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.
That91裸聊视频檚 despite the fact it publicized the sweep, dubbed 91裸聊视频淥peration Jagdakommando,91裸聊视频� in a July 20 news release that described it as a response to 91裸聊视频渦nprecedented illicit cross-border activity91裸聊视频� in the Northern U.S.
The release said personnel from CBP91裸聊视频檚 air and marine units in Detroit and Washington state also took part in the multi-jurisdictional 91裸聊视频渟urge operation,91裸聊视频� which was led by the U.S. Border Patrol.
91裸聊视频淒uring the operation, Plattsburgh Air Unit crews contributed to the apprehension of 124 individuals between April 4 and May 13, 2023,91裸聊视频� the release says.
91裸聊视频淎ircrews contributed to the apprehension of 212 individuals (from October 2022 through June), marking a significant increase in migrant apprehensions.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淛agdakommando91裸聊视频� translates roughly as 91裸聊视频渉unter command91裸聊视频� or 91裸聊视频渕anhunt command.91裸聊视频� A similar word 91裸聊视频� jagdkommando 91裸聊视频� 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.
91裸聊视频淎ll of the information that we have to provide regarding that operation is in the news release,91裸聊视频� 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, it91裸聊视频檚 impossible to know exactly why the 124 people were apprehended, said Sharry Aiken, a law professor at Queen91裸聊视频檚 University in Kingston, Ont., who specializes in immigration issues.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 really problematic to lump in potential asylum seekers within this operation and effectively stigmatize these individuals with a label that suggests they91裸聊视频檙e illegal and illicit, when in fact, they91裸聊视频檙e not,91裸聊视频� 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.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not a procedure that renders anybody who91裸聊视频檚 making a refugee claim somehow a lawbreaker. They91裸聊视频檙e not. They have the right to make an asylum claim.91裸聊视频�
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 91裸聊视频� particularly after four turbulent years of Donald Trump, and his 91裸聊视频渂uild the wall91裸聊视频� rhetoric, as president.
Indeed, some congressional Republicans went so far as to form a 91裸聊视频淣orthern Border Security Caucus91裸聊视频� 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.
91裸聊视频淏iden91裸聊视频檚 border crisis has devastated communities across the nation and turned every town into a border town,91裸聊视频� the statement said.
91裸聊视频淲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.91裸聊视频�
The release notes that the Plattsburgh Air Unit is often involved in 91裸聊视频渂order security operations91裸聊视频� 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.
91裸聊视频淭he story here is really the U.S. government91裸聊视频檚 clearly intentional conflation of illegal migration with drug trafficking and the weapons trade,91裸聊视频� Aiken said.
91裸聊视频淲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.91裸聊视频�
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