[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
EXAMINING DHS'S FAILURE TO PREPARE FOR
THE TERMINATION OF TITLE 42
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
BORDER SECURITY
AND ENFORCEMENT
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JUNE 6, 2023
__________
Serial No. 118-15
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
53-978 PDF WASHINGTON : 2023
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
Mark E. Green, MD, Tennessee, Chairman
Michael T. McCaul, Texas Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi,
Clay Higgins, Louisiana Ranking Member
Michael Guest, Mississippi Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
Dan Bishop, North Carolina Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey
Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida Eric Swalwell, California
August Pfluger, Texas J. Luis Correa, California
Andrew R. Garbarino, New York Troy A. Carter, Louisiana
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Shri Thanedar, Michigan
Tony Gonzales, Texas Seth Magaziner, Rhode Island
Nick LaLota, New York Glenn Ivey, Maryland
Mike Ezell, Mississippi Daniel S. Goldman, New York
Anthony D'Esposito, New York Robert Garcia, California
Laurel M. Lee, Florida Delia C. Ramirez, Illinois
Morgan Luttrell, Texas Robert Menendez, New Jersey
Dale W. Strong, Alabama Yvette D. Clarke, New York
Josh Brecheen, Oklahoma Dina Titus, Nevada
Elijah Crane, Arizona
Stephen Siao, Staff Director
Hope Goins, Minority Staff Director
Natalie Nixon, Chief Clerk
Sean Jones, Deputy Chief Clerk
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER SECURITY AND ENFORCEMENT
Clay Higgins, Louisiana, Chairman
Michael Guest, Mississippi J. Luis Correa, California,
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Ranking Member
Tony Gonzales, Texas Shri Thanedar, Michigan
Morgan Luttrell, Texas Robert Garcia, California
Josh Brecheen, Oklahoma Delia C. Ramirez, Illinois
Mark E. Green, MD, Tennessee (ex Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi
officio) (ex officio)
Natasha Eby, Subcommittee Staff Director
Brieana Marticorena, Minority Subcommittee Staff Director
Halle Sarkisian, Subcommittee Clerk
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Statements
The Honorable Clay Higgins, a Representative in Congress From the
State of Louisiana, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Border
Security and Enforcement:
Oral Statement................................................. 1
Prepared Statement............................................. 2
The Honorable J. Luis Correa, a Representative in Congress From
the State of California, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
Border Security and Enforcement:
Oral Statement................................................. 3
Prepared Statement............................................. 7
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress
From the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on
Homeland Security:
Prepared Statement............................................. 9
Witnesses
Mr. Blas Nunez-Neto, Assistant Secretary for Border and
Immigration Policy, Office of Strategy, Policy and Plans, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 10
Prepared Statement............................................. 11
Mr. Benjamine ``Carry'' Huffman, Acting Deputy Commissioner,
Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 18
Prepared Statement............................................. 20
For the Record
The Honorable J. Luis Correa, a Representative in Congress From
the State of California, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
Border Security and Enforcement:
Article........................................................ 4
Appendix
Questions From Chairman Mark E. Green for Blas Nunez-Neto........ 43
Questions From Honorable Josh Breechen for Blas Nunez-Neto....... 43
Questions From Chairman Mark E. Green for Benjamine ``Carry''
Huffman........................................................ 44
Questions From Honorable Josh Breechen for Benjamine ``Carry''
Huffman........................................................ 44
EXAMINING DHS'S FAILURE TO PREPARE FOR THE TERMINATION OF TITLE 42
----------
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:14 p.m., in
room 310, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Clay Higgins
[Chairman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Higgins, Guest, Greene, Luttrell,
Brecheen, Correa, Thanedar, Garcia, and Ramirez.
Also present: Representatives Pfluger, Crane, Clarke, and
Green.
Chairman Higgins. I thank my colleagues for joining us
today. Welcome to the Subcommittee on Border Security and
Enforcement hearing on Title 42 and the preparations leading up
to Title 42.
The purpose of today's hearing is to examine the Department
of Homeland Security's--what we perceive as a failure to
prepare for the termination of Title 42. We are going to
discuss that today.
I welcome our witnesses and I very much appreciate their
professionalism and taking their time to be with us today.
However, I am very disappointed that the Department of Homeland
Security declined our request for a third witness, that being
someone from senior chain with ICE, Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, and we are going to discuss why we believe that
particular witness was withheld.
I am also concerned that the witnesses' testimony, written
testimony, was not made available to this committee until late
in the evening yesterday, rather late at night, well after
normal business hours, despite the deadline for written
testimony being last Friday. We are going to inquire about that
during the course of today's hearing, because what we seek, the
truth, on this committee, requires transparency and cooperative
effort. When we have a deadline for written testimony, that is
when we expect to receive the written testimony. I suspect that
our panelists provided that testimony, but it was slow rolled
by the Department. We will see. We will dig into that today.
So, despite what Secretary Mayorkas and other officials at
DHS are advising the American public regarding the numbers
being down, what we have come to observe is rather a shell game
in the way numbers are actually documented and reported. The
numbers of human beings crossing into America without
appropriate documentation are indeed still at the record levels
that we saw prior to the end of Title 42. But the
classification of those human beings and the way they are
brought into the country has been very cleverly changed by the
administration, and we seek clarity on that today. We will ask
questions extensively from both sides of the aisle, again
seeking truth. There is no benefit to any of us to conceal the
actual numbers and the truth regarding immigration, both legal
and illegal.
So to reclassify illegal entry as those that have entered
by a legal pathway and then tell the American people the
numbers are way down, we have this thing under control, this is
misleading by design, and we are going to dig into that today.
The CBP One app is being used as a type of asylum
application very broadly, allowing those who register with it
to move to the front of the line at ports of entry, be
processed quickly into the United States as an asylum seeker
without the normal asylum process and vetting. These migrants
would have attempted to enter the United States between ports
of entry and would have been considered illegal aliens and
intercepted or encountered by Border Patrol between the ports
of entry, but they are being pushed back. If they make it
through the NGO's in Central America and Mexico, where many,
many are being intercepted and quite effectively redirected
through the ports of entry using a CBP One app. The ones that
make it to the border are being turned around. Steady increase
in what referred to as voluntary return. They are being sent
back deeper into Mexico where they are received by NGO's, and
they are assisted to fill out the CBP One app and then they are
being bussed to the ports of entry and they are entering in
that manner through what the administration is calling a legal
pathway. So then they tell America that the numbers of illegal
migrants are down. It is a shell game. We are going to expose
it today. We are going to do so respectfully, but quite
aggressively.
I appreciate the opportunity to have presented this opening
statement.
I yield the balance of my time.
[The statement of Chairman Higgins follows:]
Statement of Chairman Clay Higgins
Good afternoon and welcome to the Subcommittee on Border Security
and Enforcement hearing on Title 42. The purpose of today's hearing is
to examine the Department of Homeland Security's failure to prepare for
the termination of Title 42. I would like to welcome our witnesses from
the Department of Homeland Security for being here today. While I
appreciate the Department for making both these witnesses available for
today's hearing, I am incredibly disappointed that the Department did
not fulfill the committee's request for a third witness from
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Title 42 was a highly effective tool used to expel illegal aliens
on public health grounds stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. While my
colleagues and I knew the emergency authority would not be in effect
indefinitely, the Biden administration had plenty of time to prepare
for its ending, enforce existing immigration laws, and implement
tougher restrictions to combat the continuing monumental increase of
aliens presenting at the Southern Border.
Days before the Biden administration's catastrophic end to Title
42, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents encountered more
than 10,000 illegal aliens for at least three consecutive days--a
historic record! In addition, front-line Border Patrol agents saw a
record number of known gotaways, as more and more aliens attempted to
cross the U.S. and Mexico border and evade detection, including an
increase in the apprehensions of individuals on the terrorist
watchlist.
While it is true that the number of alien apprehensions between
ports of entry have fallen since Title 42 expired, per U.S. Border
Patrol Chief Ortiz, that number is expected to rise again. As media
reporting suggests, there are more than 25,000 aliens in shelters and
makeshift encampments living in Mexico. Alarmingly, an estimated total
of 657,000 individuals are either living, traveling, or intending to
travel from other countries in the Western Hemisphere and are on track
to reach the Southwest Border any day. Moreover, CBP is funneling
aliens to ports of entry as evidenced by the rise in CBP's Office of
Field Operations Nation-wide inadmissible numbers, which were 82,288 in
February 2023--in comparison to the Trump administration pre-COVID,
where the inadmissible number was at 24,269 in February 2020.
Mere days after the termination of Title 42, the administration
proudly proclaimed that its policies were highly effective in
curtailing illegal immigration for the first part of 2023 by creating
arguably illegal parole programs. What the administration does not want
to publicly acknowledge is that most aliens claiming asylum will lose
their claims in U.S. immigration courts. Thanks in large part to the
Biden administration's de-prioritization of interior enforcement, many,
if not the majority, of these aliens will not be removed or deported
from the United States, despite breaking U.S. immigration law and being
ordered removed by courts of law. The administration undoubtedly has
the necessary tools available to deter and repel aliens coming to our
borders and it outright refuses to utilize them, setting the United
States up for an infiltration of illegal aliens into American
communities.
By failing to sufficiently prepare for the end of Title 42, the
administration has announced to the world, and most significantly, our
adversaries, that the United States is more vulnerable than ever
before, as is evident by the increase of gotaways and those on the
terrorist watchlists. Instead of accepting responsibility for their
failure to secure the border, the Biden administration would rather
play a dangerous game with American's sovereignty and safety. The
administration's refusal to adequately respond to the border crisis
will no longer be tolerated in a Republican-controlled Majority--enough
is enough.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time and look forward to
hearing from our witnesses.
Chairman Higgins. I recognize for his opening statement my
friend and colleague, Ranking Member Correa.
Mr. Correa. Chairman Higgins, first of all, let me thank
you very much for holding this most important hearing. What we
want to do is get down to the facts and make sure we know what
is going on at the border.
As policy makers on both sides of the aisle, we have to
recognize the challenges we have as a Nation. It is important
to start by looking back over the last few years and what we
have seen to look forward as to what we can expect.
Mr. Chairman, we have dealt with COVID-19, and America
spent trillions in fighting COVID-19, and we did pretty well.
In fact, our economy is doing better than any other economy in
the world today. Record unemployment, worker shortages, and
this is happening while, sadly, the rest of the world, the rest
of all economies are really crumbling. Even the great China
economy is having trouble getting back on its feet.
I would like to submit, without objection, this article
from The Wall Street Journal, talks about ``China's fading
recovery reveals deeper economic struggles.''
Chairman Higgins. Without objection.
[The information follows:]
Article Submitted by Ranking Member J. Luis Correa
China's Fading Recovery Reveals Deeper Economic Struggles
ballooning debt, tepid consumption and worsening relations with the
west to weigh on growth, economists say
By Stella Yifan Xie and Jason Douglas
May 30, 2023 12:01 am ET
China's era of rapid growth is over. Its recovery from zero-Covid
is stalling. And now the country is facing deep, structural problems in
its economy.
The outlook was better just a few months ago, after Beijing lifted
its draconian Covid-19 controls, setting off a flurry of spending as
people ate out and splurged on travel.
But as the sugar high of the reopening wears off, underlying
problems in China's economy that have been building for years are
reasserting themselves.
The property boom and government overinvestment that fueled growth
for more than a decade have ended. Enormous debts are crippling
households and local governments. Some families, worried about the
future, are hoarding cash.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping's crackdowns on private enterprise have
discouraged risk-taking, while deteriorating relations with the West--
exemplified by a new campaign against international due diligence and
consulting firms--are stifling foreign investment.
Economists say these worsening structural problems are hobbling
China's chances of extending the growth miracle that transformed it
into a rival to the U.S. for global power and influence.
Instead of expanding at 6 percent to 8 percent a year as was common
in the past, China might soon be heading toward growth of 2 percent or
3 percent, some economists say. An aging population and shrinking
workforce compound its difficulties.
China could drive less global growth this year and beyond than many
business leaders expected, making the country less important for some
foreign companies, and less likely to significantly surpass the U.S. as
the world's biggest economy.
``The disappointing recovery today really suggests that some of the
structural drags are already in play,'' said Frederic Neumann, chief
Asia economist at HSBC.
China's economy expanded at an annual rate of 4.5 percent in the
first quarter, boosted by the end of Covid-era restrictions.
Yet more recent signals suggest the revival is ebbing. Retail sales
rose 0.5 percent in April compared with March. A bundle of data on
factory output, exports and investment came in much weaker than
economists were expecting.
More than a fifth of Chinese youths aged 16 to 24 were unemployed
in April. E-commerce companies Alibaba and JD.com reported lackluster
first-quarter earnings. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, dominated by
Chinese companies, is down 5.2 percent year to date, and the yuan has
weakened against the U.S. dollar.
Most economists don't expect China's problems to lead to recession,
or derail the government's growth target of around 5 percent this year,
which is widely seen as easily achievable given how weak the economy
was last year.
McDonald's and Starbucks have said they are opening hundreds of new
restaurants in China, while retailers including Ralph Lauren are
launching new stores.
A boom in electric-vehicle production allowed China to surpass
Japan as the world's largest exporter of vehicles in the first quarter.
Beijing's industrial policies and China's manufacturing prowess mean it
is still finding ways to succeed in some major industries.
``We still have confidence in the long-term growth story of
China,'' said Phillip Wool, head of research at Rayliant Global
Advisors, an asset manager with $17 billion under management. He said
the country's transition to one that relies more on domestic
consumption instead of exports will help keep it on track.
Still, many economists are growing more worried about China's
future.
The big hope for this year was that Chinese consumers would step up
spending, as the main drivers of China's past growth--investment and
exports--languish.
But while people are spending somewhat more after almost 3 years of
tough Covid-19 controls, China isn't experiencing the kind of surge
other economies enjoyed when they emerged from the pandemic.
Consumer confidence is low. More important, some economists say, is
that Beijing hasn't been able to meaningfully change Chinese consumers'
long-running propensity to save rather than spend--a response to a
threadbare social-safety net that means families must sock away more
for medical bills and other emergencies.
Chinese household consumption accounts for around 38 percent of
annual gross domestic product, according to United Nations data,
compared with 68 percent in the U.S.
``Consumer-led growth has always been a bit of an aspirational
target'' for China, said Louise Loo, China lead economist in Singapore
at Oxford Economics, a consulting firm. Now, it might be even harder to
achieve, she said, given how cautious Chinese consumers are coming out
of the pandemic.
Although Beijing is trying to make it easier to borrow this year,
lending data indicate households prefer to pay down debt than take on
new loans.
In March, Zi Lu dipped into her dowry and paid off the remaining
1.2 million yuan, equivalent to about $170,000, on her mortgage for an
apartment she bought in Shanghai 2 years ago. Working for an e-commerce
retailer, she said sales have been underwhelming this year. Lu said she
is anxious and wants to reduce her debt burden.
``I'm scared of getting laid off out of the blue,'' she said.
Also looming over the economy is its massive debt pile.
Between 2012 and 2022, China's debt grew by $37 trillion, while the
U.S. added nearly $25 trillion. By June 2022, debt in China reached
about $52 trillion, dwarfing outstanding debt in all other emerging
markets combined, according to calculations by Nicholas Borst, director
of China research at Seafarer Capital Partners.
As of last September, total debt as a share of GDP hit 295 percent
in China, compared with 257 percent in the U.S., data from the Bank for
International Settlements shows. Viewing the debt buildup as a threat
to financial stability, Xi has made deleveraging a centerpiece of his
economic policy since 2016, weighing on growth.
To help deflate the country's housing bubble, regulators imposed
strict borrowing limits for property developers from late 2020.
Property development investment fell 5.8 percent in the first quarter
of this year despite policy efforts to stem the pace of the slide.
Two-thirds of local governments are now in danger of breaching
unofficial debt thresholds set by Beijing to signify severe funding
stress, according to S&P Global calculations. Cities across the country
from Shenzhen to Zhengzhou have cut benefits for civil servants and
delayed salary payments in some cases for teachers.
These problems are deepening when China's appeal as a destination
for foreign firms is waning, data show, as tensions rise with the U.S.-
led West.
Foreign direct investment into China tumbled 48 percent in 2022
compared with a year earlier, to $180 billion, according to Chinese
data, while FDI as a share of China's GDP has slipped to less than 2
percent, from more than double that a decade ago.
Competition for investment with countries including India and
Vietnam is heating up as firms seek to diversify supply chains, partly
in response to the risk of disruption from conflict between the U.S.
and China.
Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce
in China, said uncertainty over China's long-term economic prospects is
another factor in companies' investment decisions.
``Naturally, it dampens the willingness to go out and invest in
additional capacity if you are not super optimistic about the economic
outlook,'' he said.
Reforms to foster more productive, private-sector activity have
stalled under Xi, who is placing greater emphasis on security than
economic growth. Beijing has tightened regulation of sectors including
technology, private education and real estate, leaving many business
owners unwilling to invest more.
In the first 4 months of this year, fixed-asset investment made by
private firms grew 0.4 percent from a year earlier, compared with 5.5
percent growth in the same period in 2019.
Chinese leaders have dialed up rhetoric to reassure entrepreneurs
and investors. Li Qiang, China's No. 2 official and new premier, said
in March that China will open further to foreign players, and told
Communist Party officials to treat private entrepreneurs as ``our own
people.''
Economists are split over whether policymakers, who have held off
on launching large-scale stimulus as they did in 2008 and 2015, will
resort to more aggressive stimulus now. Some, including economists from
Citigroup, expect China's central bank to cut interest rates in the
coming months to lift sentiment.
Others say that Beijing's restraint stems from fear of compounding
already-high debt levels, and that more stimulus might do little to
trigger demand for credit anyway.
Jeff Bowman, chief executive of Cocona, which makes temperature-
regulating materials used in apparel and bedding, said he is still
optimistic about China. He said that during a recent 2-week business
trip to Taiwan and China, customers who were focused on China's
domestic market were far more upbeat than their counterparts exporting
to the U.S. or Europe, who he said ``are hurting for sure.''
He said that Cocona, based in Boulder, Colo., plans to set up a
subsidiary in China to expand its business there.
But many analysts still wonder where the growth will come from.
``The big question is, have we reached the point where awareness of
the structural slowdown is becoming a near-term issue for confidence?
Then it's a bit of a vicious cycle,'' said Michael Hirson, head of
China research at 22V Research, a New York-based consulting firm.
Mr. Correa. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
What we now have is a world-wide economic crisis that has
led to world-wide economic crisis. There has never been more
misplaced individuals probably in the last 100, 200 years in
this world. World War II, 60 million individuals on the move.
Today we have confirmed it, a greater number of individuals
moving throughout the world displaced. This chart, if I can,
from the U.N. Refugee Agency, shows the number of displaced
persons, those in need of international protection and asylum
seekers just in the Americas. As you can see from this chart,
countries around the region, in this region, are suffering the
challenge of refugees. Mexico is dealing with the refugee
crisis within its borders, struggling. Guatemala is struggling.
Europe, of course, is also feeling the stress. Further south in
Colombia, not only is it hosting 2.5 million Venezuelan
refugees, but others as well. Of course, these refugees are
facing terrible conditions as they move north, looking for
safety and opportunity.
This next picture I am going to show you is of a little
girl struggling to continue north across the Darien Gap. She is
separated from her mother and is being helped by another
refugee trying to survive in that very dangerous region as they
move north. If those refugees are willing to take that journey
north, you know there is desperation.
So when we look at the post-COVID-19 world, we have to look
at the challenges as a Nation. Let me start by saying Title 42
was a pandemic policy that was supposed to end when COVID ended
as well. The party in charge of the House Representatives voted
to end the COVID-19 pandemic and in doing so, voted to end or
lift Title 42. I have to say I agree with them because Title 42
is an issue dealing with pandemics, health issues, and not an
immigration instrument tool.
Looking forward to hearing from our witnesses today about
the recent encounters at the border. I ask again that you talk
about the numbers. As you do, you keep in mind the current
challenges and the upcoming challenges, because this refugee
challenge is not going away.
I have been to Central America and those nations, their
infrastructures are devastated, and it is going to take a lot
to get them back on their feet.
Also nearby, I visited all the CPB facilities that I could
over the last few months on our Southern Border in the months
leading up to the lifting of Title 42. I have also visited San
Diego before and after 42. On every trip I would take, I would
ask our officers at the border, are we prepared for May 11? Are
we ready? They would say, yes, we are, to the best of our
ability and based on assumptions that we have made on the
numbers of individuals we are assuming will be here. You know
what? They did a really good job. It wasn't just CBP, it was
DHS, State Department, the administration, they did a good job.
In those first few days after Title 42 ended, the
encounters dropped at the border by more than half. In fact, if
you look at this next chart, those are the numbers reported by
Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz showing more than a 50 percent
drop in encounters since the ending of 42. These numbers
continue to remain lower than what they were seeing earlier
this spring, despite the fact that there is usually a normal
increase at this time of the year, that is a seasonal increase.
Let me just repeat some of the things the administration
did. They opened up regional processing centers in which CBP
agents told me that they were very helpful in managing the
capacity of processing individuals at the border, the
administration created legal pathways for Venezuelans, Cubans,
Haitians, and Nicaraguans to enter the United States legally,
the administration sent active-duty military personnel to help
with the logistics and expected surges at the border. By the
way, California sent the National Guard and Texas sent the
National Guard as well.
While I disagree with some of the consequences put in place
at the border, some of the penalties in place at the border
following the end of Title 42, they appear to be part of what
has happened at the border today. I would say that as a body,
as a legislative body, we have got a lot of work to do. The
refugee crisis is not going away. It has got to be addressed
with on a continent basis. South of the border, these are our
neighbors, they are not going to move, they are going to be
hanging out for a while. We have to address the challenges
south of the border.
I would welcome the Chairman and others to visit with me
countries south of the border to address the root causes of
migration, to make sure that we prepare for the long-term. We
can fight each other, point at each other, but we are talking
about solutions in our continent, in our backyard. Though we
roll up our sleeves and figure it out, we are going to continue
to bicker and fight amongst each other and nothing is going to
get done long-term.
So today, from our witnesses, I look forward to hearing
your testimony. What you think has led to this--Mr. Chairman, I
am not going to say a decline--but management of the border,
was there a decline, what were the solutions you put in place,
and what we can expect going forward?
Again, I don't believe this chapter is over in this refugee
crisis. COVID-19 is still with us, it has devastated the
continent, the world, and we are the only game in town. Like it
or not, we are the greatest, strongest economy in the world.
With that, Mr. Chair, I want to thank you for my time and I
turn over to you.
[The statement of Ranking Member Correa follows:]
Statement of Ranking Member J. Luis Correa
June 6, 2023
It's important to start by looking back over the last few years to
see where we've been. And we need to look at where we are and look
forward to see what we need to prepare for.
Chairman, we've dealt with COVID-19. America spent trillions in
fighting COVID. And as a Nation, we have done pretty well in the
aftermath.
In fact, our economy is doing so well that we have a record low
unemployment rate and worker shortages. This is happening while the
rest of the world's economies are stumbling. Even China, the second-
largest economy in the world, is stumbling. I'd like to submit for the
record one article talking about China and its post-COVID-19 pandemic
woes.
What we have now is a world-wide refugee crisis, like the world has
never seen. There are more displaced individuals than there were in
World War II--about 60 million then. Today, the number is much greater
number.
This chart from UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee Agency, shows the number of
displaced persons, those in need of international protection and asylum
seekers in the Americas. You can see countries across the region are
experiencing unprecedented numbers.
This is not America's problem, it's the world's challenge.
Mexico is dealing with refugees within its borders. Canada has
issues as well. Guatemala is feeling the stress of refugees. Europe is
also feeling the stress. Further south, Columbia is hosting about 2.5
million Venezuelan refugees. Refugees are braving terrible conditions
to find safety and opportunity.
I'd like to show this picture of a little girl struggling to
continue on in the Darien Gap to show just some of the conditions
refugees are willing to overcome to find safety.
If they are willing to endure this, we can only imagine what home
must be like. So, when we look at the post-COVID world, let's look at
challenges ahead of us as a Nation.
Let me start by saying that Title 42 was a pandemic policy
supposedly intended to protect the public from COVID-19. The party in
charge of House of Representatives voted to end the COVID-19 pandemic
health emergency. Thus, my Republican colleagues voted to lift Title
42. And let me say, I agree with them. Title 42 should not be used as
an immigration or border management tool.
I'm looking forward to hearing from our witnesses about recent
encounter numbers. I ask that as you talk about the numbers, you keep
in mind the current challenge of world-wide migration. This is not
going away and this issue will require a long-term perspective.
While we heard a lot of fear about what might happen post-Title 42,
the numbers of migrants we are seeing at the border actually dropped.
We were told just last week that there is now significant capacity
available in Border Patrol facilities. It's clear this administration
has taken extensive steps to prepare for the end of Title 42.
I visited CBP facilities across the Southern Border in the months
leading up to end of Title 42. And I visited the border in San Diego
just days after it ended.
On every trip I made I would ask the officers and agents ``Are we
prepared for May 11? Are we prepared for when Title 42 ends?''
They would say ``Yes we are prepared. But there is the great
unknown and we continue to prepare for all possible scenarios.''
They did the best they could, and they were ready.
It wasn't just CBP. It was DHS, the State Department, and this
administration more broadly. And it looks like they did a pretty good
job.
In those first few days after Title 42 ended, encounter numbers
dropped by more than half. In fact, if you look at this chart, these
are the numbers reported publicly by Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz
showing more than a 50 percent drop in encounters since the ending of
Title 42. That significant drop in the chart is when Title 42 ended.
Numbers remain significantly lower than what they were seeing
earlier this Spring, despite the fact that numbers normally increase at
this time of year. Yet this hearing is entitled ``Examining DHS's
Failure to Prepare for the Termination of Title 42.'' It's an
interesting title. I'd like to recap some of the actions this
administration took to prepare.
The administration is opening Regional Processing Centers, which
CBP agents have told me will be incredibly helpful in managing the
capacity and processing individuals at the ports of entry.
The administration created legal pathways for Venezuelans, Cubans,
Haitians, and Nicaraguans to enter the United States legally.
The administration sent active-duty military personnel to help with
logistics and surged additional resources from DHS to manage increased
encounters.
The administration expanded access to the CBP One app and increased
efforts to combat misinformation and stop transnational criminal
organizations and smugglers from taking advantage of vulnerable
migrants and those who seek to traffic drugs into the United States.
While I disagree with some of the consequences put in place, our border
was not overwhelmed following the end of Title 42. Again, we've seen a
significant decrease in encounters at the border.
There is still more we can do to improve our border security and
reform our immigration system. We need to be prepared if numbers do
increase in the future. Because this isn't a short-term challenge. We
need to come up with more incentives for refugees to apply for
admission to the United States before approaching our borders. We have
to refocus on the economies of the world that have been devastated,
with particular attention to our North American continent, and our
neighbors to the south. And of course, we have to address immigration
reform, and the demand for workers by an economically vibrant American
economy.
Chairman Higgins. I thank my friend, Ranking Member Correa.
Other Members of the committee are reminded that opening
statements may be submitted for the record.
[The statement of Ranking Member Thompson follows:]
Prepared Statement of Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson
June 6, 2023
We are here today to discuss the Department's readiness for the end
of Title 42. Despite this hearing's title, the administration did, in
fact, prepare for the end of Title 42. And that preparation has been
successful. But let's start by acknowledging that Title 42 was a
pandemic-era policy. And that Republicans in the House voted to end the
public health emergency, which means they voted to end Title 42.
Under Title 42, hundreds of thousands of migrants were denied due
process and access to the lawful asylum system. Migrants have the legal
right to request protection under U.S. law, and I am glad to see we
have transitioned back to regular immigration policy that allows for
those laws to be followed. Nevertheless, terminating Title 42 was a
complex undertaking that required significant planning.
DHS and the Biden administration instituted a whole-of-Government
approach more than a year-and-a-half ago to prepare for the end of
Title 42. DHS and the administration surged resources, increased
efficiencies, administered consequences for unlawful entry, bolstered
capacity, disrupted criminal organizations, and collaborated with
international and Federal partners to prepare for the end of Title 42.
While my Republican colleagues may be disappointed with the lack of
chaos at the border, the administration's actions led to a dramatic
decrease in encounters with migrants at our Southwest Border following
the end of Title 42. While the decrease in encounters is encouraging,
we know that numbers may increase in the future.
Our immigration system has been broken for decades and we must
continue to work to address the problems that plague this system. This
committee should help ensure the Department has the personnel and
resources it needs to process migrants in an orderly and humane manner.
Democrats have worked to ensure the Department has the resources needed
to process migrants humanely and efficiently.
Instead of helping the Department prepare and manage encounters on
our Southwest Border, Republicans recently voted against authorizing
the 1,700 CBP officers needed to increase capacity at our ports of
entry. They also voted to cut 2,400 CBP officers and agents. And yet
now, despite decreased encounters and the fact that they voted to end
Title 42, they are trying to claim that the Department did not
adequately prepare.
I look forward to hearing from the witnesses on the state of the
border post-Title 42, as well as the Department's extensive efforts to
prepare for its termination.
Chairman Higgins. I am pleased to have a distinguished
panel of witnesses before us today on this very important topic
and I ask that our witnesses please rise and raise your right
hand.
[Witnesses sworn.]
Chairman Higgins. Let the record reflect that the witnesses
have answered in the affirmative.
Thank you gentlemen, please be seated.
I would like to now formally introduce our witnesses.
Mr. Blas Nunez-Neto has been serving as the assistant
secretary for border and immigration policy since October 1,
2021. Mr. Nunez-Neto has nearly 20 years of homeland security
experience and previously served as the chief operating officer
at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Mr. Benjamine ``Carry'' Huffman is the acting deputy
commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, where he
oversees the daily operation of CBP's expansive mission,
including matters related to trade, travel, and national
security. Mr. Huffman entered duty with the U.S. Border Patrol
on February 3, 1985 as a member of the Border Patrol Academy
Class 173.
I thank our witnesses for being here today, and I now
recognize Assistant Secretary Nunez-Neto for 5 minutes to
summarize his opening statement.
STATEMENT OF BLAS NUNEZ-NETO, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR BORDER
AND IMMIGRATION POLICY, OFFICE OF STRATEGY, POLICY AND PLANS,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Mr. Nunez-Neto. Chairman Higgins, Ranking Member Correa,
and distinguished Members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the
opportunity to appear before you today.
DHS led a comprehensive planning effort for more than 18
months to prepare for the end of Title 42. This effort included
record deployments of personnel, infrastructure, and resources
to support our front line. We also developed a series of policy
measures intended to disincentivize unlawful entries at the
land border while incentivizing migrants to use safe, orderly,
and lawful processes and pathways to come to the United States.
The end of Title 42 on May 12 allowed DHS to once again
impose consequences at the border. Unlike an expulsion under
Title 42, removal under Title 8 carries with it a minimum 5-
year bar to reentry and the potential to be prosecuted for
repeated re-entries. In the weeks since May 12, DHS has
overseen a whole-of-Government effort that has reduced unlawful
entries between our ports of entry by 70 percent. We did so
even as Congress appropriated less than half of the $4.9
billion that DHS requested to prepare for the end of Title 42.
As part of these efforts, we strengthened the consequences
for those who are apprehended crossing the border unlawfully
through the new Lawful Pathways Rule. This rule places common-
sense conditions on asylum eligibility for migrants who do not
use the lawful pathways and processes that we have dramatically
expanded over the last year. Since May 12, USCIS has conducted
a record number of credible fear interviews, more than 13,000,
for migrants placed in expedited removal. We have repatriated
over 38,400 single adults and families to more than 80
countries, including over 1,400 nationals of Cuba, Haiti,
Nicaragua, and Venezuela who were returned to Mexico under our
Title 8 authorities. This is the first time in our bilateral
history that the government of Mexico has allowed the
repatriation of non-Mexican nationals at the border under our
Title 8 authorities.
DHS has made clear through these efforts that there are
serious consequences for unlawful entry. However, consequences
are by themselves not sufficient to deter migration. To be most
effective, the consequences we enforce must be paired with
incentives for migrants to use lawful processes. This
administration has overseen a historic increase in access to
lawful processes for migrants to come to the United States in a
safe and orderly manner that takes them out of the hands of the
drug cartels and the coyotes. These processes include
supporter-based parole processes for nationals of Cuba, Haiti,
Nicaragua, and Venezuela, which have significantly reduced
unlawful entries at the border, they include a 300 percent
increase since 2019 in temporary work visas available for
migrants in the region, and a dramatic expansion of refugee
resettlement in the Western Hemisphere. The recently-announced
Safe Mobility offices in Guatemala and Colombia will also allow
migrants to be referred to legal pathways, not just to the
United States, but to other partner countries, including Canada
and Spain, that are participating in this effort. We have also
significantly expanded orderly access to our land border ports
of entry through the CBP One mobile application, which allows
us to process almost four times our pre-pandemic average of
individuals at our land border ports of entry each day.
Once again, the end result of this comprehensive effort has
been a 70 percent decrease in unlawful entries between ports of
entries since May 12. However, we know that the conditions in
the hemisphere that are driving the unprecedented movement of
people, not just to our country, but to countries throughout
the region, are still present, and that the cartels and the
coyotes will continue to weaponize disinformation to put
migrants' lives at risk for profit.
I'd like to conclude by noting that these surges in
migration have now become a regular occurrence for more than a
decade, under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Presidents of both parties have attempted to use their
Executive authorities to address these challenges as we have.
This, in turn, has invited litigation from both sides of the
political spectrum and has resulted in courts across the
country dictating border and immigration policy. It is
abundantly clear that Executive action alone cannot solve the
entrenched challenge of irregular migration in our region, and
neither party can address its impact on our border by
themselves. Until and unless the U.S. Congress comes together
in a bipartisan way to address our broken immigration and
asylum system, we will continue to see these surges in
migration at our border.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today
and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Nunez-Neto follows:]
Prepared Statement of Blas Nunez-Neto
June 6, 2023
introduction
Chairman Higgins, Ranking Member Correa, and distinguished Members
of the committee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you
today to discuss the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS or
Department) on-going efforts to secure and manage our Nation's borders.
I have been serving as the assistant secretary for border and
immigration policy since March 26, 2023, having previously acted in
this capacity since October 1, 2021. Prior to this role, I served as
the chief operating officer at U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP), as well as the vice chair for the Secretary of Homeland
Security's Southwest Border Taskforce.
For more than 3 years, starting in March 2020, DHS enforced the
public health order that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) issued, under Title 42 of the U.S. Code, in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic. On May 11, 2023, at 11:59PM ET, the public health
emergency officially expired and the pandemic-era Title 42 public
health order came to an end.
DHS led a planning effort for more than 18 months to prepare for
the end of the Title 42 public heath order. This effort included record
deployments of personnel, infrastructure, and resources to support our
front-line personnel as well as the development of a series of policy
measures intended to disincentivize unlawful entries at the land border
while incentivizing migrants to use safe, orderly, and lawful processes
and pathways to come to the United States. In the weeks since May 12,
DHS has executed on this plan by leading a whole-of-Government effort
to ensure the safe, orderly, and humane management of the Nation's
borders and the continued enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. We did
so even as Congress failed to adequately fund these efforts,
appropriating less than half of the $4.9 billion that DHS requested to
prepare for the end of Title 42.
The end of the Title 42 Order allowed DHS to fully return to
processing all noncitizens under its long-standing Title 8 immigration
authorities. DHS has strengthened the consequences for those who are
apprehended crossing the border unlawfully, who are now subject to the
Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule on asylum eligibility. Migrants
who do not use the expanded lawful pathways and processes to come to
the United States in a safe and orderly manner are subject to a
rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility unless they meet an
exception or are able to rebut the presumption.
The result of this comprehensive planning effort has been a
significant reduction in unlawful entries between ports of entry along
our Southwest Border (SWB), which have decreased by more than 70
percent since May 12. The plan we put forward is working. We are
cognizant, however, that the conditions in the hemisphere that are
driving unprecedented movements of people are still present and that
the cartels and coyotes will continue to spread disinformation about
any potential changes to policies at the border in order to put
migrants' lives at risk for profit. We will remain vigilant and
continue to execute our plan, making adjustments where needed.
Surges in migration have been a regular occurrence for more than a
decade under Republican and Democratic administrations. Presidents of
both parties have attempted to use their Executive authorities to
address these challenges--as we have. This, in turn, has invited
litigation from both sides of the political spectrum and has resulted
in courts across the country dictating border and immigration policy in
ways that are contradictory and detrimental to our ability to manage
the border. It is abundantly clear that Executive action cannot solve
the entrenched challenge of migration in our region, and that neither
party can address its impact on our border by itself. Until and unless
Congress comes together in a bipartisan way to address our broken
immigration and asylum system, we will continue to see surges in
migration at our border.
contextualizing migratory flows
There are more people displaced throughout the world today than at
any other time since World War II. Violence, food insecurity, severe
poverty, corruption, climate change, the fall-out of the COVID-19
pandemic, and dire economic conditions have all contributed to a
significant increase in irregular migration around the globe. In the
Western Hemisphere, failing authoritarian regimes in Venezuela, Cuba,
and Nicaragua, along with an on-going humanitarian crisis in Haiti,
have driven millions of people from those countries to leave their
homes. Moreover, violence, corruption, and the lack of economic
opportunity--challenges that are endemic throughout the region--are
driving many others from countries as diverse as Colombia, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru to make the dangerous journey to our
border.
Transnational criminal organizations encourage and facilitate these
migratory flows, spreading disinformation about what individuals will
encounter along the route and at our border, so they can exploit
migrants as part of a billion-dollar criminal enterprise. The
increasing role that drug cartels are playing in human smuggling
throughout the region is particularly concerning given their complete
disregard for human life, which has led to tragedies in the United
States, Mexico, and other countries.
The increased migratory flows at our border are a direct result of
global trends that have been building for many years. Historically,
encounters along the SWB in the 1980's and 1990's consisted
overwhelmingly of single adults from Mexico, most of whom were
migrating for economic reasons and regularly crossed back and forth
across the border. Until the early 2000's, annual encounters routinely
numbered more than a million. In the early 2010's, after three decades
of bipartisan investments in border security and strategy, encounters
along the SWB reached modern lows, averaging fewer than 400,000 per
year from 2011 to 2017. However, even during this period of relatively
low encounters, DHS faced significant surges in migration by
unaccompanied children in 2014, and family units in 2016, which
strained our operations given the unique challenges posed by those
demographics. Between 2017 and 2019, encounters along the SWB more than
doubled, and--following a significant drop during the beginning of the
COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down travel across the world and
depressed migration--continued to increase in 2021 and 2022.
In fiscal year 2021, encounters at the SWB reached levels not seen
since the early 2000's, with a total of 1.7 million encounters. In
fiscal year 2022, DHS reached a high-water mark for encounters at the
SWB with 2.4 million total encounters. A surge in migration of
nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) accounted
for more than two-thirds of the increase in encounters from fiscal year
2021 to fiscal year 2022. DHS encountered more than 626,000 CHNV
nationals in fiscal year 2022 comprising 26 percent of total encounters
and 35 percent of unique encounters--by far the highest proportion
these groups had ever accounted for. This surge was largely driven by
deteriorating conditions in these countries, as well as DHS's general
inability to impose immigration consequences on nationals from these
countries that were encountered at the border because of the
requirement to implement the Title 42 public health order. Venezuela
does not allow repatriations via charter flights, which significantly
limits DHS's ability to remove Venezuelan nationals. Nicaragua and Cuba
have historically placed restrictions on the number of charter flights
that DHS can operate. DHS has, however, recently restarted removal
flights to Cuba, conducting two individual flights on April 24 and May
10--the first since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. While
DHS does continue to operate removal flights to Haiti, the
deteriorating security, economic, and political situation on the ground
there, including the security situation at the Port-au-Prince airport,
has raised operational challenges in doing so at particular times.
These historic challenges were exacerbated by the unpredictable
impacts that the application of Title 42 at the SWB had on migration in
our hemisphere. Because Title 42 expulsions had no immigration
consequence for migrants, these expulsions did not have the same impact
as traditional Title 8 processing. Unlike a Title 42 expulsion, a
removal under Title 8 carries with it at least a 5-year bar to
admission, among other legal consequences such as potential criminal
prosecution for repeated entries. The application of Title 42 at the
border--which DHS was required by a court order to continue to
implement after the CDC initially determined it should have been ended
in April 2022--may have actually increased border encounters,
particularly for single adults expelled to Mexico. This is due to the
significant increase in recidivism--or multiple encounters of the same
person--observed for individuals processed under Title 42 as compared
to those processed under Title 8 authorities. From the start of the
pandemic and the initiation of Title 42 expulsions through December 31,
2022, 39 percent of all Title 42 expulsions were followed by a re-
encounter of the same individual within 30 days, compared with a 30-day
re-encounter rate of 9 percent for Title 8 repatriations. Similarly,
the 12-month re-encounter rates were 51 percent for Title 42 expulsions
versus 20 percent for Title 8 repatriations. Overall, in April 2023, 26
percent of encounters at the SWB involved individuals who had at least
one prior encounter during the previous 12 months, compared to an
average 1-year re-encounter rate of 14 percent for fiscal year 2014-
2019.
a whole-of-government approach to manage and secure the border
DHS led a comprehensive all-of-Government effort to prepare for the
end of the Title 42 public health order that lasted more than a year-
and-a-half. In the Fall of 2021, DHS began contingency planning efforts
that included building an operational plan and conducting regular
interagency tabletop exercises. Through the Southwest Border
Coordination Center (SBCC), formally launched in February 2022, DHS
leveraged its components, including CBP, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS),
U.S. Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
in coordination with interagency partners across the Federal
Government, to strategically position resources and accelerate
processing efficiencies that enable DHS to better manage the
operational environment along the SWB. DHS is also working closely with
the Department of State (DOS) to engage partners in the region to
streamline repatriation processes, increase removal flights, and
address migratory flows downstream.
In April 2022, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas
issued the DHS Plan for Southwest Border Security and Preparedness,
laying out a six-pillar plan to manage an increase in encounters once
the Title 42 Order was no longer in effect. DHS updated this
comprehensive plan in December 2022, and continues to build upon the
impact DHS has seen as a result of these efforts, which include: (1)
Surging resources, including personnel, transportation, medical
support, and facilities to support border operations; (2) increasing
CBP processing efficiency and moving with deliberate speed to mitigate
potential overcrowding at U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) stations and to
alleviate the burden on the surrounding border communities; (3)
administering consequences for unlawful entry, including removal,
detention, and prosecution; (4) bolstering the capacity of non-
governmental organizations (NGO's) to receive noncitizens after they
have been processed by CBP and are awaiting the results of their
immigration proceedings; as well as ensuring appropriate coordination
with and support for State, local, and community leaders to help
mitigate increased impacts to their communities; (5) targeting and
disrupting the transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and
smugglers who take advantage of and profit from vulnerable migrants,
and who seek to traffic drugs into the United States; and (6) deterring
irregular migration south of the border, in partnership with the DOS,
other Federal agencies, and nations throughout the Western Hemisphere,
to ensure responsibility sharing. This robust plan leverages a whole-
of-Government approach to prepare for and manage potential increases in
encounters of noncitizens at the SWB.
At our current funding level, DHS has:
Surged personnel to reinforce the more than 24,000 USBP and
Office of Field Operations (OFO) personnel at the border, with
approximately 1,000 law enforcement officers from across the
DHS network, as well as other Federal agencies, thousands of
contract personnel, 1,500 active-duty military personnel, and
hundreds of volunteers from across DHS and interagency
partners.
Dedicated and retrained more than 1,000 USCIS officers to
conduct credible fear interviews of migrants encountered at the
border, allowing DHS the ability to more quickly provide relief
to those who are eligible and expeditiously remove those who
are not.
Enhanced surveillance capacity by adding 81 new autonomous
surveillance towers since the start of fiscal year 2022 for a
current total of 223. The President's fiscal year 2024 budget
also requests more than $500 million in border technology.
Expanded CBP temporary holding capacity at the border by
nearly 50 percent, from 13,230 in January 2021 to over 19,000
today.
Made available several thousand detention beds in the ICE
network by updating guidelines to reflect the latest CDC
guidance regarding congregate settings in detention facilities.
Increased contracted medical personnel by 75 percent since
the start of fiscal year 2022.
Arrested nearly 10,000 smugglers and disrupted thousands of
human smuggling operations, such as raiding smuggler stash
houses, impounding tractor trailers that are used to smuggle
migrants, and confiscating smugglers' information technology.
We have also been working closely with the DOS and countries
throughout the hemisphere--including Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica,
Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama--to expand efforts to counter human
smuggling organizations, humanely secure borders, increase labor
mobility, and expand protection and lawful pathways for intending
migrants. A key part of this coordination with foreign partners has
been working to increase our capacity to remove individuals who do not
establish a legal basis to remain in the United States. These efforts
have included significantly increasing the number of flights that ICE
is able to operate to countries throughout the hemisphere--with the
number of removal flights doubling or tripling for some countries--
while streamlining the requirements that countries place on operating
those flights, and generally making it easier to repatriate
individuals. As an example, we have increased the number of weekly
flights that we can operate to countries such as Ecuador and Colombia
from 2 and 1 in 2021, to 8 and 12 today, respectively.
Through this planning effort and intensive international
negotiations, DHS has repatriated--through removals, returns, and
expulsions--record numbers of non-citizens over the past 2 years. Since
January 2021, DHS repatriated 3.4 million individuals to 146 countries,
including a record 1.5 million individuals in fiscal year 2022.
new measures to effectively manage an orderly and humane immigration
system
In addition to coordinating an all-of-Government response and
surging personnel, infrastructure, and other resources to the border,
DHS has taken a number of innovative policy steps that seek to change
the calculus for intending migrants. These measures impose new
consequences on individuals who cross the border unlawfully and do not
qualify for an exception, while significantly expanding lawful pathways
to incentivize noncitizens to use safe, orderly, and lawful pathways to
come to the United States without having to put their lives in the
hands of drug cartels and smugglers. As part of these efforts, we have
also overseen the largest expansion in lawful pathways in decades even
as we have set records for repatriations.
As described above, most of the increase in encounters from fiscal
year 2021 to fiscal year 2022 was driven by a surge in migration from
CHNV nationals--countries for which the United States had limited
ability to impose consequences on unlawful entry. In the fall of 2022,
Venezuelan migrants began to take the extraordinarily dangerous path to
our border in increasing numbers--a journey that goes through the most
dangerous border crossing in the world, the Darien region, a jungle
between Colombia and Panama. By early October 2022, DHS was
encountering more than 1,100 Venezuelan migrants a day between ports of
entry (POEs) and Panama was encountering roughly 4,000 a day exiting
the Darien. In response to this challenge, DHS developed--in close
coordination with the government of Mexico--an innovative approach that
provided Venezuelans with a safe, orderly way to come to the United
States and imposed new consequences on those who crossed unlawfully.
Venezuelans who did not use this new process and were encountered at
the land border would, for the first time, be returned to Mexico. As
part of this process, U.S.-based supporters provide financial support
for Venezuelan nationals who can be authorized to travel directly to
the interior of the United States--after clearing national security and
public safety vetting--to seek a discretionary grant of parole based
after a case-by-case determination.
The Venezuela process significantly reduced irregular migration to
the border, and throughout the entire hemisphere. Two weeks after the
announcement, encounters of Venezuelan nationals between POEs had
declined to under 200 per day. This significant reduction continues
today with a daily average of 162 the week ending June 2. Panama has
seen a similarly dramatic decline in Venezuelans exiting the Darien,
reflecting a paradigm shift in regional migratory flows.
In November and December 2022, DHS began to see a surge in
migration from nationals of Cuba and Nicaragua, with CHNV encounters
between POEs peaking at 3,644 encounters on December 10. On January 5,
2023, DHS announced the expansion of the Venezuela process to Cubans,
Haitians, and Nicaraguans. Encounters of CHNV nationals between POEs at
the SWB immediately declined, from a 7-day average of 1,231 on the day
of the announcement on January 5, to a 7-day average of 205 2 weeks
later. The reduction occurred even as encounters of other noncitizens
began to rebound from their typical seasonal drop and represented a
decline of 94 percent from the early December 10 peak; and CHNV
encounters between POEs are even lower today, averaging 182 per day the
week ending June 2, down 95 percent from the December peak.
The significant decrease in unlawful entries after the
implementation of the CHNV enforcement processes--a decrease that holds
months later--demonstrates clearly that migrants will wait to utilize a
safe, lawful, and orderly pathway to the United States if one is
available, rather than putting their lives and livelihoods in the hands
of ruthless smugglers.
It is also true that smugglers will look for any opportunity to
deceive migrants about U.S. law and immigration policies at the border
in order to drive migration. We saw this phenomenon play out in the
weeks leading up to the end of Title 42, when smugglers weaponized
misinformation to convince migrants in Mexico that the United States
was no longer returning Venezuelan nationals at the border and used the
promise of heightened consequences starting on May 12 to convince
migrants to part with their money and risk their lives to attempt to
enter unlawfully before that date. This resulted in an increase in
encounters of Venezuelan nationals to their highest levels since the
implementation of the parole process in October 2022--even as
encounters of Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans remained at
historically low rates. Encounters of Venezuelans once again declined
precipitously with the resumption of Title 8 processing and the
implementation of stricter consequences for non-citizens who unlawfully
cross the border into the United States. As noted above, after May 12
CHNV encounters declined precipitously once again, to an average of
fewer than 182 per day the week ending June 2.
On May 12, 2023, after a robust regulatory process that included
responding to more than 50,000 comments from the public, DHS and the
Department of Justice began implementing the Circumvention of Lawful
Pathways rule, which is designed to build on the success of the CHNV
enforcement processes. The rule is designed to cut the transnational
criminal organizations that prey on migrants out of the process, making
migration safer and more orderly. Its provisions incentivize migrants
to use the new and existing lawful processes that DHS has established
and disincentivize dangerous border crossings by placing a common-sense
condition on asylum eligibility for those individuals who fail to do
so, and who do not otherwise qualify for an exception.
Under the rule, individuals who circumvent the expanded lawful,
safe, and orderly pathways into the United States--including the CHNV
processes, the significant expansion in refugee and temporary work
visas, and use of the CBP One mobile app to schedule a time and place
to arrive at a port of entry--and also fail to seek protection in a
country through which they traveled on their way to the United States,
are subject to a rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility in the
United States unless they meet specified exceptions. Individuals who
cannot establish a valid claim to protection under the standards set
out in the rule are subject to prompt removal under Title 8
authorities, which carries at least a 5-year bar to admission to the
United States and the potential to be criminally prosecuted for
repeated unlawful entry.
To implement the rule to the maximum extent possible, DHS has
surged resources, including training more than 1,000 USCIS officers to
support an unprecedented increase in credible fear interviews for those
placed into expedited removal proceedings. This ambitious plan included
adding more than 600 private interview spaces in CBP and ICE facilities
to provide noncitizens in our custody who wish to consult with legal
services providers the opportunity to do so--if legal service providers
are available.
Since May 12, USCIS has conducted more than 13,000 credible fear
interviews--a record number of interviews conducted by USCIS personnel
during a 3-week period.
DHS has made clear through these efforts that there are
consequences for unlawful entry. From May 12 to June 2, 2023, DHS
repatriated over 38,400 noncitizens under Title 8 authorities,
including single adults and families, to more than 80 countries. This
includes over 1,400 noncitizens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and
Venezuela who were returned to Mexico under Title 8 authorities--the
first time in our bilateral history that the government of Mexico has
allowed the repatriation of non-Mexican nationals at the border under
Title 8 authorities.
Consequences are, by themselves, not sufficient to deter migration.
Migrants have, time and time again, shown that they are willing to
endure unfathomable suffering for an opportunity to come to the United
States. And our Nation has, for generations, been made stronger by
those migrants that have come. To be effective, the consequences we
apply must be paired with incentives for migrants to use lawful
processes. This administration has overseen a historic increase in
access to lawful processes for migrants to come to the United States in
a safe, orderly, and lawful manner.
The CHNV processes described above have allowed more than 130,000
individuals who have U.S.-based supporters and have passed the
requisite national security and public safety vetting, to come directly
to the United States. We have significantly expanded the number of
temporary work visas available for migrants in the region, especially
in Northern Central American (NCA) countries of El Salvador, Guatemala,
and Honduras, through the H-2A and H-2B programs. As of May 11, 2023,
11,991 H-2B visas were issued to nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, and Haiti. This is almost double the number of H-2B visas
issued for these populations last fiscal year and a 300 percent
increase compared to the entire fiscal year 2019.
We have also dramatically expanded refugee resettlement in the
Western Hemisphere, working in conjunction with the DOS. We resettled
2,485 individuals in fiscal year 2022, a 521 percent increase over
fiscal year 2021 and an 8-year high for the region. As of April 30,
2023, we have already resettled 2,826 refugees from the Western
Hemisphere--a nearly 20 percent increase over the total fiscal year
2022 with 5 months left in the fiscal year. With the establishment of
Safe Mobility Offices in South and Central America, we will
significantly increase the number of individuals processed for refugee
resettlement in the coming months and years.
We have also significantly expanded access to our land border ports
of entry. The CBP One mobile app, which is available to download for
free to a mobile device, allows individuals of any nationality who are
in Central or Northern Mexico to schedule an appointment to present at
a POE along the SWB in a safe and orderly manner. The advance
biographic and biometric information captured by the app allows CBP to
significantly streamline its processes at the border, which in turn has
allowed CBP to greatly increase its ability to process inadmissible
individuals at land border POEs compared to its 2014-2019 pre-pandemic
average. On June 1, CBP expanded the number of available daily
appointments to 1,250 per day--almost 4 times our pre-pandemic average.
These individuals have presented in a safe and orderly manner at a port
of entry each day during their scheduled appointment time. Since its
launch on January 18, 2023, more than 125,000 noncitizens have
successfully scheduled an appointment to present at a designated POE
through the CBP One app, and more than 109,000 of those appointments
have been processed thus far at POEs along the SWB. This app, available
in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, effectively cuts out the
smugglers, decreases migrant exploitation, and improves safety and
security in addition to making the process more efficient.
We also recognize that the United States cannot address this issue
on its own. As endorsed by the 21 countries that signed the Los Angeles
Declaration on Migration and Protection in June last year, it is our
collective responsibility to address the factors causing irregular
migration throughout our hemisphere. A key pillar of these efforts
includes DHS and DOS are continuing to deliver on our commitments by
establishing Safe Mobility Offices in South and Central America,
starting with Guatemala and Colombia, which formally announced their
participation on June 1 and June 5, respectively. Safe Mobility Offices
enable eligible individuals to begin the process of accessing
protection and other lawful pathways to the United States or other
partner countries including Canada and Spain.
We have also seen governments in the region step up their
enforcement measures since May 12. For instance, The GOM is also
undertaking an unprecedented migration management effort on its
Southern Border with Guatemala, and along key transit routes, and along
our shared border. For its own sovereign reasons, the GOM continues to
be a leader in the region when it comes to innovative and balanced
efforts to manage migration. The government of Guatemala (GOG) has also
taken important steps to address migratory flows. In addition to our
work together to establish safe mobility offices, the GOG has augmented
its border control activities by deploying military and law enforcement
personnel on its own Southern Border. And finally, recognizing that the
unmonitored flow through the Darien region has increasingly been
managed by transnational criminal organizations, is dangerous for the
migrants who use it, and contributes significantly to the volume of
irregular migratory flows in the region, the governments of Colombia
and Panama are, for the first time, working together to attack
transnational criminal networks operating in the Darien. Finally,
throughout the region, DHS and DOS are working bilaterally with
numerous partner countries to encourage the strengthening of visa
policies, better and more targeted screening of individuals flying into
the hemisphere, and enhanced capture and exchange of biometric data.
All these efforts, when taken together, represent significant strides
forward in managing the extraordinary migration challenge that is
facing this hemisphere.
conclusion
The bottom line is that this approach is working. Since the CDC's
Title 42 public health order ended and the Biden-Harris
administration's comprehensive plan to manage the border went into full
effect on May 12, 2023, encounters between POEs at the border have
decreased by more than 70 percent compared to the 48 hours preceding
the end of Title 42, with CBP averaging 3,400 USBP encounters in
between POEs per day and less than 300 non-CBP One OFO encounters at
POEs per day.
Our message has been clear--there are safe, lawful pathways to come
to the United States, and consequences for those who do not use them.
Those who come lawfully will be able to stay and work in the United
States for the time that they are authorized to be here, while those
who come unlawfully will be subject to strengthened consequences and
quickly removed.
DHS is encouraged by this progress, but we recognize that the
underlying conditions prompting historic migration across the Western
Hemisphere remain, and smugglers will continue to weaponize
disinformation to put migrants lives at risk for profit. DHS remains
vigilant and will continue to deliver the strengthened consequences
that have been put in place at the border for migrants who fail to take
advantage of the historic increase in lawful pathways to come to the
United States. We will continue to work with our foreign partners,
including the GOM, to coordinate enforcement efforts and provide lawful
pathways for migration throughout the Hemisphere.
We have demonstrated our commitment to work innovatively within our
statutory authorities, and using the resources made available by
Congress, to address the challenges we are facing at our border and in
the region--challenges that have led to repeated surges in migration
over the past decade years under Presidents of both political parties.
However, it is clear that there is no lasting solution to these
challenges that does not include the U.S. Congress working on a
bipartisan basis to update our hopelessly outdated immigration laws--
laws that have not been touched in decades, and that were created to
deal with a dramatically different migratory challenge. The fact that
DHS's efforts continue to be the subject of on-going litigation--from
both sides of the political spectrum, and often on the same issue--
clearly demonstrates the need for Congressional action. Neither party
can solve this problem on its own, and letting the courts continue to
dictate immigration and border policy is simply untenable.
The Department remains eager to work with this committee and other
Congressional leaders, on a bipartisan basis, to update the United
States' immigration framework, including by modernizing the asylum
system. Until that happens, DHS will continue to utilize every tool
currently at its disposal and within DHS's authorities to secure the
border and create a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system.
I am proud of the work that DHS and the men and women on the front
lines have been doing to address these challenges. The best way for
Congress to support them is by once and for all fixing our outdated,
broken immigration system.
I look forward to working together and to answering your questions.
Thank you.
Chairman Higgins. Thank you, sir. Appreciate your opening
statement.
I now recognize Mr. Huffman for 5 minutes to summarize his
opening statement.
STATEMENT OF BENJAMINE ``CARRY'' HUFFMAN, ACTING DEPUTY
COMMISSIONER, CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY
Mr. Huffman. Good afternoon, Chairman Higgins, Ranking
Member Correa, and distinguished Members of the subcommittee.
It is an honor to testify today on behalf of U.S. Customs and
Border Protections work force and discuss our preparations for
the termination of Title 42 Public Health Order.
Before I cover those preparations, however, I want to take
a moment to state how proud I am of the CBP work force and how
time and again they rise to meet any challenge thrown their
way. I would also be remiss if I didn't point out that last
month, the U.S. Border Patrol celebrated their 99th anniversary
since their establishment in May 1924. I've had the privilege
of serving within their ranks for over 38 of those 99 years.
CBP operates in an ever-evolving and dynamic environment,
which is complex, demanding, and dangerous. The 64,000 men and
women who make up CBP work in this environment under extreme
stress, stress not only is a result of the mission itself and
the expectations of the Nation we serve, but also acute
personal stress. The last 3 years have been particularly
difficult, exhaustive, and taxing while extending our work
force to extreme limits. This period of time has required
enormous sacrifices, the greatest of which has been the cost of
the lives of our work force--64 line-of-duty deaths since 2020,
of which 55 were attributed to COVID-19 and, tragically,
another 36 employees who died by suicide. The leadership of CBP
recognizes the stress and the well-being of our employees as a
CBP's top priority. I am thankful for the support Congress has
provided us for our dedicated work force.
Whether we're talking about the Southwest Border before,
during, or after Title 42, CBP has seen considerable
operational demands. Today, I would like to first highlight
some of those challenges and second, discuss how CBP prepared
for the end of Title 42.
First, the Southwest Border environment is immensely
complex and can be dangerous. To that end, CBP continues to
counter the threat of sophisticated transnational criminal
organizations that profit from ruthless human and drug
smuggling. When it comes to drugs, such as illicit fentanyl,
CBP is increasing our detection capabilities and working with
our partners to dismantle production and trafficking. These
efforts have led to results. In April, we surpassed the amount
of fentanyl seized during all of fiscal year 2022. Special
multi-agency operations, such as Operation Blue Lotus and Four
Horsemen, amplified our efforts. In just 2 months these
operations led to the seizures of more than 5,700 pounds of
fentanyl and 250 arrests.
CBP is also responding to the historic flows of irregular
migration as transnational criminal organizations take
advantage and mislead migrants. In the course of combating
these ruthless organizations, CBP regularly performs life-
saving rescues and provides initial emergency medical care to
those in distress in often the extreme environments. As a
result, CBP officers and agents have conducted nearly 3,700
rescue operations this year alone and provided life-saving
assistance to more than 24,000 migrants.
Which brings me to my second point. CBP, along with our DHS
partners, have been planning and preparing for the end of Title
42. Our preparations align with CBP's overall strategy,
prioritize and strengthen National and border security, enforce
the rule of law, including human and civil rights, while
implementing Executive branch policies, provide for the safe,
humane processing of migrants, and ensure the continued flow of
lawful trade and travel.
In anticipation of increased migration flows, CBP surged
resources to encounter migrants crossing between ports of entry
and to safely and thoroughly conduct immigration processing.
This is done with a persistent focus on maintaining national
and economic security, with all of our preparations considering
how to care for and alleviate the stress upon our most
important asset, our work force. As we have done throughout our
history, CBP has resumed fully using Title 8 immigration
authorities. Title 8 provides meaningful consequences for
unlawful border crossings, including expedited removal, a 5-
year ban on U.S. admission, and criminal prosecution.
In the days preceding the lifting of Title 42, CBP
encounters with non-citizens between the ports of entry reached
historic highs, approximately 10,000 a day. In the weeks since,
the numbers have dropped by approximately 70 percent. At our
ports of entry we've recently been encountering over 1,250 non-
citizens a day who have made appointments through the CBP One
app mobile application.
In closing the border has always been a dynamic and complex
environment, and as always, the CBP work force will be prepared
for any challenges that may come up. CBP will continue to do
our part enforcing the law, ensuring our work force and
individuals in our custody are properly cared for, and being a
trusted partner to all others in this effort.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear here today, and I
do look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Huffman follows:]
Prepared Statement of Benjamine ``Carry'' Huffman
June 6, 2023
introduction
Chairman Higgins, Ranking Member Correa, and Members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the conditions
along the Southwest Border and U.S. Customs and Border Protection's
(CBP) critical role in securing our borders and facilitating lawful
trade and travel. I am honored to represent the dedicated men and women
of CBP who operate on the front lines to ensure our national and
economic security.
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the March 2020
implementation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
(CDC) public health order, commonly referred to as Title 42,\1\
transformed the Southwest Border environment and significantly altered
CBP's operations. From March 2020 until the order terminated at 11:59
p.m. ET on May 11, 2023, CBP assisted in enforcing Title 42, which
suspended the right to introduce into the United States certain non-
citizens arriving at the land and adjacent coastal borders to protect
against the spread of COVID-19.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ March 20, 2020, CDC Order under Sections 362 and 365 of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 265, 268), Order Suspending
Introduction of Certain Persons from Countries Where a Communicable
Disease Exists. https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/CDC-Order-
Prohibiting-Introduction-of-Persons_Final_3-20-20_3-p.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throughout the pandemic, CBP and our partners responded to high
levels of migrant encounters, simultaneously upholding civil and human
rights, securing our borders, and protecting the health and safety of
surrounding communities, our personnel, and the noncitizens we
encounter. The COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 and the resulting
worldwide pandemic was particularly hard on the men and women of CBP.
While many people retreated to the safety of their homes and telework,
CBP remained on the front line directly confronting this deadly virus
in continuance of our border security mission and keeping the Nation's
economic engine running and viable. This was at extreme cost to the
agency with tens of thousands of employees contracting the virus--
resulting in 55 deaths directly attributed to contracting the virus in
the line of duty.
While the Title 42 Order was effective in helping CBP quickly expel
certain covered noncitizens as part of our national efforts to prevent
the spread of the virus, the order carried no legal consequences for
attempts at unlawfully crossing the United States border and, as a
result, repeat encounters increased significantly.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ See U.S. Border Patrol Recidivism Rates--https://www.cbp.gov/
newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a critical component of the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) planning effort, CBP made numerous preparations for the end of
the Title 42 order. Our response focused on the application and
enforcement of immigration authorities and regulations and was
supported by the deployment of technology and infrastructure; increased
levels of personnel; improved processing efficiencies and security; and
coordination with our partners.
Leveraging experience and expertise gained during previous
migration surges, CBP, together with our partners, prepared a response
plan, now implemented, to ensure we can continue to scale our
operations and effectively respond to areas of the greatest need,
impose consequences on those who break the law, and process noncitizens
safely and humanely.
current post-title 42 processing and security operations
As anticipated, in the days leading up to the termination of the
Title 42 Order, daily CBP encounters with noncitizens between the ports
of entry (POEs) reached historic highs of approximately 10,000 per day.
Since the CDC's Title 42 public health order terminated and DHS and the
Department of Justice (DOJ) began implementing a new regulation on May
12, 2023, CBP has experienced a significant reduction in encounters at
the Southwest Border. Following the termination of the Title 42 Order,
CBP has been encountering approximately 3,400 noncitizens between POEs
per day. At the POEs, CBP has been encountering approximately 1,000
noncitizens per day, predominately with an appointment scheduled
through the CBP One mobile application. The level of encounters between
the POEs represents a decrease of approximately 70 percent compared to
the 48 hours preceding the termination of the Title 42 Order.
Together with our partners across DHS and throughout the Federal
Government, CBP's response has been focused on the resources and
capabilities needed to enforce the law and regulations to mitigate
potential increases in migration and keep our front-line personnel
where it belongs: on the front line.
Enforcement of Immigration Authorities and Regulations
With the termination of the CDC's Title 42 public health order, CBP
has resumed using its full range of immigration authorities under Title
8 of the U.S. Code to process migrants encountered at the border
without documentation for lawful admission, as we have done throughout
our agency's history. These authorities provide for meaningful
consequences that include placing individuals in expedited removal or
other immigration removal proceedings. Under Title 8, an individual who
is removed is subject to at least a 5-year ban on admission to the
United States and can face criminal prosecution for any subsequent
attempt to cross the border illegally.
Coupled with these consequences, DHS and DOJ implemented a final
rule,\3\ ``Circumvention of Lawful Pathways,'' that establishes a
rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility for certain noncitizens
who fail to seek asylum or other protection in one of the countries
through which they travel on their way to the United States, and who
fail to take advantage of the existing and expanded lawful pathways to
enter the United States, including the opportunity to schedule a time
and place to present at a POE via the CBP One mobile application.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ 88 FR 31314 (published May 16, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Those who attempt to cross the Southwest Border without utilizing
these processes are, with some exceptions, subject to a rebuttable
presumption of asylum ineligibility. To maintain our border security
posture and ensure this process is conducted fairly, efficiently, and
safely, CBP has deployed technology, increased personnel, expanded
facilities and transportation, improved processing efficiencies, and
strengthened coordination with our partners.
Deployed Technology, Infrastructure, and Personnel
Accelerating efforts to provide significant enhancements to its
domain awareness capabilities between the POEs, CBP made substantial
investments in advanced technologies that improve our agent and officer
efficacy and safety, including improved communications solutions, body-
worn cameras, and additional autonomous surveillance towers.
Additionally, CBP's large- and small-scale non-intrusive inspection
(NII) systems are critical tools used at and in between the POEs to
provide officers and agents with deeper insight into what is entering
or traveling through the United States. The NII systems alert officers
and agents to the presence of anomalies in shipments, passenger
belongings, cargo containers, commercial trucks, rail cars, and
privately-owned vehicles, quickly signaling to officers and agents
where further inspection is needed.
CBP has also closed 55 gates and gaps in the border barrier to
date, and we are working to close an additional 74 gates and gaps along
with life, safety, environmental, and other remediation activities at
incomplete border barrier projects.
Surveillance and detection technology is critical to our border
security operations but serves only limited purpose without our
greatest asset: our skilled and professional workforce. CBP has
approximately 24,000 agents and officers along the Southwest Border. We
have been hiring more personnel, especially non-uniformed support
personnel and contract personnel to assist in data entry and facility
operations. These personnel investments allow our law enforcement
agents and officers to stay in the field and focus on their critical
security mission.
Expanded Facilities and Transportation and Improved Safety
To accommodate increases of non-citizens in CBP custody, we
renovated and reopened the Rio Grande Valley Central Processing Center
(CPC) in McAllen, Texas, in March 2022; opened two new soft-sided
facilities in the El Paso and San Diego sectors in January 2023;
recently expanded the Yuma and El Paso soft-sided facilities and
maintained additional soft-sided facilities located in priority
locations. These facilities include wrap-around service contracts that
provide sanitation, food, and medical services necessary to ensure
appropriate conditions for migrants in custody and front-line
personnel. Higher numbers of migrant encounters require deliberate and
coordinated actions to ensure individuals in CBP custody are held in
safe and sanitary conditions and unaccompanied children or other
vulnerable populations are appropriately cared for until they are
transferred out of CBP custody.
We are also maximizing the use of air and ground transportation
contracts to move noncitizens from U.S. Border Patrol Sectors that are
over capacity to other less-impacted CBP locations.
Improved Processing Efficiencies and Security
Deployed in conjunction with expanded facilities, non-uniform
personnel, and contracted services, CBP's investments in virtual and
mobile processing have provided operational flexibility and streamlined
operations to ensure the safe and humane processing of migrants and
relieve agents of non-enforcement duties.
For example, noncitizens are able to use the CBP One mobile
application to schedule an appointment at one of seven Southwest Border
POEs and present themselves for inspection to a CBP officer. The
ability to use the app cuts out the smugglers, decreases migrant
exploitation, and makes processing more efficient upon arrival at the
POE. The CBP One scheduling process is available to all noncitizens who
are located in Central and Northern Mexico.
CBP collects biometric and biographic information and screens and
vets all noncitizens encountered at the border against multiple public
safety databases. Noncitizens who may pose a threat to national
security or public safety are detained. Noncitizens who are
provisionally released must abide by the requirements of their release,
including contact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
for further processing once they reach their destination. CBP
coordinates with nongovernmental organizations and local governments to
identify locations where noncitizens can safely access services,
transportation, or accommodations.
Coordination with Partners
In February 2022, DHS stood up a Southwest Border Coordination
Center (SBCC) to bring CBP together with other DHS and Federal partners
to coordinate planning, operations, engagement, and interagency support
in response to migration increases at the Southwest Border. CBP is the
primary supported component of the SBCC and is also utilizing our
operational coordination capability to provide expertise and resources
in response to the irregular migration flows across the Southwest
Border. This enhanced collaboration spans the entire scope of border
security activities, including resources and capabilities related to
infrastructure, facilities, transportation, medical care, and joint
processing.
maintaining border enforcement and facilitation efforts
As part of our planning for the termination of the Title 42 public
health order, we surged resources, technology, and personnel to manage
challenges safely and orderly along the Southwest Border--while at the
same time maintaining a persistent focus on our other missions to
ensure national and economic security.
Combating Human Smuggling
CBP's posture and response to migration events are informed by
comprehensive analyses of information and intelligence on operations of
smugglers and the movement of noncitizens. We are more effectively
tracking movements of various migrant groups who may be headed toward
the U.S. border, and more aggressively pursuing investigation and
prosecution of transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and human
smuggling networks responsible for illegal border crossings.
CBP's collaborative efforts with our partners help stop cruel and
profit-driven human smugglers and save lives at the border and beyond.
For example, launched in 2016 as a joint effort between CBP and the
government of Mexico (GOM), ``Se Busca Informacion,'' which translates
to ``Information Wanted,'' identifies individuals associated with TCOs
wanted for crimes associated with human and drug smuggling on both
sides of the border. The ``Se Busca Informacion'' initiative promotes
binational unity and encourages the public to anonymously report
information about known smugglers. CBP has also taken the lead on
Operation Sentinel, a major U.S. interagency effort supported by the
GOM that aims to cut off access to TCO profits from human smuggling by
denying these criminals the ability to engage in travel, trade, and
finance in the United States.
Migrant smugglers put vulnerable individuals and families in danger
every single day. Smuggling organizations are abandoning migrants in
remote and dangerous areas, leading to a dramatic rise in the number of
rescues CBP performs. In fiscal year 2022, CBP conducted nearly 22,500
rescues Nation-wide, which was 69 percent higher than the total number
of rescues in all of fiscal year 2021. These humanitarian life-saving
acts are often lost in the border debate, but these acts are clear
examples of the bravery, selflessness, and humanity our CBP agents and
officers display each and every day.
Interdicting Illicit Drugs
In addition to migrant smuggling, illicit drugs are another major
source of revenue for TCOs. CBP remains focused on our efforts to
combat the flow of illicit drugs and disrupt TCO activity by
collaborating and sharing information with other agencies and foreign
partners; obtaining advance electronic information to identify and
target suspect shipments; leveraging advanced scientific, laboratory,
and canine capabilities; and deploying NII.
Fentanyl and its analogs are synthetic opioids that continue to be
some of the most dangerous illegal drugs flowing through, and damaging,
communities across the Nation and are involved in more overdose deaths
than any other illicit drug trafficked into the United States. CBP
seizures of fentanyl have been escalating for several years.\4\ In
fiscal year 2022, CBP seized approximately 14,700 pounds of fentanyl
Nation-wide, with most of it--12,500 pounds--seized at POEs, and we
already exceeded those amounts just 7 months into this fiscal year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/drug-seizure-statistics.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our partnerships are also invaluable to our enforcement efforts.
For example, through Operation Blue Lotus, CBP and our ICE Homeland
Security Investigation (HSI) partners surged our intelligence,
analysis, and enforcement capabilities to not only target and seize
illicit fentanyl, but also pursue investigations and take down criminal
networks. In just 2 months, the operation resulted in 108 arrests and
the seizure of nearly 4,800 pounds of fentanyl. Through a concurrent
operation between the POEs, the U.S. Border Patrol seized an additional
2,260 pounds of fentanyl.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Operation Blue Lotus ran from March 13, 2023, to May 8, 2023.
U.S. Border Patrol's Operation Four Horsemen ran from March 6, 2023, to
May 6, 2023.
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Limiting Disruptions to Travel and Trade
In addition to its border security mandate, one of CBP's core
mission objectives is to enhance the Nation's economic prosperity
through the facilitation of travel and trade. The Nation's POEs are
vital gateways for cross-border commerce and travel--critical sectors
that drive economic growth and opportunities for American businesses
and consumers. The scope and importance of CBP's role in protecting the
economic security of the United States cannot be understated.
Collecting almost $112 billion in duties, taxes, and fees in fiscal
year 2022, CBP remains the second-largest collector of revenue in the
Federal Government.
The resources, technology, and processes put in place to manage
anticipated challenges along the Southwest Border associated with the
termination of the Title 42 public health order were also established
to limit disruption to the critical and lawful traffic that flows
through our POEs and supports our economic security responsibilities.
Commercial vehicle traffic at both the Northern and Southwest
Border land POEs fully rebounded to levels experienced before the
COVID-19 pandemic, and since COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted,
CBP continues to process increasing numbers of arriving travelers
without any significant delays.\6\ CBP will continue to track POE
traffic and wait times and adjust resources as needed to ensure
travelers and goods move safely and efficiently across the Southwest
Border.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ As of May 12, 2023, COVID-19 travel restrictions have been
fully terminated. See 88 FR 30033 (May 10, 2023) (terminating
restrictions at land POEs and ferry terminals along the United States-
Canada border); 88 FR 30035 (May 10, 2023) (terminating restrictions at
land POEs and ferry terminals the United States-Mexico border).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
conclusion
Planning and preparedness efforts are critical to managing
irregular migration. As we approached the end of Title 42, CBP was
prepared to ensure we could continue to fulfill our border security
mission. In anticipation of potential challenges, we deployed
resources, streamlined processes, and put measures in place to prevent
disruptions to our critical border security and facilitation
operations.
CBP remains committed to maintaining border security, properly
caring for those in our custody, and keeping the American people and
our CBP workforce safe. We remain vigilant and responsive to the full
range of our responsibilities including interdicting illicit drugs
crossing into the United States, preventing dangerous people and goods
from crossing our borders, enforcing hundreds of trade laws, and
ensuring the efficient flow of lawful trade and travel that is so
important to our economy.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to
your questions.
Chairman Higgins. Thank you, Mr. Huffman.
Members will be recognized by order of seniority for their
5 minutes of questioning. An additional round of questioning
may be called after all Members have been recognized.
I now recognize myself for 5 minutes of questioning.
My colleagues and Americans watching this, the Legislative
branch of our Government passes laws, and the Executive branch
historically works to enforce those laws. In a broad
perspective, the Executive branch is required to have--is a
rulemaking whereby the laws are interpreted and the means by
which the enforcement of those laws shall be established across
the country. This is reasonable and understandable.
Federal law enforcement, especially when it comes to
something as clear as enforcement of border and immigration
law, is much less of a gray area. The solution that has been
suggested here, one could argue that from my colleagues across
the aisle, you have reached a solution, but it is not a
solution within the parameters of enforcement of existing
Federal law as established by the U.S. Congress. And we are the
Legislative branch.
So there has been an interesting interpretation of
Executive authority since January 2021 whereby our current
administration, if it doesn't like an existing law, it uses
Executive authority to find a way around that law. That is what
has happened with the incoming wave upon human wave of illegal
migrants attempting to come into our country.
The Federal immigration laws that have been established by
Congress have been essentially replaced by immigration policy
that legalizes illegal entry into our country. They tell you
the numbers of illegal entry are down because this Executive
branch has redefined what an illegal entry is. The CBP One app
goes down through Mexico and Central America into Colombia.
These migrant citizens, these children of God, who endeavor to
enter our country, but they are undocumented, which makes them
illegal, historically, they would be intercepted at the border
and handled appropriately. But this administration has changed
that. They have diffused our border and essentially extended
American operations for border control down through South
America and Central America and Mexico and establish these so-
called legal pathways.
Can I see the quote please? There you go. Put the quote up
Mr.--sir, do you recognize these quotes? It is not trick stuff,
these are your quotes. Do you acknowledge that these are your
quotes?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. I can't read that from here, unfortunately,
but I--it looks like----
Chairman Higgins. They are from an NPR interview recently.
You say, you know, what we have done is really oversee a
historic increase in lawful pathways to the United States,
including at our ports of entry through the CBP One app. Do you
acknowledge that? You said that?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. I do.
Chairman Higgins. Thank you.
You went on to say, and what we are really trying to do
here is incentivize migrants to use safe, lawful, and orderly
pathways, that again, we have expanded dramatically over the
last 2 years. Do you acknowledge that that is your quote?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. I do. It's also in my opening remarks.
Chairman Higgins. Yes, sir. So what we are establishing
here is that this Executive branch has redefined what an
illegal entry is, and you admit that exact policy agenda. So
when you report that illegal migrants, the numbers are down,
that is a shell game. It is like a magic trick.
We were advised by Chief Ortiz and what I believe was his
last confidential briefing, that there were 657,000 immigrants
in the pipeline south of the border. It was an interesting
number, because Chief didn't say between 600,000 and 700,000,
he didn't say 650,000, give or take, he said 657,000. That is
quite a precise number.
Mr. Huffman, Mr. Nunez-Neto, I will just ask you each to--
and I will yield the balance of my time--where are those
657,000 people headed?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. So I have not seen that particular
estimate. We do know that there are----
Chairman Higgins. It was from the Chief. He is now retired.
My time has expired.
Are they headed north?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. We believe many of them are waiting for the
lawful pathways and processes that we have established----
Chairman Higgins. In order to come north?
Mr. Nunez-Neto [continuing]. Not just in Mexico, but in
other countries along hemisphere.
Chairman Higgins. They are headed here.
Mr. Huffman, do you agree they are headed here?
Mr. Huffman. A lot of them are headed here, yes, sir. Some
of them have stayed in other countries. Like we know there's
many of the Venezuelans have stopped and stayed in Colombia. So
there's a lot of people in movement----
Chairman Higgins. OK.
Mr. Huffman [continuing]. But generally this direction,
yes, sir.
Chairman Higgins. Thank you for your answers, gentlemen,
for being here.
My time has expired. I recognize Ranking Member Correa for
5 minutes.
Mr. Correa. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am going to follow up with the Chairman's last comment,
657,000--let's call it 700,000. Where do we get that intel to
figure out that number? Either gentlemen, please.
Mr. Nunez-Neto. So our Office of Intelligence and Analysis
does estimate the number of people who are in the hemisphere
and who may be moving north. The numbers I've seen don't quite
match the 650,000, but those are all rough estimates. I think
we can all agree that there are hundreds of thousands of
migrants throughout the hemisphere that----
Mr. Correa. But you do this with a partnership of others
that work with us?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. Of course, yes.
Mr. Correa. Mr. Huffman, any thoughts on that number?
Mr. Huffman. So, again, I don't know the exact source of
the Chief Ortiz's number. I've known Chief Ortiz a lot of
years, and I'm sure he's extremely confident in that number if
he gets that number, I just don't know the source of it.
I am confident there are a lot of people moving into the
hemisphere, mostly headed this way. The exact number, it's hard
to tell where they're going to stop. But yes, they are moving.
People are moving this way. We see the news reports, we look at
shelters that have people that are housing----
Mr. Correa. Mr. Huffman, again, I would invite folks, if we
could put together Codel to go visit some of these countries to
see the devastation. You don't have to argue that point here.
People are hungry, devastated economies, they will find a place
to survive as that picture of that little girl showed.
I guess if I can, I would say that Mr. Chairman is right,
which he showed in that poster was what I would call part of
the hope, the opportunity to maybe figure out a way to employ a
safe legal pathway. I would say the other two legs of that
stool are penalties, Title 8. There are severe penalties for
trying to cross not using a legal pathway.
The last one I want to focus on, my last 3 minutes are the
cooperation piece. I think it is important because if we are
going to move forward to address the issues in the hemisphere,
specifically our Southern Border, we have to continue to work
with our partners. You mentioned, for example, that Mexico is
taking--for the first time ever, is taking repatriated
individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Are
these people that are then repatriated to Mexico? Do they stay
in Mexico or does Mexico repatriate them back to the other
countries?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. So that is really a question for the
government of Mexico. But these are individuals that are
repatriated under our Title 8 authorities, which, as you know,
it is the first time in our history Mexico is allowing that.
Mr. Correa. So, essentially, I believe what Mexico is
doing--and I will double check myself here, but I think they
are providing with work visas and other opportunities to
actually work.
You mentioned--was it you were that I listened to this
morning in the news that we are cooperating with Panama,
Colombia, in other efforts across the hemisphere. I hope that
those are humanitarian efforts to address this refugee crisis
and begin to figure out how to get a handle on this situation
because it is going to be with us for a number of years, in my
opinion.
But any thoughts on that, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Nunez-Neto?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. So, if I may, I think when someone arrives
at our border, it is far too late. We need to engage regionally
with our partner countries in order to address these flows well
before they reach our border. What Colombia and Panama are
doing right now is unprecedented. It is a coordinated bi-
national operation in the Darien to try to attack the smuggling
networks. We have been providing technical assistance. I know
CBP has deployed personnel to assist in that, the Department of
Defense has been active. Those are the kinds of things that we
really need to do more of because, again, I think the more we
can impact these flows well before our border, the better off--
--
Mr. Correa. Mr. Huffman--excuse--my last 50 seconds,
please.
Mr. Huffman. Yes, thank you. Sure. From an operational
perspective, I would say that Mexico has cooperated with us
more recently than I've seen in my career. The help they've
been----
Mr. Correa. Your career is how many years?
Mr. Huffman. 38 years, sir.
Mr. Correa. Thank you.
Mr. Huffman. They are increasing their enforcement efforts
on their Southern Border as well, which is slowing the flow,
they are redirecting folks that we have returned to Mexico and
flying them back to their Southern Border to kind-of add an
extra consequence and deter them from coming to come north.
They're also helping redirect folks to our border to kind-of
slow them down as a way as well. So that's a very positive
outcome that we've been having recently. It's been very
helpful. I think it's part of the reason some of the flows have
slowed down here recently.
Mr. Correa. I would like to, with my last 3 seconds, say I
do hope we continue to double down on the humanitarian aspect
of this refugee crisis.
Mr. Chairman, I ran out of time.
Chairman Higgins. The gentleman yields.
The gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Guest is recognized for
5 minutes for question.
Mr. Guest. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, gentlemen, thank you
for being here today.
As Chairman Higgins indicated a few moments ago, roughly 2
weeks ago, Chief Ortiz was here on Capitol Hill briefing
Members of Congress, particularly Members of this committee,
about events that have transpired post-Title 42. We had the
opportunity to speak with him and Chief Ortiz said that he
believed that the reduction that we have seen post-Title 42, he
described it as what he believed to be a temporary reduction
and that he expected the numbers to return at some point back
to the baseline that we had seen over the last 2 years.
So my first question to both of you: Do you agree with
Chief Ortiz's assessment that the reduction that we have seen
is more temporary in nature and that we will return to the base
last 2 years? Or do you believe that the reduction that we have
seen is permanent in nature?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. I would say that we're encouraged by what
we've seen the last 3 weeks. But as I mentioned, we are clear-
eyed that the factors in our hemisphere that are driving this
historic movement of people are still there and that smugglers
use disinformation to drive migration. So this is a fragile
equilibrium that we have on the border and it could be upset in
the future for sure.
Mr. Huffman. I would agree with that statement. Also with
Chief Ortiz's that there's still numbers there in Mexico. I
believe they've taken kind-of a wait-and-see approach to see
how this pans out, how do we stick to our guns with this, with
how we're enforcing the Title 8 rules, and see how that works
out? Time will tell.
Mr. Guest. Then also Chairman Higgins mentioned earlier
some conversation about the CBP One app. I know both of you
mentioned that in your written testimony about the use of the
CB One app. We see that news reports show that the CB One app,
that there are roughly 1,000 immigrants a day who are able to
apply for some sort of status within the United States using
the CBP One app. Recent report by Fox News talks about the
administration is seeking to expand that very quickly to 40,000
a month.
So my question is, is when Congress receives information,
the public receives information from DHS about southwest land
border encounters, those numbers in March were 191,000 and some
change, in April were 211,000 and some change, are the
individuals who are applying and entering the country through
the CBP One app, are those individuals included in the figures
that we are receiving or are those individuals somewhere else
not included in those numbers? Because that is very important
for us to know exactly how many people are coming across the
border, whether you are coming across illegally and claiming
asylum or whether you are coming in by using the CBP One app,
presenting yourself at a port of entry, they are still being
allowed into the country. So we are trying to get--at least I
am and I am assuming others on this committee--we are trying to
wrap our head around the true figure of individuals who are
allowing to come into the country each and every month.
So are you aware of to how those numbers are calculated
when you are talking about the southwest land border encounter
numbers that we routinely rely upon from CBP?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. Yes. Thank you, sir.
So my understanding is that when CBP issues its monthly
reports, those numbers include encounters at ports of entry and
it also includes encounters between ports of entry, which
obviously would not include CBP One.
I would also note that the Immigration and Nationality Act
expressly authorizes individuals to present at ports of entry
and claim asylum and they must be processed. We're actually
under litigation right now that prevents the use of metering at
the land border.
So I know Chief Huffman has thoughts here, but the CBP One
app is really just a scheduling tool to allow us to let people
who may wish to claim asylum present at a port of entry in a
way that is safe and orderly and doesn't tie up our ports of
entry.
Mr. Huffman. Yes, thank you.
Yes, sir, those numbers that we encounter, for example, I
have the numbers running my office every day and they'll say
like 4,500 apprehensions yesterday. That will include probably
3,000 to 4,000--3,000 or so encounters by the Border Patrol,
plus it includes the ones that applied for entry or presented
themselves for entry using that--being scheduled by the CBP One
app.
I want to emphasize something that's very important to us
because concern is the CBP One--can easily get misconstrued.
For us, it is nothing more than a scheduling tool. It allows us
to have an orderly process at our ports of entry. Because
without that scheduling tool, all these people that are waiting
and seeing would all be showing up at the same time and
clogging up and shutting down our ports and impact trade,
impact other people that have lawful ways into the country, the
U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, those things. So we
use the CBP One as a scheduling tool to help us maintain that
order at our ports because we are not allowed to use our
metering that we used to do due to a lawsuit a number of years
ago.
Mr. Guest. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman Higgins. The gentlemen, yields.
Mr. Thanedar, the gentleman from Michigan, is recognized
for 5 minutes for questioning.
Mr. Thanedar. Thank you, Chairman, and thank you the
gentleman, for being here.
I feel a strong personal connection to the issues we are
discussing here today. You see, in 1979, at the age of 24, I
was one of those immigrants with only a name, $20 in my pocket,
and my American dream, entering this country with no friends,
no family, and very fearful about how I would survive in this
new homeland.
During summers between the academic school years, I was
often forced to sleep in a car or sometimes homeless shelter
funded by a faith-based non-government organization, NGO's. Now
you know, NGO's have played a crucial role for decades in
providing care and support for migrants, including at the U.S.
border. In times of solitude, those NGO's could be the only aid
an immigrant receives for weeks. Strengthening the capabilities
of NGO's to receive individuals who are not citizens following
their processing has been an essential aspect of Secretary
Mayorkas' preparation for lifting of Title 42.
Mr. Nunez-Neto my question is, can you please expand on
those NGO's role at the border and why they remain vital to
ensuring the treatments for the immigrants?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. Yes, thank you very much for that question.
As an immigrant myself, I think it is a sign of this
country's strength that an immigrant like you could become a
Member of Congress and that one like me could achieve the kind
of role I have at DHS.
You know, Chief Huffman and I were just in Brownsville last
week observing first-hand how the city government in
Brownsville and the local NGO's process migrants as they are
released from CBP custody or from ICE custody and allow them to
connect with family members and move onwards to their final
destination. These are non-citizens who are issued notices to
appear and released to have their court proceedings as the law
provides. Those NGO's and our city and State governments on the
border are really playing a critical role in allowing migrants
to be able to move onward and not remain at the border.
I know CBP obviously relies a great deal on those
relationships locally, and I'm sure Chief Huffman has some
thoughts there as well.
Mr. Thanedar. Mr. Huffman after receiving my PhD in
chemistry and a United States citizenship, I became a serial
entrepreneur. In that time, I learned a lot about the
importance of technological innovations in solving problems.
Can you elaborate on the app's advantage, both for
applicants and CBP officers? Also how would CBP expand the
availability of this system in coming months?
Mr. Huffman. Thank you for the opportunity to respond.
As far as technology goes, technology is key for all
aspects on ours, not just the CBP One, but how we do border
security across the whole. The border now is a much more
dynamic border than we've ever had in our history. The folks
that want to enter this country illegally or they're
traffickers, they can change the picture of the border with
easy, fast, quick communication. So we have to be able to
communicate as well, and we have to have the technology to
respond as well too.
The problems grow very rapidly, more rapidly than we can
build our capacity. So the only way we actually increase our
capacity oftentimes is with the use of innovation and
technology. That's what we've done in a number of areas. CBP
app is one, how we process is another way, how we transport
information is another way. All those things combined help us
to be a much more agile response to whatever threat we see
facing us.
Mr. Thanedar. Thank you, Mr. Huffman.
Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman Higgins. The gentleman yields.
My colleague, the gentlelady from Georgia, Ms. Greene is
recognized for questioning for 5 minutes.
Ms. Greene. Thank you very much.
I have enjoyed learning about the CBP One app today. It is
a pretty nifty little app. I just wanted to point out that so
if someone is illegally coming into our country--I call it
illegally, because I feel like a lot of them are in our country
illegally--they can go to this app, and all they have to do is
download CBP One and they can come into Mexico, they can click
on here and decide are they a traveler, a broker, carrier,
aircraft operator, bus operator, sea pilot, commercial truck
driver, international organization. It is really interesting,
though, the commercial truck driver one doesn't work yet, which
I think is a complete failure. When you click on commercial
truck driver, it says, coming soon. You would think that to
keep track of imports coming into our country, trucks,
agriculture, goods, whatever is bringing into the country, that
is a really important fact and figure to keep track of. But if
I am an individual and I am coming into America, I can go on
there and I can choose how I want to come in. I am a
pedestrian, so I click pedestrian. Let me tell you how great it
is for people that are coming into our country that are not
American citizens. They can find a wait time that fits their
schedule. All they have to do is go on here, and I can pick
Calexico East, and I only have a 5-minute wait at a port of
entry. Then I can look at this neat little graph that somehow
tracks what time of the day is busier or less busy. But again,
this app does not track or check trucks, commercial trucks
coming into our country.
Then here is what is really interesting. I find this very
interesting. I can get a scheduled appointment and it says you
must be in central or northern Mexico to accept and schedule an
appointment. So if I am coming from China or Africa or whatever
country in the world, I got to get my plane ticket to Mexico
and then schedule my appointment so I can come into a port of
entry. Now, here is the really interesting part, I would like
our laws followed, but they are not followed right here on the
CBP One app because it says that passports are optional. I
think that is a big problem for people coming into our country
and being told to go directly to the port of entry instead of,
of course, going outside of the port of entries because that
messes up the numbers, that apprehension numbers were off the
chart and that was a real problem for the Biden administration.
So I would like to ask you, Mr. Nunez-Neto, why can't you
tell us how many people are coming in the United States when
you have a handy dandy little app that you are tracking? You
know the numbers. This is the American Government. We put a man
on the moon. We are able to count. Why can't you tell us how
many so-called migrants are coming into our country?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. So we do update the public and Congress on
the number of people who are processed through the CBP One
application. I believe my testimony notes that since May 12
we've been averaging about 1,070 individuals a day using the
CBP One application, which again, as Chief Huffman noted, is
just a scheduling tool that allows individuals who may wish to
claim asylum to access the ports of entry as the Immigration
and Nationality Act provides.
Ms. Greene. Well, can I ask you a question? This is
something else I am trying to understand. Now that we have an
app to organize the illegal invasion into America so that
everyone gets accepted, they have a time to come in, they say
that they are seeking asylum, and then the American taxpayer
gives them a plane ticket or a bus ticket to any town in the
United States--gosh, the American taxpayers are nice--right
here it says that you say the reason why people are coming to
America today is because of violence, food insecurity, severe
poverty, corruption, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Did you know that there are over half a million homeless people
in the United States today? As a matter of fact, the homeless
population rose significantly since 2019. That is for
Americans. So we have homelessness here in America.
Natural disasters. Talk about climate change. This is the
fourth-largest country in the world. We have an extremely
diverse climate, we have a wide range of natural disasters--97
natural disasters occurred in 2021. I don't think this is very
safe for migrants here in America. We had 97. How many are they
having in their country? These natural disasters include
wildfires, heat waves, droughts, flash floods, winter storms,
cold waves, tropical cyclones, and on and on and on. But yet
they need to come to our country because of climate change?
That doesn't make a lot of sense.
It is not a safe country either by the way. In America
there were 1,313,000 violent crimes in the United States and
that was in 2020. I can't imagine what the numbers are since
then, since crime has come up.
I think that you need better reasons if you are going to
try to let a bunch of people in the United States using a handy
dandy app where you don't track imports than climate change,
because that is not an excuse people are buying.
Thank you.
Chairman Higgins. The gentlelady yields.
Mr. Gonzales, my colleague from Texas, is recognized for 5
minutes for questioning. He is not here?
Mr. Garcia is here, though. My colleague from California,
Mr. Garcia is here.
Mr. Garcia. Close.
Chairman Higgins. You are recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Garcia. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am glad that we have
an opportunity to speak with our witnesses today. Thank you for
your service.
That was an interesting conversation about the app, which I
will get to in a minute.
But I want to just start off by talking about Title 42. As
a proud immigrant myself who believes in humane immigration, I
think we all agree that a secure border is important and is
vital. Our Nation benefits when people have an opportunity to
come here to build better lives, as you have, sir, and like I
have as well and other Members of the Congress. I want to
remind my colleagues in the Majority that attempts to demonize
immigrants and people who come here legally to seek asylum is
un-American. Our country is a Nation of immigrants and we are
constantly reinvigorated with immigrants, with their talents
and with their innovation.
I know that some people here have been openly rooting for a
post-Title 42 crisis as a way to score political points, but
let's be very clear, that crisis did not happen. This hearing
is an attempt to manufacture one.
Now, as has been stated, Border Patrol encounters are at
the lowest point since 2020. That is a fact. Those are
statistics that are widely accepted. They have been reviewed by
our Departments, they have been put out as information for us
to assess, and I want to thank you all for your work with that.
It is also true that these numbers should be not celebrated but
welcomed as progress in our ability to control and secure the
border.
I just really briefly want to just ask to get clarification
from Mr. Blas Nunez-Neto. Would you agree and do you support
those numbers that we are at the lowest border encounters since
2020?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. I believe if we're talking about encounters
between ports of entry, that, yes, we are at the lowest level
since, I believe, December 2020.
Mr. Garcia. Thank you, sir.
Now, I think a key reason for the conditions and why they
have improved also is the pathways for asylum seekers that we
have focused on. So you have worked on, the entire Department
has been supportive of, the CBP One app, and that continues to
improve, I think, outcomes for all and for us here on the
country, certainly for asylum seekers. I know we had a
difficult rollout early on, but the Department has also made
really great progress. I want to thank all the groups involved
in getting the One app to where it is today.
Now, I appreciate the gentlelady from Georgia's tutorial on
the One app and how it works. I personally appreciate the use
of technology and its way to actually facilitate information,
collect data, and make things simpler for all involved,
including those that are seeking asylum, who I wish to remind
the committee and her, have a legal right to actually claim in
the United States of America.
It is also important to note that the One app is actually
allowing us to actually manage this crisis better here at home
and at our ports of entry. I want to thank you for that work.
I think claiming that the One app somehow is facilitating
an invasion of the country is incredibly irresponsible. Asylum
is a legal right in this country, and claiming asylum is, so--
and so until that changes, we need to continue to support this
program and make it easier for folks and for us to manage
anyone that is coming to the border or a port of entry or now,
in many cases, going to other parts of the hemisphere and
seeking asylum there, which I think has been a very productive
advancement the Biden administration has done as well.
I want to note that I support the administration's new
efforts to create these regional processing centers in Central
and South America, including in Guatemala and Colombia, where
we know migrants receiving interviews with immigration
officials, with specialists, and, if eligible, are able to be
processed rapidly for pathways to the United States, if, of
course, they meet our standards.
I also want to note that I hope that we can strengthen our
Shelter and Services program, which supports groups like
Catholic Charities that support legal asylum in our country. I
think it has been unfortunate that Members of this committee
tried to actually defund this critical program that essentially
partners with nonprofit agencies to use Federal funds, secure
an orderly border. So I hope that that is something that we can
continue.
Finally, I want to remind the committee that we have a
responsibility to provide legal status and protections to the
people who build lives and pay taxes here, and I hope that is
something that we can move forward on.
Mr. Nunez-Neto, finally, what will the administration do to
continue to expand legal pathways to protect the right of
asylum while maintaining access to the border?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. So, as we have said, we are committed to
continuing to expand lawful pathways and processes. I think you
mentioned these safe mobility offices, which is what we're
calling the regional processing centers. I view that and we
view that as really a fundamental tool to help better organize
migration, not just to the United States, but, as I said, to
some of our partner countries, including Canada and Spain,
which have signed on. We are in active discussions with other
countries to allow for referrals to their processes as well.
Mr. Garcia. Thank you very much, sir.
I yield back.
Thank you for your service.
Chairman Higgins. I thank the gentleman.
My colleague from Texas, Mr. Luttrell has been recognized
for 5 minutes for questions.
Mr. Luttrell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon,
gentlemen.
If the numbers that Mr. Correa and Mr. Garcia are talking
about are in fact the truth, and those numbers are dropping,
job well done. I am a border State. I am a Texas boy. I am one
of the landing zones for the illegal migration coming across
the border. So if those numbers are dropping, absolutely I
applaud that effort because that is what I need. That is what
my base are asking me for every day. How do we control that
situation?
Mr. Nunez-Neto, ICE detention policy states that ICE uses
its limited detention resources to detain non-citizens to
secure their presence for immigration proceedings or removal
from the United States, as well as those that are subject to
mandatory detention as outlined by the Immigration and
Nationality Act or those that ICE determines are a flight risk
during the custody determination process. Now, in my district I
border Liberty County--Polk County and Liberty County. The
population of Liberty County is roughly around 90,000. There
are 50,000--50,000 illegal immigrants parked right on the
border of my district and another Member's district. Now, here
is my issue, and I want your help solving this problem, we are
a country of immigrants, absolutely, and my colleagues on the
other side, they shine a very good, a very meaningful light on
people and the process and the struggle is real. I get it and
it is very challenging. But that number of illegal immigrants
in that small area is scuttling that county. The school
districts are absolutely overwhelmed. They are having to bring
in teachers that speak Spanish because none of the children
speak English. The area that they have occupied looks like a
Third World country.
My question is, why isn't ICE--or why doesn't ICE move on
that and assist our county in the removal of those undocumented
immigrants?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. So ICE's function is to obviously enforce
our immigration laws and carry out--execute what we call final
orders of removal. I don't know the circumstances in your
county. I'd be happy to look into it. I will say ICE has never
received enough funding to detain every individual we
encounter. This has been the subject of active litigation. I
think, as we have said repeatedly, we are a Nation of laws and
we're a Nation of immigrants and we need to be able to enforce
our laws while also providing avenues for immigrants who wish
to come to be able to come.
Mr. Luttrell. So I am glad you said that, we are a Nation
of laws, so in that we need to enforce those laws. But that is
obviously not happening. I don't know where the rub is between
State, county, and local law and Federal law, since these are
our illegal immigrants that were processed--some, not all, but
some were processed in. How do I fix this problem, sir?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. So again, without knowing the specific
details, I'd be happy to follow up with your office.
Individuals who are issued a notice to appear can go through
the immigration court process, which can take many years. It is
an unfortunate reality in this country that our immigration and
asylum system is so broken that it does take an extraordinary
time for people to go through that process. Individuals with
final orders of removal should be removed at the end of that
process. But historically it has been quite difficult, again
under Presidents of both parties, to execute final orders of
removal for people who are not detained.
Mr. Luttrell. OK. To that, can you confirm for me--and this
committee was in El Paso and down at the--I am sorry, I forgot
what the other place that we went--but they told us that it is
widely reported that aliens are released into the interior
without court dates, regardless of whether or not they were
issued at an NTA. Are those reports true? Do illegal migrants
that come across, are they processed through without a show
time or show place?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. So historically the Border Patrol has
issued notices to appear without court dates on them until
frankly fairly recently.
Mr. Luttrell. Or locations?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. Right now we are issuing NTAs with court
dates on them. In the lead up to the lifting of Title 42 we
were also--because of the----
Mr. Luttrell. That happened. Have illegal migrants come
across and not been issued--because we have heard from
leadership that that is the case, but I want to hear what you
have to say.
Mr. Nunez-Neto. So we have paroled individuals in order to
relieve the overcrowding in our facilities. Those individuals
are required to report into ICE facilities and be issued NTAs
there.
Mr. Luttrell. How on earth are we supposed to track those
individuals if we are just releasing them basically on their
own recognizance? I am sorry sir, can you answer that for me?
Chairman Higgins. Would the gentleman like to answer that
question?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. Sure. Many of those individuals were placed
into alternatives to detention program, which does include
monitoring. So as part of that program, more than 90 percent of
the individuals who are released on ATD do, in fact report to
their ICE facilities.
Mr. Luttrell. Thank you, sir.
Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman Higgins. The gentleman yields.
The gentlewoman from Illinois, Ms. Ramirez, is recognized
for questioning.
Ms. Ramirez. Thank you Chairman Higgins.
I want to thank both of you for being here today.
Similar to Congressman Thanedar, I have a similar family of
immigrant story. Actually as I look around, I think all of us
here have a history of family migrating here, it just depended
on when we came.
So I want to clarify a few things and then I want to get
into some questions.
First, I have heard a lot of conversation about legal
entrance versus illegal entrance to this country. It is my
understanding that the CBP app is a tool to do the scheduling
so that people can enter here seeking asylum legally, correct?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. That's right. The CBP one app allows
individuals to schedule their presentation at a port of entry.
Our Immigration and Nationality Act expressly provides that
people without documents can claim asylum.
Ms. Ramirez. So Mr. Nunez-Neto, that means that if they are
making that request, if they are filling out the app, as one of
my colleagues has talked about, the filling out of the app,
they show up to a port of entry and turn themselves in during
that appointment, they are lawfully entering and seeking
asylum. Yes or no?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. Individuals--and I welcome Chief Huffman's
views here--but individuals who are processed by CBP at the
ports of entry will be placed into removal proceedings and
issued a notice to appear. They, as part of that process, the
immigration court process, have a right to claim asylum, which
again is enshrined in the INA.
Ms. Ramirez. If someone requests asylum because of the fear
or the extreme circumstances that they have experienced in
their country or maybe Mexico or maybe Guatemala or Honduras or
Nicaragua or whatever country that they are fleeing from or in
the process of getting up north from, they go through the
critical fear interviews, correct?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. That is true for individuals who are placed
into expedited removal at the border. That is a separate, more
streamlined process that is primarily used for individuals
encountered between ports of entry, although it can be used at
ports of entry as well. That's right, the credible fear
interview, which is basically a broad screen as it was designed
by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act, that
allows, frankly, most individuals who are going through that
interview under normal circumstances to be screened in.
Ms. Ramirez. Got it.
So I just want to come back to this concern. I really
appreciate my colleagues on the other side being concerned for
the children and the people that are crossing the border and
the inhumane experiences that they go through. My youngest
sister is adopted, she was 12 years old, weighed 60 pounds when
she crossed, unaccompanied more than 16 years ago. So I
appreciate care for people like my family. The thing that I
don't appreciate is the idea that they come to the border, they
are at a school, or they are attempting to seek asylum like my
little sister was, and all of a sudden we want ICE to deport
them immediately to Mexico or to wherever their country of
origin is. In my opinion, having been in these countries for a
very long time, months at a time, I personally know clearly
what people are escaping. So I know that if Iris, my little
sister, would have been deported immediately, if ICE would have
came to the school and deported Iris, Iris would have died
within a month in Guatemala at the age of 12.
So I actually have to push back on the other side and say
that seeking asylum is not a crime. That is what many of our
families have done. Maybe they did it now, maybe they are doing
it today, maybe they did it 100 years ago. So I am really
concerned, actually, when we talk about the number of people
that have been repatriated or deported, because I am not very
clear yet on how many of the people that are requesting the
critical fear interviews, in fact, are able to stay from
immediate removal based on some of the training questions that
I have. I will go ahead and send you some of that in advance so
that I can get more information on that.
I also want to mention, we have talked a lot about legal
and illegal pathways. I do want to say that I appreciate the
administration's commitment to identifying ways through some of
the regional centers and other ways that asylum seekers can
apply to be able to seek asylum here. While I don't think those
are perfect and I don't think it solves our immigration issue
or the cause of migration, I certainly think it is a path
forward. I also do invite my colleagues if they want to go to
Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, my family is from the border
there, happy to bring you with me. We can talk and walk through
some of those roads and get to know a little bit more of the
immigrant experience.
Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman Higgins. The gentlelady yields.
My colleague from Arizona, Mr. Crane, is recognized for 5
minutes for questions.
Mr. Crane. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it.
I also appreciate you bringing up the quote from Mr. Nunez-
Neto.
I want to go through that quote really quick again, Mr.
Nunez-Neto. Here is what you said. You know, what we have
really done here is oversee a historic increase in lawful
pathways to the United States, including at our ports of entry,
through CBP One application. You most certainly have given us a
historic increase, sir. I want to go to a historic increase
real quick. Just an example, just a couple of days ago, not a
couple of years ago, but a couple of days ago in Arizona, where
I am from, this is Fox News on 6/4/23, Border Patrol canine
sniffs out $2 million in fentanyl during traffic stop in
Arizona. Fox News. Mr. Huffman, are you aware of this story? Do
you remember this one?
Yes, Border Patrol canine helped agents sniff out $2
million worth of smuggled fentanyl during a traffic stop in
Arizona last week. The seizure happened at a checkpoint along
I8 near Yuma. Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk
Daniel. Daniel stated the narcotics totaled more than 192
pounds, enough to kill 48 million people. Sir, I didn't say 48
people, I didn't say 48,000 people, I said 48 million people.
That is exactly the historic increase that you all have brought
to the United States of America.
Now, I want to go down to the second part of your quote
where you say, and what we are really trying to do here is
incentivize migrants to use safe, lawful, and orderly pathways
that, again, we have expanded dramatically over the last 2
years. I want to focus in on one word--incentives. That is
exactly what you have done. I know why you have done it, sir,
because that is exactly what your boss did. He was doing that
when he was campaigning for President. I actually got a chance
to read his very quote to Secretary Mayorkas sitting in your
chair like a month ago. If you guys were actually serious about
securing this border and protecting Americans, that word would
not be incentivized. You know what it would be, sir? It would
be deter. I will say it one more time, it would be deter. You
guys would be trying to deter people.
Now, I understand my colleagues over here, they are talking
about folks trying to come here, migrants. Because one of my
colleagues said he attributed our border crisis to global
economic disaster, OK. I have said this in this committee
before, this side of the aisle, we do love the fact that the
United States of America is such a great country that people
want to come here. As a matter of fact, we can all recognize
that one of the great things about this country is that we do
have a lot of immigrants here, but legal immigrants. That is
what we want, sir. Because of the Biden open border policies,
it is flooding people into this country and it is tying up our
Border Patrol Agents to the tune of--this story that I just
read you, 48 million people could have died by the fentanyl
that just came in in Arizona 2 days ago. What do you think
about that, sir?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. Thank you for that question.
I would note that 90 percent of the fentanyl that comes
into the country comes through our ports of entry, not between
our ports of entry. We have been engaged in an all of
government----
Mr. Crane. Hold on a second, sir. How are you able to even
calculate that when there are so many gotaways that come
through port of entries that you guys don't even get? How could
you say that? The only numbers that you can calculate are based
on----
Mr. Correa. Will the gentlemen yield?
Mr. Crane. Yes, go ahead.
Mr. Correa. I was just going to say two separate issues,
fentanyl. Earlier we had a witness, my Orange County Sheriff,
that said a lot of the fentanyl precursors are now coming into
the United States through our own ports of entry, then going
south into Mexico for manufacturing. So I think it is a--Mr.
Crane, great issue, fentanyl. Love to set up another committee
hearing to address this issue specifically, sir.
Mr. Crane. Mr. Correa--I am going to claim back my time.
Are you saying that fentanyl is not coming through the gaps? Is
that what you are saying, sir?
Mr. Correa. I am saying, sir, that fentanyl is coming in
from all parts.
Mr. Crane. Yes, that is what I am saying too. So he is
claiming that 98 percent according to experts is coming through
the ports of entry. How can he possibly know that? Anybody in
Border Patrol can tell you they don't have enough manpower,
especially when a lot of our agents are busy processing people
coming in through the country. They don't have enough manpower.
That is why there are so many gotaways. That is why there are
so many people on the Terror Watch List that are coming through
the border as well.
Mr. Correa. Mr. Crane, just to answer your question, I
think he is talking--I am not going to put words in their
mouth--but, from experience, that is where most of the fentanyl
is being caught right now, at the ports of entry. I have been
there like you have.
Mr. Crane. Caught, that is the key, caught. That is because
that is where most of our people are. There is not the same
percentage of people in the gap. That is what I am telling you.
Mr. Correa. If we doubled the number of blue uniforms at
those ports or entry, we would catch double the amount.
Mr. Crane. But you still aren't touching the gaps where
there aren't people in the open desert. That is what we are
talking about. There is video after video of people that just--
ranchers, good citizens that just go to the border, sit there
with cameras, and watch these people come in with backpacks. I
live in Arizona, sir. I know you live in California, right?
Chairman Higgins. So this is engaging debate. It is the
kind of thing that should be discussed, but the gentleman's
time has expired.
I recognize----
Mr. Luttrell. Mr. Chairman, real quick. For the record, it
was--we went to McAllen.
Chairman Higgins. Yes, OK.
Mr. Luttrell. I just wanted that for the record. Popped
into my head. Sorry. Thank you.
Chairman Higgins. Again, to 1,954 miles border and some of
us have scouted the entire thing on several occasions.
I recognize my friend Mr. Green from Texas for 5 minutes
for questioning.
Mr. Green. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
I thank the committee for allowing me to participate as an
interloper today.
Mr. Huffman, I believe you indicated that the CBP is in its
99th year of existence.
Mr. Huffman. So CBP is actually in its 20th year existence.
The U.S. Border Patrol, one of the legacy agencies, is in its
99th year of existence.
Mr. Green. Well, I want to just say thank you to all of the
persons who do this work. I know it is not easy.
In my old age I am starting to see both sides of things
more and more. Just celebrated my 25th birthday for the third
time. There are some people who live on our side of this border
who are suffering too. Just mentioned communities, they are
suffering too. We need to do something about that. We need to
do something about the people who are hungry, need to be fed.
When I was thirsty, you gave me water, when I needed shelter,
clothing, you gave me clothing. Somewhere around Matthew 25. It
is a difficult problem. There is no real simple solution. There
really isn't. If the solution were really simple, it would have
been solved. There are better minds than have been here and had
the opportunity.
Mr. Nunez-Neto--Is that correct? Sir, you said that the
conditions driving the migrants still exist. Could you just
quickly articulate some of those conditions, please?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. Sure. We have seen over the last 2 years,
at times, surges in migration from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua.
Those are countries with failing regimes and devastated
economies that we have difficulties removing people to. That is
still the case. We have at times seen surges in migration of
Haitian Nationals. Haiti, a place that is in the middle of a
humanitarian crisis. We have seen economies failing throughout
Latin America, leading to the movement of countries to our
border that we have not historically seen. That includes
countries like Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, as well as some others.
Mr. Green. Thank you.
I heard someone say not so very long ago that the whole
country has become the border now, that it is not just at the
south where you make your entry. When you think about that, we
all have to share the burden. My Governor has been putting
people on buses and he just sends them. I don't approve of the
way he is doing it, but I do think that the places to migrate
to other than just right at the border, not a bad idea. I think
that we ought to try to work together to implement an idea.
Why, why not call and say, we have some people here, one
Governor to another, we have some people, can you help us?
Federal Government steps in and says we are going to help by
providing some additional resources.
At some point, we will have to work together to resolve
this. It is just not going to be resolved with simple sound
bites. So I am hoping that we can do so now.
I want to just say this, I find Mr. Mayorkas a decent man.
He has a tough job, just as you have a tough job, Mr. Huffman,
just as you do. We all have tough jobs. I found him be a good,
decent man. He is working with a broken system that we have not
fixed, to borrow some Texas terminology. What do you do when
you have the system that we--we have not--we have neglected?
So I thank you.
I am sorry, Mr. Chairman. I thank you.
I yield back.
Chairman Higgins. The gentlemen yields.
My colleague and friend from Texas, Representative Pfluger,
is recognized for 5 minutes for questioning.
Mr. Pfluger. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you for letting me
wave onto this committee.
Mr. Huffman, thank you for your service.
I will get right into it. Assistant secretary, how long
have you been the assistant secretary for immigration?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. Officially, since, I believe, April. But I
was acting in this role since October 2021.
Mr. Pfluger. OK. Can you tell me the number of
apprehensions since January 2021?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. I don't have the numbers right in front of
me, but I believe the number is somewhere in the 3.5 million
range.
Mr. Pfluger. I don't have the document, Mr. Chairman, but
but that sounds about 2 million short. Apprehensions on the
Southwest Border--and I will yield to you if you can back me
up--about 5\1/2\ million.
Chairman Higgins. Is the gentleman referencing for the
total number of encounters and apprehensions?
Mr. Pfluger. Yes.
Chairman Higgins. I would say that is--3\1/2\ million is
low.
Mr. Nunez-Neto. I'm sorry, I meant the last 2 fiscal years.
I think if you're counting from January, that's probably a
little bit higher.
Mr. Pfluger. How do those compare to the 4-year period
between 2017 and beginning of 2021?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. It is higher.
Mr. Pfluger. Twice, three, four, five times higher?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. It is significantly higher.
Mr. Pfluger. OK. Would you consider that a success for the
Department?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. You know, we have seen over the last few
years, again, as I said, these surges in migration under
Presidents of both parties. This is not a new phenomenon, this
is not something that is solely the purview of one party or the
other.
Mr. Pfluger. No, but Assistant Secretary, it is the numbers
indicate a story out here. Would you consider that a success
for our country?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. I don't believe that what we have seen at
the border is a success for anybody.
Mr. Pfluger. OK. I agree with that.
Mr. Nunez-Neto. Going back more than a decade.
Mr. Pfluger. That might be the first answer that I have
agreed with DHS on our border in the last 3 years since I have
been here.
It is not a success. Title 42 is not the answer. This was a
Band-Aid fix. It goes to the point where I meet with Mr.
Huffman's officers, and it doesn't matter if I am in Del Rio or
El Paso, McAllen or Laredo, Eagle Pass, or my hometown of San
Angelo, it really doesn't matter, the thing that keeps coming
back, every officer, every Border Patrol, Customs agent or ICE
agent says these words, and I quote, ``there are no
consequences''. Without consequences, there is chaos. The chaos
that we are seeing is fentanyl, 100,000-plus deaths,
trafficking of humans, 53 people who died in a tractor trailer
south of San Antonio in July.
So to your answer, I am disappointed that you don't
actually know the number. As the assistant secretary, that
number should be ingrained. You should know that number and you
should be able to add it up today for the crossings, the
apprehensions today. You should be able to have a running
counter today. That is the problem with this administration, is
that the tragedies that are happening to us, in my community in
Odessa, Texas, where we had the police chief here 2 weeks ago,
we are feeling the impact of this. Without rules, there is
chaos.
Would you say that after Title 42 ended and Title 8 was
reverted to, DHS has noted that aliens may qualify for an
exception and even if they don't use a lawful pathway, would
you say that those--do aliens who use the alleged lawful
pathways need a legal basis to enter? Or can anyone enter the
United States at this point?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. Going back to my previous comments, sir, I
would note that Title 42 did not allow us to place consequences
at the border. We need consequences on unlawful entry in order
to deter unlawful migration. That is why we have implemented
the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways Rule, which does place
common-sense conditions on asylum eligibility. But we need
Congress to act here, or there will never be a success on our
border.
Mr. Pfluger. You need Congress to act here?
Mr. Nunez-Neto. We do, sir.
Mr. Pfluger. Assistant Secretary, we passed the most
comprehensive border security package in the history of
Congress. We have acted. That is one of the most outrageous
statements that I think I have ever heard.
Mr. Nunez-Neto. We need Congress to act in a bipartisan
manner to fix this problem. Neither party is going to solve
this on its own.
Mr. Pfluger. Mr. Chairman, my time has expired.
I am having trouble----
Chairman Higgins. I indulge the gentleman.
Mr. Pfluger. We passed H.R. 2 and have acted. What this
country needs is the political will to enforce the laws that
are already on the books. In fact, the gentleman sitting next
to you as Commissioner has 19,000 Border Patrol agents that are
currently out there ready to give their lives and they are
saying that there are no consequences because Remain in Mexico,
MPP has not been adhered to, because the political will to
engage with our allies and our partners and countries to the
south of us has not been adhered to. We had policy that
deterred, and without deterrence, we will see a massive surge.
So I take great offense to the fact that you are telling me
that you think Congress should act, and that that is the
problem.
I couldn't disagree with you more.
With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman Higgins. The gentlemen yields.
It has been an engaging committee hearing. We have shared
insightful and I think well-thought-out perspectives from both
sides. The Ranking Member and I are friends, and we will
continue to discuss this.
I thank the witnesses for their testimony today. I thank
the Members for their questions.
Members of the subcommittee may have some additional
questions for the witnesses. We would ask that the witnesses
respond to these questions if presented to you in writing.
Pursuant to committee rule VII(D), the hearing record will
be held open for 10 days.
Without objection, the subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:45 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
----------
Questions From Chairman Mark E. Green for Blas Nunez-Neto
Question 1. When Title 42 ended, CBP reverted to Title 8 to process
and remove illegal aliens from the United States who were not
authorized to remain or who did not use a designated ``lawful pathway''
for entry. However, DHS notes that aliens may qualify for an exception
if they do not utilize a ``lawful pathway.'' The exceptions are
expansive. Currently, what percentage of those who did not use a
``lawful pathway'' for entry have been granted an exception? Do aliens
who use the alleged ``lawful pathways'' need a legal basis to enter, or
can anyone wishing to enter the United States use the pathways? Those
using parole pathways--what happens after the 2-year term ends--are
they issued NTAs, or are they expected to present for removal on their
own volition? Are the parole pathways expected to be implemented in
perpetuity?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Question 2. Parole+ATD was struck down by a Federal judge in March
2023. Prior to the end of Title 42, Chief of Border Patrol Raul Ortiz
issued a policy called ``Parole with Conditions,'' which in practice
seemingly was the same program as Parole+ATD, just under a different
name. Is Parole+ATD still in use, despite the court order to terminate?
What are the differences between Parole+ATD and Parole with Conditions?
Are aliens still released under these conditions? What conditions do
the aliens have to meet in order to be released?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Question 3. The administration has announced recent agreements with
the government of Mexico, one of which being that Mexico will accept
30,000 returns per month from the United States. Are only Cubans,
Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans being accepted by Mexico, or are
other nationalities being accepted, as well? What are the limitations
of the agreement? Since the agreement's inception, how many aliens has
Mexico accepted? Is Mexico accepting returns only from specific
portions of the border (i.e., Southwest border), or does Mexico accept
aliens from any portion of the United States? Are there any
restrictions on whom Mexico will accept?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Question 4. ICE detention policy states that, ``ICE uses its
limited detention resources to detain noncitizens to secure their
presence for immigration proceedings or removal from the United
States--as well as those that are subject to mandatory detention, as
outlined by the Immigration and Nationality Act, or those that ICE
determines are a public safety or flight risk during the custody
determination process.'' Does ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations
(ERO) have enough officers to handle both a potential upcoming post-
Title 42 surge at the border and the ability to continue its interior
enforcement operations? What plan does DHS have for ICE to track those
who fail to show for their immigration removal proceedings? Also, it
has been widely reported that aliens were released into the interior
without court dates, regardless of whether they were issued a NTA. Are
the reports true, and how does DHS expect to track those aliens without
proper documentation?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Questions From Honorable Josh Breechen for Blas Nunez-Neto
Question 1. Under President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas, DHS has
closed several detention centers across the country that were
previously used to house and keep aliens in DHS custody and prevent
their release into the interior of the United States. Instead of
detaining aliens, this administration decided to implement alternatives
to detention like GPS ankle monitoring, telephonic reporting, and
SmartLINK phone app monitoring. On May 20, 2021, then-ICE Acting
Director Tae Johnson said, ``ICE will continue to ensure it has
sufficient detention space to hold noncitizens as appropriate.'' Yet,
in his fiscal year 2024 budget proposal, President Biden requested
9,000 fewer detention beds at detention facilities--a reduction from
34,000 to 25,000.
Is this memo accurate?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Question 2. Will CPB have the flexibility to conduct a DNA test if
CBP agents are suspicious of an adult alien?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Question 3. Would you agree that this policy change will encourage
more children to be trafficked into the country with complete
strangers?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Questions From Chairman Mark E. Green for Benjamine ``Carry'' Huffman
Question 1. Regarding the parole process for Cubans, Haitians,
Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV), the CHNV program was created due
to a large amount of those aliens presenting at the border. What is the
process for screening individuals for parole when they arrive at air
ports of entry? Have any been denied parole at the port of entry? Have
any sponsor applicants within the United States been denied sponsorship
of those arriving under CHNV and on what grounds were they denied?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Question 2. It was noted that CBP has closed gates and plugged gaps
in the wall to prevent illegal aliens from entering between points of
entry. However, it has been reported that Border Patrol agents are
shuffling in aliens through an area used by authorized personnel called
Gate 42. Why is Border Patrol escorting aliens through personnel gates,
such as Gate 42?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Question 3. The committee has been told that 90 percent of the
drugs crossing our border enter through ports of entry, while also
being told that the amount caught is roughly between 5-10 percent being
trafficked into the United States. Please clarify what percentage of
illicit substances are interdicted at our ports of entry. Has Border
Patrol seen an increase of fentanyl seizures between ports of entry? In
total, what is the estimated percentage of fentanyl being trafficked
across the border between ports of entry?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Question 4. In his testimony, Mr. Huffman stated that in addition
to the approximately 24,000 agents and officers along the Southwest
Border, CBP has also been hiring non-uniformed personnel and contract
personnel to assist in processing and facility operations. How many
non-uniformed personnel have been hired specifically for processing
along the Southwest Border? How many contract personnel have been hired
for the same reason? Where are the majority of these extra personnel
being sent? How much do the extra non-uniform personnel cost?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Question 5. Once family units (FAMUs) are released into the United
States, are all family members tracked/accounted for individually, or
is only the head of household tracked? What does the vetting process
look like for family units? How is it determined that the family units
are indeed related?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Question 6. There have been reports of NGO's bussing processed
migrants into the interior of the United States--as many as three
chartered busloads in just a few hours. How does CBP keep track of
every individual on the bus? Which specific NGO's does CBP work with to
arrange travel for the aliens and how is the decision made when
choosing an NGO?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Questions From Honorable Josh Breechen for Benjamine ``Carry'' Huffman
Question 1a. Under President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas, DHS has
closed several detention centers across the country that were
previously used to house and keep aliens in DHS custody and prevent
their release into the interior of the United States. Instead of
detaining aliens, this administration decided to implement alternatives
to detention like GPS ankle monitoring, telephonic reporting, and
SmartLINK phone app monitoring. On May 20, 2021, then-ICE Acting
Director Tae Johnson said, ``ICE will continue to ensure it has
sufficient detention space to hold noncitizens as appropriate.'' Yet in
his fiscal year 2024 budget proposal, President Biden requested 9,000
fewer detention beds at detention facilities--a reduction from 34,000
to 25,000.
Why would the administration claim a lack of resources as
justification for implementing alternatives to detention policies, yet
simultaneously request fewer detention beds? Shouldn't this
administration be requesting more beds, not less?
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
Question 1b. I was made aware of a CPB memo dated May 19, 2023,
which states that this administration voluntarily directed Border
Patrol to terminate all DNA testing last Wednesday, on May 31.
Last fiscal year there were over 560,000 apprehensions at the
Southern Border of aliens in a family unit. If we were to use GAO's 8
percent of familial claims being fraudulent, this would mean that over
44,000 of those kids apprehended were not traveling with their
families.
Answer. Response was not received at the time of publication.
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