U.S. Customs and Border Protection is saying little about an operation earlier this year that used helicopters and a fixed-wing airplane to round up 124 people in the vicinity of the Canada-U.S. border.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 despite the fact it publicized the sweep, dubbed B次元官网网址淥peration Jagdakommando,B次元官网网址� in a July 20 news release that described it as a response to B次元官网网址渦nprecedented illicit cross-border activityB次元官网网址� in the Northern U.S.
The release said personnel from CBPB次元官网网址檚 air and marine units in Detroit and Washington state also took part in the multi-jurisdictional B次元官网网址渟urge operation,B次元官网网址� which was led by the U.S. Border Patrol.
B次元官网网址淒uring the operation, Plattsburgh Air Unit crews contributed to the apprehension of 124 individuals between April 4 and May 13, 2023,B次元官网网址� the release says.
B次元官网网址淎ircrews contributed to the apprehension of 212 individuals (from October 2022 through June), marking a significant increase in migrant apprehensions.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淛agdakommandoB次元官网网址� translates roughly as B次元官网网址渉unter commandB次元官网网址� or B次元官网网址渕anhunt command.B次元官网网址� A similar word B次元官网网址� jagdkommando B次元官网网址� is the name of a special forces unit operated by the Austrian military.
But the agency has refused to elaborate on the operation, its name or any of the 124 people who were apprehended. It will also not say why, such as specify whether they were engaged in drug or weapons trafficking or merely lacked legal status in the U.S.
B次元官网网址淎ll of the information that we have to provide regarding that operation is in the news release,B次元官网网址� a CBP spokesperson said in an email nearly three weeks after The Canadian Press first made inquiries.
The operation was launched just 11 days after U.S. President Joe Biden visited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa, a meeting that produced a more fortified version of the agreement that governs bilateral asylum claims.
The amendment to the bilateral deal known as the Safe Third Country Agreement extended it along the full length of the land border, closing off popular routes for migrants hoping to claim refugee status in Canada.
But without more clarity, itB次元官网网址檚 impossible to know exactly why the 124 people were apprehended, said Sharry Aiken, a law professor at QueenB次元官网网址檚 University in Kingston, Ont., who specializes in immigration issues.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really problematic to lump in potential asylum seekers within this operation and effectively stigmatize these individuals with a label that suggests theyB次元官网网址檙e illegal and illicit, when in fact, theyB次元官网网址檙e not,B次元官网网址� Aiken said.
Safe Third Country agreements are little more than bilateral procedures between two countries that force would-be claimants to seek asylum in the first safe country where they arrive, she added.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not a procedure that renders anybody whoB次元官网网址檚 making a refugee claim somehow a lawbreaker. TheyB次元官网网址檙e not. They have the right to make an asylum claim.B次元官网网址�
Migrant rights groups have been complaining for years about the steady erosion of asylum opportunities in the U.S. as the country grapples with the persistent flow of undocumented arrivals at its border with Mexico.
At the same time, it is now standard operating procedure for Republicans on Capitol Hill to assail Democrat immigration policy B次元官网网址� particularly after four turbulent years of Donald Trump, and his B次元官网网址渂uild the wallB次元官网网址� rhetoric, as president.
Indeed, some congressional Republicans went so far as to form a B次元官网网址淣orthern Border Security CaucusB次元官网网址� earlier this year, seizing on fears that Canada was becoming a popular route for people trying to enter the U.S. illegally.
Caucus co-chair Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) and House GOP Conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) cheered the operation in a statement.
B次元官网网址淏idenB次元官网网址檚 border crisis has devastated communities across the nation and turned every town into a border town,B次元官网网址� the statement said.
B次元官网网址淲e rely on the expertise of our CBP and (Air and Marine Operations) agents to keep us safe every day and successfully and fearlessly execute on their vital role in protecting our national security.B次元官网网址�
The release notes that the Plattsburgh Air Unit is often involved in B次元官网网址渂order security operationsB次元官网网址� along the Canada-U.S. border, as well as federal, state and local investigations and search-and-rescue missions.
In the 12 months of fiscal 2022, Air and Marine Operations resulted in 967 arrests and 134,981 apprehensions of undocumented individuals, it continues, along with copious amounts of drugs, weapons and cash.
Precisely where those seizures occurred is not made clear.
B次元官网网址淭he story here is really the U.S. governmentB次元官网网址檚 clearly intentional conflation of illegal migration with drug trafficking and the weapons trade,B次元官网网址� Aiken said.
B次元官网网址淲hat we can really criticize is the fact that the government has released this bulletin in the manner in which it has done, which clearly and intentionally obfuscates the details in relation to the apprehensions.B次元官网网址�
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