Biden admin deported fewer than 100 illegal migrants in key program after promising to increase removals at border

The Biden administration deported fewer than 100 illegal migrant family members after promising to increase penalties at the southern border, CBS News reported Thursday.

The Biden administration announced the program, which is known as Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM), the day before the Trump-era public health order used to expel migrants expired on May 11, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). More than 2,600 migrants have been enrolled in the program, including 1,500 heads of household, while only 80 parents and children have been removed as of last week, according to CBS News, which cited DHS data and a U.S. official who requested anonymity.

The program places ankle monitors on heads of households and institutes a curfew for them if they are seeking asylum or have a credible fear of returning to their home country, according to DHS. Families who are not found to have legitimate credible fear claims are “generally” removed from the country.

The Biden administration has been trying to showcase its efforts to remove more illegal aliens from the country, sharing videos and statements to promote their actions.

“ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations] is committed to imposing immigration consequences in a safe and humane manner to those who unlawfully enter the United States,” ERO Executive Associate Director Corey A. Price said when the Biden administration announced the program. “Families should not listen to the lies of smugglers. Like single adults, noncitizens traveling with their children who do not have a lawful basis to remain in the United States will be quickly removed and barred from reentry for at least five years.”

The number of migrant families to cross the southern border illegally spiked more than 90% in July when Border Patrol recorded roughly 60,000 encounters, which increased from roughly 31,000 in June, according to federal data.

The Biden administration is scrambling to address the surge by pressuring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to increase FERM enrollments and expand it from four to 40 cities, according to CBS News.

“ICE keeps saying, ‘we deport families. See, we’re showing you pictures of the families we’re deporting.’ They keep promoting that. They’re trying to hope that that message will come across. But the reality is that the majority of families are not deported,” Theresa Cardinal Brown, a former DHS immigration official under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, told CBS.

Neither the White House nor DHS immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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