Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced Thursday that the U.S. has secured an agreement with Mexico so that immigrants claiming asylum will be returned to Mexico as their cases are processed — a bid to end the practice known as “catch-and-release.”
Nielsen made the announcement Thursday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, telling the committee that the goal is to crack down on migrants falsely claiming asylum, only to be released into the U.S. and escape the radar of immigration officials.
“But by the time the courts have issued their orders, most of these illegal aliens have vanished within our country for good,” she said. “They have escaped the law, undermined the system, and made it harder for us to actually help real asylum-seekers by flooding the system with false claims.
Nielsen said the goal is to “not ‘catch and release’ but ‘catch and detain’ — or under our new protocols, ‘catch and remain in Mexico.’”
To combat this, she said those entering the U.S. illegally or without proper documentation would be returned to Mexico as their case is considered.
“They will not be able to disappear into the United States,” she said. “They will have to wait for approval to come into the United States. If they are granted asylum by a U.S. judge, they will be welcomed into America. If they are not, they will be removed to their home countries.”- READ MORE