The Trump administration is deploying border patrol agents to sanctuary jurisdictions across the U.S. to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) track down and detain illegal immigrants freed by left-wing cities and states.
The New York Times reported Friday the administration is sending 100 specially trained officers to work with ICE from February to May. Among the agents are members of an elite unit known as BORTAC -- which the Times describes as the SWAT team of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Such agents have gear like stun grenades and typically conduct high-risk operations targeting individuals known to be violent and those with significant criminal records, the Times reported. ICE primarily focuses on illegal immigrants with criminal records, but will not rule out detaining others as “collateral” arrests.
In a statement Friday, the CBP said the crisis at the border led to an increase in so-called non-detained cases -- 3.2 million in fiscal year 2019, up from 2.6 million in FY2018. ICE struggled to keep up, particularly as more jurisdictions implemented the controversial sanctuary policies.
“With 5,300 [Enforcement and Removal Operations] law enforcement officers – some of whom were detailed to the border - ICE does not have sufficient resources to effectively manage the sustained increase in non-detained cases which is exacerbated by the rise of sanctuary jurisdictions,” the statement said.
The administration said agents and officers come from a number of sectors and positions -- including those trained in tactical operations, although they note that that is “one of the many areas of training.”
“These officers have also been trained in routine immigration enforcement actions which is what they have been asked to do. All CBP officers and agents are FLETC-trained [Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers], just like ICE, and are more than capable of helping ICE fulfill their mission,” the statement said.
Democratic local officials responded to the push by doubling down on their policies.
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