There are no imminent plans to send thousands of undocumented immigrants from the border with Mexico to South Florida, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials now say.
Looking to mitigate reports from South Florida police chiefs that federal immigration officials are about to bring dozens of families across the border to Broward or Palm Beach counties, CBP officials explained to the press on Friday They have prepared “contingency” plans to do it, but they said there are no scheduled flights and they have not made a decision yet.
In any case, South Florida remains one of the regions where immigration agencies have the capacity to prosecute undocumented immigrants seeking to enter the country, in case a massive influx of immigrants continues to overload the aging facilities located at along the border with Mexico.
During the past week, immigration officials said that an average of 4,500 immigrants have been arrested every day.
The clarification by federal immigration authorities should mitigate, at least temporarily, a storm that erupted on Thursday after the CBP Miami office chief informed police chiefs in Palm Beach and Martin counties of undocumented immigrant flights could begin to land at the Palm Beach International Airport in the near future.
By Thursday afternoon, politicians in Broward and Palm Beach counties referred to the arrival of up to 1,000 immigrants a month and warned of an impending homeless crisis.
“I do not have enough information to be calm and I do not have enough information to be apprehensive,” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said Friday. “I have two people from the federal agencies who know what is happening and are saying that we are prepared. I’m doing everything I can. “
On Thursday, Sean Brammer, head of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Association, sent a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis explaining that up to 14,000 immigrants from the border could be sent to South Florida. Also on Thursday, Palm Beach Police Chief Ric Bradshaw warned that the county was not prepared to handle such an influx.
But CBP now says there is a misunderstanding, that there are no scheduled flights to South Florida, and it may never happen.
For now, immigration authorities are relieving pressure on their agents and facilities by transferring and liberating immigrants elsewhere.
For months the government has been moving families between different points such as Yuma, El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley and CBP substations. Since October, CBP has made approximately 530,000 arrests on the border with Mexico, and on March 19, the agency began releasing families who have criminal charges.
These families, mostly from the Northern Triangle in Central America, are being transported by bus to Laredo or by plane to Del Río. On Tuesday, there will be another plane from the Rio Grande Valley to San Diego.
South Florida remains a possible destination because of the ability of Customs and Border Protection to prosecute immigrants, according to CBP officials. But there is no assurance that someone will be sent here.
