EXCLUSIVE: 60K Migrants Released into U.S. in October

Randy ClarkNovember 1, 2021

A source within Customs and Border Protection says more than 60,000 migrants who crossed the southwest border in October 2021 were released into the United States. The source, not authorized to speak to the media, says 40 percent were ineligible to be swiftly expelled under the Trump era Title 42 CDC COVID-19 emergency order.

The source says the number of migrants released into the United States is startling compared to October 2020, when 90 percent of all apprehension ended in quick removals.

According to CBP, during October 2020, the Border Patrol apprehended 69,032 migrants at the southwest border and more than 62,000 were swiftly returned to Mexico.

Last year, those migrants not amenable to the Title 42 CDC expulsion order faced removal through the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or several other Asylum Cooperative Agreements (ACA) with several Central American countries.

This October, the source says more than 158,000 migrants were apprehended by the Border Patrol.

The source says only 59,000 were immediately returned to Mexico under the CDC order. Nearly 100,000 migrants required longer detention in temporary holding facilities while awaiting processing for delayed removal — or in the case of more than 60,000 migrants, release into the United States.

None of the migrants, according to the source, were processed under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program. In August, the Supreme Court denied a Biden Administration request for a stay of a lower federal court ruling requiring the Biden Administration to restart MPP. Thus far, the administration has yet to restart the program.

Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.