The Department of Homeland Security’s legal immigration agency is ordering hundreds of employees to drop their regular duties and shift to border detail, where they will assist in the catch-and-release of the wave of illegal immigrants expected to come into the U.S. this month.
People performing anti-terrorism work or helping reunite separated families have been conscripted, as have officers who process regular applications from legal immigrants. They were ordered to begin a seven-day training course this week and be ready for a 60-day deployment to help with the migrant surge.
Employees were angry and unleashed their fury on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials Friday in a briefing that The Washington Times monitored.
John Lafferty, the head of USCIS’s asylum division who led the briefing, acknowledged that the agency doesn’t have the staff to handle the border surge and do all its other work.
“We’re going to have to take a hit on other priorities in order to do this, but the department has made very clear that this is a priority,” Mr. Lafferty said. “The administration, the White House, has made clear this is a priority.”
Mr. Lafferty said he can send 600 to 700 asylum officers to border duty but it will take 1,100 to 1,200 to be ready for the department’s anticipated surge.
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