SAN DIEGO — A surge in border crossings and a lack of immigration jail space have prompted the government to start releasing Haitian immigrants who have been entering the country in large numbers in recent months, backtracking on a pledge to jail the migrants.
A U.S. government official told The Associated Press that the decision to free Haitians arriving in Arizona and California is in response to a lack of jail space. The official said releasing immigrants with orders to report later to immigration court is a tactic used when space is scarce, under humanitarian conditions or as part of efforts to keep families together.
Before the Haitians are released, they are subjected to a criminal background and national security check. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and insisted on speaking on condition of anonymity.
The influx of migrants and lack of jail space on the border will be one of the most immediate immigration challenges for President-elect Donald Trump. Trump vowed to build a wall on the border and carry out mass deportations.
Thousands of Haitians have arrived at the U.S. border with Mexico in recent months, many after traveling 7,000 miles by foot, taxi and bus from Brazil through eight nations. They present themselves to U.S. border inspectors, often at San Diego’s popular port of entry.
About 5,000 Haitians had showed up in San Diego from October 2015 through September, overwhelming border inspectors. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana said at a recent congressional hearing that officials told her on a trip to Central America that 40,000 more were on their way. ICE said it has sent 203 Haitians back to their home country since late October.
The Department of Homeland Security last week said there were about 41,000 people in immigration detention facilities, compared to a typical population of 31,000 to 34,000. Secretary Jeh Johnson authorized the acquisition of more bed space for single adults.
The move reverses Johnson’s recently announced plans to detain Haitians during deportation proceedings. In September, Homeland Security began putting Haitians in detention before sending them back to the homeland they fled.
It was unclear how many Haitians have been released since the change, although ICE said it has deported 203 Haitians to their home country and that about 4,400 remain detained.
ICE spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea said in a written statement it is removing Haitians in accordance with its enforcement priorities.
“ICE prioritizes the removal of national security threats, convicted felons, individuals convicted of significant or multiple misdemeanors, and individuals apprehended at or between ports of entry while attempting to unlawfully enter the United States,” she wrote.
The large numbers of Haitians arriving in California and Arizona, and Central Americans coming across in Texas have put a tremendous strain on the system.
Customs and Border Protection announced Thursday it was opening a new temporary processing center in an El Paso, Texas, suburb.
The facility in Tornillo, Texas, will be used to process families and minors and can hold up to 500 people. It will be up and running within a week.
The decision to release Haitians will likely add to the growing backlog of more than half-a-million cases already pending in immigration court. That backlog has effectively meant that immigrants routinely wait years for a judge to decide if they should be kicked out of the country.
At a bus station in Phoenix on Thursday, several Central American women said authorities released them on condition that they promise to appear in immigration court.
The U.S. temporarily suspended deportation flights to Haiti on Oct. 4 but Johnson vowed that Haitians would continue to be detained.
