McAllen mayor: We haven’t heard anything from the Biden admin

By Gregg Wendorf
Advance News Journal

According to a story published in the Los Angeles Times last Thursday, the Biden administration is considering a new move as it relates to undocumented immigrants trying to cross into the U.S. via Texas. The new policy would force them to remain on Texas soil while their asylum screening gets processed.

Yet, this week, McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos said the only news he’s heard of this possible change in border policy has come courtesy of news outlets, like the LA Times.

“There has been no news coming to the City of McAllen from the (Biden) administration.”

Villalobos said he hopes the change in policy doesn’t happen because he foresees a lot of lawsuits filed if indeed President Joe Biden changes course.

“The impact this would have on local taxpayers would be significant,” he said. “For every 400 to 500 children you have stay here, you’re talking a new elementary school.”

From the Sept. 7, 2023, LA Times story, which carried the headline, “Biden administration considers forcing migrant families to remain in Texas,” here is the lead paragraph: “The Biden administration is considering forcing some migrant families who enter the country without authorization to remain near the border in Texas while awaiting asylum screening, effectively limiting their ability to travel within the United States, three U.S. officials told The Times.”

With border cities already under the gun — how to provide public services to a growing area without raising taxes too much, if at all — the addition of asylum seekers to the mix of public expenditures would weigh heavily on the public treasury, said McAllen Mayor Villalobos.

“The additional cost to McAllen and other border cities would be significant,” said the mayor. “Yes, children have a right to an education, healthcare, but that all costs money. Meaning, I hope what’s being reported doesn’t happen.”

From the second paragraph to the LA Times story: “Administration officials have been considering the idea (Remain in Texas) as a way to stem recent increases in the numbers of migrant families crossing the southern border, which reportedly reached an all-time high last month (August 2023). Supporters of the Remain-in-Texas idea, which has yet to be finalized, hope that it would help the administration advance its goals of quickly deporting families who fail initial asylum screenings and deterring other families from crossing in the first place.”

According to the Times story, which sourced three anonymous officials not authorized to speak on the record, if adopted, the new Biden plan would force certain migrant families to remain in border cities, by tracking their location through GPS monitoring devices.

“Officials have discussed working with local organizations to provide housing for the families.”

The Biden administration has yet to comment on the LA Times story.

To be entirely accurate, it is unclear whether the “Remain-in-Texas” policy would only keep migrants in border cities or across the Lone Star State. The Los Angeles Times report that first mentioned the policy said that it would apply to migrant families who enter the country illegally in Texas. However, the report did not specify whether the families would be required to remain in border cities or could be placed in other parts of the state.

According to The Times story, the migrant families who enter the U.S. without authorization would be forced to “remain near the border in Texas while awaiting asylum screening…” However, how does one define “near the border?”

South of the Falfurrias checkpoint? South of San Antonio?

It is possible that the Biden administration would only require migrant families to remain in border cities in order to make it easier to deport them if they fail their initial asylum screenings. However, it is also possible that the administration would allow migrant families to be placed in other parts of the state in order to spread out the burden on border communities.

In a Fox News story published Sept. 9, Brandon Judd, the president of the National Border Patrol Council, said that the Remain-in-Texas plan, if put into place by the Biden Administration, would do nothing to secure the border or help BP agents.

“It’s not going to help border security in any way, shape, or form because it means catch-and-releases are going to continue to go on,” Judd said.