(TheRedWire.com) – Last month, Border Patrol set a “bookout” target for each sector to maintain a “manageable” level as the number of migrants in custody continued to rise. To stick to these targets, they could rely on releasing more migrants into the U.S. interior.
A Border Patrol acting deputy chief wrote in an internal email sent to Border Patrol field chiefs and deputies on Aug. 8 that there was a surge in the number of migrants entering the sector and that the number of incoming migrants was higher than the number of migrants who were either released or whose case was being moved to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) so that they could be removed.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office obtained the email, which noted that the number of in-custody migrants continued to climb. In the letter, it was added that the high number of people in detention meant that additional manpower was necessary, which negatively affected border security efforts.
This was why the agency proposed setting “daily book out targets” per sector, which would help ensure that there were “manageable levels of in-custody migrants. It adds that in cases where expedited removal options are unavailable, the migrants could be released with Notices to Appear (NTA/OR). The email further pushes the officers to start using these bookout targets and use the pathway plans or the NRA/OR when pathways are unavailable.
The email will be included in ongoing litigation in Florida’s lawsuit against the federal administration over the release of migrants into the country’s interior.
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