streets of San Diego, with overwhelming services and resources.
In addition to migrants crossing the border, he said, some arrive in boats anchored on the coast.
San Diego has long been a popular border crossing location due to its proximity to Tijuana, Mexico. From October 6 to October 12, the San Deigo area reported the arrests of 3,016 immigrants from 59 countries and the encounters of 96 unaccompanied minors.
In a video posted to Ta.
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Immigrants were seen boarding planes bound for other states at the San Diego Airport. (San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond)
He said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, both Republicans, have been heavily criticized by Democrats for flying migrants out of their states to other parts of the country. pointed out.
The Border Patrol is processing some migrants by sending them by bus or plane from San Diego to other cities along the southern border, but this is not sending migrants to San Diego to deal with overflows elsewhere. It's a complete reversal from the times.
The Biden administration has been heavily criticized for its border policies. In June, Biden took executive action to limit the number of new arrivals to the United States.
After that, encounters plummeted by more than 50%. Despite the cuts, Biden still emphasized the need for Congress to pass bipartisan border legislation. Vice President Kamala Harris has been repeatedly blamed for the border crisis.
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In a recent interview with FOX News' Bret Baier, Harris emphasized that the 2021 immigration bill would open a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants.
“At the beginning of our administration, almost within hours of being sworn in, before we tackled infrastructure, before the Inflation Reduction Act, before the Chips and Science Act, before the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we “The first bill that he introduced in Congress, the first bill that was introduced virtually within hours of being sworn in, was a bill to fix our immigration system,” she said.
Desmond said he has heard from people on both sides of the political spectrum that this country's immigration system needs a series of checks and balances.
“Even in the Biden administration, I think Democrats are confused, saying, 'Why are we doing this? Why aren't we vetting these people?'” he said. “We want immigration, but we have to vet people, and rightfully so.”
A Border Patrol vehicle sits near the border wall separating the United States from Tijuana, Mexico, on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
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Last weekend, a group of about 2,000 migrants left Mexico's southern border with Guatemala and headed to the United States, possibly seeking asylum.
