The Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) on Monday requested that its employees volunteer to help in coping with an “overwhelming” migrant surge on the U.S.-Mexico border, because the Biden administration continues to disclaim that there’s a disaster.
“At this time I activated the Volunteer Power to assist Customs and Border Safety (CBP) as they face a surge in migration alongside the Southwest Border,” DHS Secretary Mayorkas mentioned in an e-mail to employees Monday, obtained by a number of information retailers.
“You’ve gotten probably seen the information concerning the overwhelming numbers of migrants in search of entry to this nation alongside the Southwest Border,” Mayorkas mentioned.
“President Biden and I are dedicated to making sure our Nation has a protected, orderly, and humane immigration system whereas persevering with to stability the entire different essential DHS missions.”
DHS volunteers, in a non-law enforcement capability, will work to hold out duties comparable to aiding in management rooms, doing housekeeping, making ready meals, doing provide and prescription drugs runs, and managing property, Fox News reported.
Mayorkas mentioned in his e-mail that in 2019, under the Trump administration, over 900 volunteers had been deployed to assist their CBP colleagues “throughout an analogous migration surge.”
“Please contemplate becoming a member of the Volunteer Power to once more present wanted humanitarian assist alongside the Southwest Border and aid for our CBP colleagues,” Mayorkas wrote.
“I additionally understand these are unsure occasions and being away from house could also be regarding. However right this moment your colleagues want help finishing up their mission to assist others, and DHS goes to assist you whereas deployed,” he mentioned, including, “Your well being and wellbeing will stay priorities.”
Unlawful Crossings Spike
The variety of unlawful crossings on the southern border has steadily risen since October final yr. The variety of encounters on the southwest border between October 2020 and January 2021 was 296,259, a rise from 164,932 through the year-earlier interval, in response to knowledge from the CBP, representing a 79.6 p.c enhance.
Since taking workplace on Jan. 20, President Joe Biden signed a flurry of government orders that dismantled the Trump administration’s border safety measures.
On his first day in workplace, Biden signed government orders and issued memos to quickly droop deportations of unlawful aliens, reverse former President Donald Trump’s ban on journey from terror-prone international locations, halt border wall building, cease including folks to the Trump-era 2019 “Stay in Mexico” program, protect and fortify the Deferred Motion for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and launch a sweeping immigration bundle to Congress that features amnesty for hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and unlawful immigrants.
The attorneys normal of Arizona and Texas have sued Biden over a memo from the administration that ordered a freeze on the vast majority of deportations for 100 days. A federal choose quickly blocked the order on Jan. 26.
The Biden administration’s proposed plan to legalize about 11 million unlawful aliens residing in the USA—one thing he vowed throughout his marketing campaign—was formally launched by Democrats in Congress final month.
Scenario ‘Unstable’
After visiting the CBP facility in Edinburg on the southern border over the weekend, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) described the scenario as “unstable.” He famous that the areas he toured have been seeing an enormous spike in migrants, with over 6,000 apprehended at only one station.
On Saturday, Texas launched an operation to counter the rising disaster, activating Nationwide Guard troops and deploying them and different regulation enforcement officers to the border to fight drug and human smuggling.
Biden hasn’t but acknowledged the disaster or introduced any concrete plans to deal with the rising numbers of unlawful crossings. When requested by a reporter this week whether or not there’s a disaster on the border, Biden replied, “No, we’ll have the ability to deal with it.”
The White Home and the DHS didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark by The Epoch Occasions.
Janita Kan and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
