Immigration officials and agents at the U.S.-Mexico border insist there is still time for a potential surge of immigrants to cross into the country illegally before President-elect Trump takes office and cracks down on border entries.
Trump and his border czar, Tom Homan, have pledged to begin mass deportation efforts on Day 1 of Trump’s second White House term. But with three weeks before Trump’s inauguration, federal immigration officials believe they could be facing an influx of migrants who attempt to find safety in the U.S. before the border is closed.
Homan, however, is warning them not to come.
Several caravans of immigrants have broken free from Mexico’s southernmost point in Tapachula near the Guatemalan border. However, those groups of migrants have not yet reached the U.S.-Mexico border.
Instead, smaller segments of those caravans have arrived in Eagle Pass, Texas, before Trump takes office.
Since President Biden took office in 2021, more than 8 million migrants have been encountered at the southern border. The majority were given a court date to appear at an immigration hearing, which can take years to materialize.
Homan recently told NewsNation that immigrants who cross illegally and then enter the process seeking asylum should not get comfortable living in the United States.
“They need to hear, they need to understand, ‘Do not sell everything you own to give it to the criminal cartels to be smuggled into the United States because you’re not going to stay,’” Homan said.
He added that the Trump administration will be ending the federal “catch and release” program, which allows immigrants who entered the country illegally to remain in the country as long as they are in the process for asylum.
“Stay in your homeland,” the incoming border czar told NewsNation. “Be safe. Crossing into this country illegally is very dangerous.”
Homan also noted that a record number of migrants have died attempting to cross into the U.S. and that a record number of Americans are dying from fentanyl. Homan blamed both the migrant and American deaths on the Biden administration and its approach to the border.
Texas Department of Public Safety officers encountered two unaccompanied girls who were abandoned by a smuggler in Eagle Pass before the smuggler fled back to Mexico. Texas DPS said that the girls, ages 5 and 9, were from El Salvador.
Both children had a note that included an address and phone number. While Homan wants migrants to remain safe, he told NewsNation that many are ignoring warnings in an attempt to get family members across the border before Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Homan’s warnings come as Mexico government officials announced they would open 25 detention centers for immigrants who were sent back across the border once they were detained by U.S. immigration officials.
With a tougher stance coming once Trump takes office, Homan said there is one solution for migrants looking to remain safe.
“Stay home,” he said.
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