Murrieta: Citizens in Murrieta are organizing and preparing to battle the lack of transparency from the California Border Patrol regarding illegal migrant detainees. The detainees are said to be coming from Texas where they are overwhelmed with illegal border crossing activity.
Officials at the Murrieta Border Patrol refused to confirm or deny that hundreds of illegals have been bused to their facility for processing. The MBP station is responsible for covering 3,300 square miles including the full time checkpoint on I-15, a secondary checkpoint on Highway 79 and multiple mobile checkpoints. The corridor the MBP covers was recently listed by the city of Temecula as being the nations top route for drug smuggling and trafficking.
In 2014, Murrieta made national news for being the first city in the nation to turn back federal buses filled with illegal immigrants. Residents today believe the illegal detainees are being secretly released into communities across San Diego and neighboring counties.
Lisa Vinton a resident of Murrieta believes officials at the CBP in San Diego remember how we fought back in 2014 and are circumventing the flow of information to local police and city officials to thwart another public protest.
“I think our city officials and police want to protect our citizens but they can’t do that if the CBP is obstructing their efforts,” said Vinton.
California Border Patrol Agent, Vincent Pirro wrote in an email, “Chief Douglas Harrison said at a recent news conference, we can expect three flights a week from Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector to San Diego.  However, due to operational integrity and sensitivities we will not provide specific dates or times of these flights and will not specify which border patrol stations these immigrants will be processed.”
Officials from the Murrieta Police Department responded to local residents on social media with the following, “The Murrieta Police Department has been made aware that our local Border Patrol station has begun helping process many of the recent migrants to our country. We have heard your concerns over them being released into our city and Chief Hadden has been in communication with the head of that station. They've assured us that no migrants will be released into Murrieta after being processed there and there is no cause for concern. We will continue to monitor the situation and remain in contact with Border Patrol in regards to this issue.”
No one from the CBP will confirm where the detainees will be released nor will they deny they won’t be released into the city of Murrieta.
“The CBP is just playing with words by saying they won’t release illegal detainees into Murrieta. They will release them into the surrounding communities like Temecula,” said Vinton.
Pirro also shared the following information in an email.
“Due to capacity limitations at many U.S. Border Patrol stations on the southern border, and the limited capacity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to accept transfer of family units, on March 19, CBP began releasing non-criminal, processed family units.  To date, CBP has released more than 40,000 family unit aliens on a Notice to Appear (NTA) / Own Recognizance (OR). Since ‪December 21, ICE has released approximately 180,000 family members into the interior of the United States. Whenever possible, the releases have been coordinated with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). As NGOs have reached their capacities, CBP has released family units at transportation hubs during daylight hours when the weather does not endanger those released.

As of May 10, U.S. Border Patrol apprehended over 500,000 illegal aliens on the southern border Fiscal Year 2019 to date.  In the last week, Border Patrol apprehensions have averaged over 4,500 people a day.  Multiple Border Patrol sectors are apprehending numbers that exceed their capacity to expeditiously process, transfer to ICE, or direct release.  These resource issues are further impacted by the requirements of the Flores Settlement Agreement, which requires DHS to release arriving family units from detention within 20 days of their arrival to a detention setting.

To address this critical operational challenge, and to ensure the safety of individuals in our custody, on May 10, CBP began transporting unprocessed family units across southern border sectors to leverage available capacity for processing and holding.  All family units undergo initial intake following apprehension, to include collection of basic biographical information and a medical screening to ensure they are fit for travel. Means of transportation between southern border sectors include van, bus and air travel.

Currently, ICE aircraft are providing flights from RGV Sector to Del Rio and San Diego Sectors. We are also transporting individuals from Yuma Sector to El Centro Sector and from the Rio Grande Valley Sector to the Laredo Sector by bus. These are additional steps DHS is taking to mitigate the challenges posed by the unprecedented number of people in CBP custody.

The men and women of CBP are doing everything we can to achieve our humanitarian mission and will continue to coordinate with stakeholders in local communities, including other law enforcement agencies, elected officials, and non-governmental organizations, as DHS employs a 'whole of government' approach to confronting the ongoing crisis."