People-smuggling gangs are making too much money off migrants to allow the end of Title 42 to cause chaos at the border and a crackdown by US officials, a former top Border Guard officer said.
Rather than a tidal wave of immigrants flooding the border, Chris Clem said cartels will check the numbers to ensure they can keep the profits flowing in the coming weeks.
Title 42 expires at midnight Thursday, easing public health restrictions to prevent COVID-19 from entering the country with migrants.
There are already reports of a wave of migrants crossing the border in Yuma, Arizona, where Clem retired as the industry’s Chief Border Patrol Agent last year.
“People who really orchestrate this don’t want to make it even more painful,” he told DailyMail.com.
Chris Clem was Yuma Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent before retiring last year. He said people smugglers wouldn’t want chaos when Title 42 ends – they would want the profits to pour in
This was the scene in his former sector in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Yuma in Arizona has seen the number of migrants arrive in recent days
“There is money to be made every time someone crosses the border.
“If they turn it into a major disaster by creating disorganized chaos, there will be a reaction. Even this government will say okay, we have to stop this for a few days.”
Closing the border to halt the chaos would be bad for business.
DailyMail.com reported this week about an attempt to control access to the border wall in Ciudad Juárez, where about 400 people had gathered to cross in El Paso, Texas.
A man named Alexander checked an opening in barbed wire that gave access to the dusty strip of land that ran up to the wall. Migrants whose names were not on his list were not allowed through the barbed wire.
“As of last week, we started compiling a list for when Title 42 ends,” he said. “The idea is to keep things orderly to increase the chances of letting them in through the wall.”
He claimed to have made the journey from Venezuela himself and that no money changed hands.
But Clem, who served with Border Patrol for 27 years before retiring last year, said this was exactly the way a people-trafficking gang would operate.
Hot spots run along the US-Mexico border, from California to Texas
Migrants await processing after crossing the border from Mexico into Yuma. The city’s mayor said he expected 1,200 people to be picked up by Wednesday
Migrants gather at a camp next to the border wall in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on Tuesday, two days before Title 42 expires
“It’s like the American Mafia,” he said. “Everyone was on the same wavelength and if someone got out of line and harassed, stole or killed someone, it attracted unnecessary attention. This is the same.
“So you have gatekeepers controlling access to this square saying if you’re not on the list you’re screwing things up.
“They’ve modified their business model to handle a few thousand a day. If you have too many of them or cause too much chaos, you lose profits.”
Clem’s old patch is a hot spot for illegal crossings. On Wednesday, the city’s mayor said he expected the number of people arrested to reach 1,200 – an increase of about 300 a day.
Reportedly, tens of thousands of people are waiting in Mexico, ready to make their move once Title 42 kicks off.
Alexander (center in bucket hat) and his associates control access to the dusty strip of land along El Paso’s border wall. If you’re not on his list, you’re not getting in
It effectively meant that detainees could be sent straight home without applying for asylum. With the end of Title 42, they will be processed by border authorities and some will be released back into the US with a court date to process their claim.
Clem said Border Patrol and other federal agencies have been preparing extensively for the day the ordinance would end. There were false alarms as agencies prepared their plans, only for courts to rule that Title 42 should remain in effect.
“I think it’s very well coordinated, not because of the administration, because of the people who run the agencies … it’s the men and women on the ground,” he said.
“They don’t have to deal with it in Washington. They do business on the border.
“Because I have no doubt that no matter how messy this is going to get, they’re going to do great.”