CBP Chief Confirms 95% of Illegal Immigrants Are Being Returned Under Trump, Not Detained

Many observers predict that the new policy could become the new standard, even after the pandemic ends.

Fox News reports that the order to deport illegal immigrants apprehended entering the country began in March of this year:

The overwhelming majority of those trying to enter the country illegally are being "expeditiously" returned rather than put into detention, in part because of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order in March to combat the coronavirus crisis, the head of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) testified Thursday.

The CDC order, issued in late March in response to the coronavirus crisis, suspends “the introduction of persons from designated countries or places, if required, in the interest of public health.” It allows the federal government to return those entering the country illegally or seeking asylum back to their country of origin in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

While the Trump administration has implemented a number of measures to deal with illegal immigration -- including the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) -- acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan testified to the House Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that the effect of the order has been dramatic.

“Early on, after the order, we saw those trying to illegally enter our country drop by more than 50 percent from our pre-COVID numbers,” he said, although he emphasized the CDC order was for public health, not immigration.

“Rather than introduce the illegal aliens into our facilities, increasing exposure risk to our workforce and our country, CBP, because of this order, is returning approximately 95 percent of those that we encounter expeditiously to the country of last transit,” he said.

He testified that CBP now has an average of 150 to 200 migrants in custody, compared to the approximately 20,000 migrants in custody during the peak of the 2019 border crisis. He also said that there has been a 70 percent drop in unaccompanied minors coming to the border.

The Trump administration reacted to the 2019 crisis by ramping up MPP in cooperation with the Mexican government, which allows migrants to be returned to Mexico to await their hearings. It also signed a series of asylum cooperation agreements with Northern Triangle countries — Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras — which it has also credited with lowering apprehensions and detentions by reducing pull factors that draw migrants north. Morgan said that the driving force of the crisis, families from those countries, had dropped by 94 percent.

Since the pandemic, the administration has also increased the pace of construction of the wall at the southern border, which Morgan says is vital in stopping not only illegal immigrants -- but also the flow of illegal drugs across the border.

In addition to this order, the Supreme Court just made it possible for President Trump to "fast track" removal of assylum seekers.

The Supreme Court has made headlines in recent days.

Its recent rulings appear to go against the Trump administration.

However, it's latest ruling has appeared to give the Trump administration a major win on border security.

After two high profile "losses," President Trump needed a major win.

The Supreme Court strengthened Trump's position on strong border security by giving him the authority to fast track removal of assylum seekers.

According to ABC News:

The Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a win for President Donald Trump's immigration policy, affirming the government's ability to expedite removal of asylum seekers whose applications have been denied.

The case involves a Sri Lankan man who was arrested on the U.S.-Mexico border while seeking asylum in 2017. After an immigration officer said he failed to show "credible fear of persecution" if forced to return home, the man petitioned a federal court for habeas corpus, the ability to have a judge review someone's detention.

In a 7-2 decision, the court said the Sri Lankan asylum seeker -- Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam -- is ineligible to challenge his deportation under both federal law and the Constitution.

"Habeas has traditionally been a means to secure release from unlawful detention, but respondent invokes the writ to achieve an entirely different end, namely, to obtain additional administrative review of his asylum claim and ultimately to obtain authorization to stay in this country," Justice Samuel Alito writes in the majority opinion, joined by the court's four other conservatives.

"Respondent attempted to enter the country illegally and was apprehended just 25 yards from the border. He therefore has no entitlement to procedural rights other than those afforded by statute," Alito added.

The ruling is a boost for Trump, who has tried to crack down on a flood of asylum cases in the legal system, on the heels of two high-profile losses at the court last week in cases on LGBTQ rights and DACA.

"Today's decision ensures that expedited removal, a vital tool for combating illegal immigration, will remain expeditious," said acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf in a statement to ABC News. "This ruling was a victory for law and order and the American public."

Immigrant advocates saw the decision as a major setback for the thousands of migrants seeking refuge in the U.S. and those hoping for a second chance after having their claims rejected.

"This ruling fails to live up to the Constitution's bedrock principle that individuals deprived of their liberty have their day in court, and this includes asylum seekers," said ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt, who argued before the court on behalf of the Sri Lankan man. "This decision means that some people facing flawed deportation orders can be forcibly removed with no judicial oversight, putting their lives in grave danger."

The 7-2 decision was a resounding victory for President Trump.

Trump made a promise to the American people to strengthen border security, and he is doing exactly that!