ICE Set to Release 600,000 Illegal Aliens into U.S. by End of September, 3.6M Already In

MCALLEN, TX - JULY 25: Central American immigrants just released from U.S. Border Patrol d
John Moore/Getty Images

Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) is expected to release more than half a million illegal aliens into the interior of the United States over the next sixth months.

The prediction was provided to a federal judge about what can be expected at the southern border with Mexico after the Title 42 coronavirus border protocol is dropped next month.

The deportation agency’s assessment covers the remaining months of the current fiscal year that ends on September 30, with the estimate totaling about 100,000 who will be released each month.

Deane Dougherty, ICE’s juvenile coordinator who said many minor illegal aliens are expected, wrote in a court filing that the development would represent a “historic border surge.”

In this July 8, 2019, photo, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers escort a man in handcuffs during an operation in Escondido, Calif. The carefully orchestrated arrest last week in this San Diego suburb illustrates how President Donald Trump's pledge to start deporting millions of people in the country illegally is virtually impossible with ICE's budget and its method of picking people up. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this July 8, 2019, photo, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers escort a man in handcuffs during an operation in Escondido, California. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

“Given these forecasts and the recently announced decision to end Title 42 next month, ICE must shift its focus and prepare to manage its resources for a population of up to 600,000 by the end of the fiscal year,” Dougherty said.

The Washington Times reported on these shocking statistics:

Documents filed in a separate court case in Texas show that the Border Patrol apprehended 209,906 illegal immigrants in March and Customs and Border Protection officers at ports of entry nabbed another 11,397 unauthorized crossers. About half were quickly expelled under the Title 42 policy, which is in effect until May 23.

Of the more than 110,000 others, CBP released more than 65,000 people on its own, returned about 12,000 under non-Title 42 provisions of the law and had about 12,500 people in custody. CBP sent about 24,000 to ICE, which deported 345, and released 14,345 others as of March 31.

The deportation agency had 3.6 million people on its non-detained docket as of September. That included more than 400,000 convicted criminals and at least 600,000 fugitives who are defying deportation orders.

MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. President Joe Biden (L) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas (R) take part in a naturalization ceremony for new citizens ahead of Independence Day in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 2, 2021. Mayorkas’s DHS oversees ICE. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Times said the Biden administration is also trying to make getting asylum in the U.S. easier by shifting the responsibility of determining that status to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.

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