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Q&A – Catch & Release - What Happens When Border Crossers Are Brought To Florida? Part 1
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email:brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
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Today’s entry: If all of these border crossers are coming to Florida what happens when they get here? Also, any idea how many?
Bottom Line: Today’s note is in response to Governor DeSantis’s recent trip to the southern border in Texas to visit the 50 Florida law enforcement professionals assisting with the border crisis at the behest of Texas Governor Gregg Abbot. While on the trip Governor DeSantis said this speaking of the work of Florida’s 50: They’ve made over 2,000 apprehensions, over 100 felony arrests, and they say almost 70 percent of everybody they have interdicted said their ultimate destination was the state of Florida. So, before discussing what happens when border crossers are sent to Florida, I’ll tackle the second part of your question first. How many. In real-time we don’t know. Like all government agencies information is always backward looking. Most recently reports are of an estimated 6,000 people per day attempting to cross into this country. We have an idea of how many of them are being allowed to stay based on guidance from Border Patrol.
In June, according to a Texas Boarder Patrol Sector Chief, 17% of border crossers are caught and released. That’s comprised of 15% of individuals and a whooping 65% of families. So, if around 6,000 people are crossing per day and 17% of them are being caught and released... You have a whooping 1,020 undocumented migrants per day gaining access to the United States. Be mindful these are just the people who’re accounted for, not the one’s crossing without having been detained first. What we do have an idea of, courtesy of the Center For Immigration Studies, is what happens with those who are caught and released.
CIS, led by investigative reporter Todd Bensman, documented and followed the Biden administration's processing of those being caught and released. Here’s what he found.
- Step 1:COVID-19 testing
- Step 2: Legal documents are provided including commonly a “notice to appear” to an immigration hearing to determine asylum status
- Step 3: They’re transferred to nongovernmental organizations who assist with arrangements
- Step 4: If those arrangements include a non-local destination they arrange for funds for travel (most commonly bus fare)
- Step 5:Quoting CIS, "they disappear”
Ok, so let me pick up on that disappearing thing for a moment. In some cases, it may be that they end up with family, in many cases they end up with similar local non-governmental organizations, to those who raised the funds to send them to their end destination originally. Those organizations often assist with living arrangements, government assistance programs and even school enrollment for children. In other words, commonly they become taxpayer supported while otherwise undocumented. In the second part of today’s Q&A we’ll look at where they’re commonly going.