The Department of Homeland Security admitted it does not track illegal immigrants after they are released from federal custody into the interior of the United States, newly uncovered emails between DHS officials and journalists show.
The emails, obtained by the watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, also show that DHS admits that some of the illegals who are placed on buses are getting off at points of their choice and not staying on until the intended destination.
In one email, a DHS official told a Washington Post reporter off the record that he could not say how many immigrants are settling in Northern states via border state busing programs because the agency does not track those released from their custody.
“Are more people deciding to settle in DC/New York or, more recently, Chicago as a result of the program where they might have previously been inclined to remain in Texas or Arizona?” the reporter asked in a September 2022 email reviewed by Just the News.
“Off the record, that’s hard for us to say because they’re getting on those buses after they’re already out of our custody,” the official answered.
“That said, anecdotally including what I hear from other reporters, it does appear that word is spreading and they are looking for those buses for the free transportation. I’ve also heard many people are getting off along the way, so they’re using the buses for as long as it is convenient, but again, because they are out of our custody by then, it is hard for us to be able to answer that,” the official added.
Michael Chamberlain, the director of Protect the Public’s Trust, said: “DHS attempts to claim they are not responsible for the crisis at the border and lack any means to solve the fast-developing disaster. At the same time, they admit to friendly members of the media off the record that they fail to perform even the most basic of functions.
”The Biden Administration came into office promising a return to normalcy, unprecedented transparency, and respect for the rule of law. These documents provide further evidence that, when it comes to our borders, they are 0-for-3,” Chamberlain added.
The emails from DHS officials were revealed days after the House of Representatives impeached DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas by a 214-213 vote after the first attempt by House Republicans failed last week.
Brandon Judd, a border patrol agent and the president of the National Border Patrol Council union that represents border agents, told Just the News that Republicans at Mayorkas's trial in the Senate should make the new revelations a key focus.
"Secretary Mayorkas, early on in this administration, said that the act of being in the country illegally alone is not enough for an enforcement action," Judd said in an interview with the "Just the News, No Noise" television show. "So what I have advised members of Congress on this impeachment and we're going into a trial now what they need to do is they need to focus on that aspect."
Judd continued: "Where he is breaking the law is when he allows these people to evade apprehension after they violate their order to appear or when they're ordered in and ordered deported in absentia, once that happens, he has an obligation under the law to find these individuals and ensure that they leave the country. And he's not doing that."
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