This week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) executed migrant removal flights to Venezuela and Central America. This initiative was supported by a joint effort between the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
According to a DHS news release, these flights took place on Dec. 26-27 and involved migrants identified as single adults and families. Since May 12, DHS has removed or returned over 460,000 individuals, many of whom crossed the Southwest Border, including more than 75,000 individual family members.
Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated in May ahead of the lifting of the Title 42 public health order, "I want to be very clear, our borders are not open." He continued by saying that people who cross our border unlawfully and without a legal basis to remain will be promptly processed and removed. "An individual who is removed under Title 8 is subject to at least a five-year ban on reentry into the United States and can face criminal prosecution if they attempt to cross again."
According to the media release, migrants from any nationality who initiate a legal claim to remain in the country will be properly vetted in line with federal guidelines and U.S. international obligations. The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review administers migrants' claims for relief or protection from removal before immigration judges in immigration courts. Due to privacy concerns, ICE does not discuss or confirm pending or upcoming transportation operations.
Mayorkas further said that "Smugglers have been hard at work spreading false information that the border will be open," adding that "They are lying."
The release noted that illegal aliens are transported from the country back to their place of origin by ICE Air Operations through commercial airlines and chartered flights supporting ICE field offices and other DHS measures. In fiscal year 2022 alone, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted 72,177 removals to more than 150 countries across the globe.
