Border Patrol memo orders agents to release migrants from nearly every country in the Eastern Hemisphere

US News

By Adam Shaw, Stepheny Price, Bill Melugin, Griff Jenkins, Fox News

An internal Border Patrol memo, obtained by Fox News, directs San Diego Sector agents to release single adults from all but six Eastern Hemisphere countries and classify them as “difficult” or “very difficult” to be expelled.

The memo was sent after President Biden’s executive order banning asylum for most illegal immigrants took effect last week.

Biden announced the order Tuesday and said he was “overcoming Republican obstruction and using the executive authorities available to me as president to do what I can on my own to address the border.”

Details of the memo, first reported by Anna Giaritelli of the Washington Examiner, tell agents that all single adults in the Eastern Hemisphere should be processed through “NTA/OR,” which means notice to appear/release under personal commitment, with the exception of migrants from Russia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan – which are “mandatory reference” countries.

There are more than 100 countries in the Eastern Hemisphere, meaning that despite threats of consequences and promises from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and President Biden to expel migrants who cross the border illegally under of the new decree, the overwhelming majority of migrants in the Eastern Hemisphere San Diego sector are released to the United States

Video recorded by Fox News continues to show Border Patrol buses releasing hundreds of migrants at a San Diego light rail station almost daily.

There are also many countries that the U.S. government considers “recalcitrant,” which will not cooperate with U.S. deportation flights and refuse to take back their citizens.

In a DHS phone call with reporters Friday, the agency acknowledged it was difficult to exclude some countries in the Eastern Hemisphere, but that it was working with them, including China, to get cooperation.

The presidential proclamation will temporarily suspend migrant entry through the southern border once the average number of border crossings exceeds 2,500 per day for seven days, officials said.

It comes with a rule from DHS and the Department of Justice that will increase asylum standards.

However, the rule comes with a series of important exceptions.

The rule does not apply to legal immigrants, unaccompanied children or those deemed “victims of serious forms of trafficking.”

It also does not apply to those who schedule an appointment on the CBP One app at a port of entry, where approximately 1,500 people enter each day.

There is also an exception for those who are allowed entry “based on the totality of the circumstances, including consideration of law enforcement, officer and public safety, humanitarian interests and public health emergencies that allow non-citizens to enter.