Border Patrol told to consider exempting Ukrainians at southern border from Title 42 restrictions: report

Border Patrol brokers have reportedly been advised to think about exempting Ukrainians encountered on the southern border from Title 42 restrictions which can be getting used to shortly expel migrants — the newest immigration measure put in place for Ukrainians amid the continuing Russian invasion.

In a Customs and Border Safety (CBP) memo, reported by CBS Information, officers say that “the unjustified Russian conflict of aggression in Ukraine has created a humanitarian disaster.”

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION GIVES PROTECTION FROM DEPORTATION TO UKRAINIANS LIVING IN US 

“CBP is allowed, according to the Title 42 Order, on a case-by-case foundation primarily based on the totality of the circumstances, together with issues of humanitarian pursuits, to besides Ukrainian nationals at land border ports of entry from Title 42,” the memo reportedly says.

Title 42 public well being protections had been enacted by the Trump administration in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) order permits for the fast expulsion of migrants, typically inside minutes and with out detention, on the border. 

The Biden administration has largely continued the usage of the order, with some extra exemptions — together with for unaccompanied youngsters. Whereas officers in each administrations claimed it was a public well being order, not an immigration order, it has been utilized by each administrations as a essential device in stopping migration, to the chagrin of high Democrats and immigration advocates — who’ve known as on the Biden administration to abolish it utterly.

The steerage issued to brokers permits exceptions for Ukrainians who’re in possession of legitimate Ukrainian ID and will not be deemed nationwide safety or public security threats. There have been 272 encounters with Ukrainians on the border in February, in accordance with CBP, in comparison with 19 in Feb. 2021. There have to this point been 1,301 encounters since October.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Safety Alejandro Mayorkas gestures as he solutions a query throughout a Senate Homeland Safety and Governmental Affairs listening to to debate safety threats 20 years after the 9/11 assaults, in Washington, D.C., September 21, 2021.
(Greg Nash/Pool through REUTERS)

It’s the newest immigration transfer associated to the Ukrainian disaster by the administration. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) suspended deportation flights to Ukraine earlier this month.

DHS didn’t reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for touch upon the reported memo.

Days later, the Division of Homeland Safety introduced that Ukraine will likely be designated for Short-term Protected Standing (TPS) for 18 months. TPS protects nationals of designated international locations residing within the U.S. from deportation if they’re eligible and permits them to use for work permits and to journey freely.

DHS stated the designation was primarily based on “each ongoing armed battle and extraordinary and momentary circumstances in Ukraine that stop Ukrainian nationals and people of no nationality who final habitually resided in Ukraine from returning to Ukraine safely.”