Politics

Montana Governor threatens lawsuit against Biden if they fly migrants from border to northern facilities

by on

More in Politics:

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte has threatened legal action against the Biden administration if they decide to fly migrants from the southern border to other facilities at the Canadian border.

On Monday, the Washington Examiner obtained a letter from Governor Gianforte’s office, writing to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. In this letter, both the Governor and Attorney General Austin Knudsen explained their concern with the International Customs and Border Enforcement airplanes possibly being used to transport migrant families from the southern border to other facilities more north due to a lack of space at the United States/Mexico border.

Gianforte and Knudsen write, “Montana is unable to care for those individuals and should not have to bear the public safety costs this reported action will impose. Know this: if these reports are confirmed, we will take any and all appropriate legal measures to immediately prevent these relocation efforts.” Though they referenced possible legal action, both the Governor and the Attorney General didn’t lay out specifically what action they might take against the President and his administration.

Newsbreak reported that “Last Friday morning, 1,000 children without parents and families were encountered by Border Patrol agents, who already had 1,000 other people in custody but had not interviewed and booked them into the system due to a shortage of resources.” Customs and Border Patrol officials told the Washington Examiner that they had not yet flown any undocumented migrants from the southern border, but that they had been been requested to do so, considering it. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) called the plan “deeply troubling” following the report and urged the Biden administration not to move forward because of the risks involved, especially during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

At the moment, CBP is not testing any migrants for COVID-19, despite the surge of thousands of migrants that continues to fill the southern border. CBP is expecting local governments and non-profit organizations to test the migrants. The mainstream bus company, Greyhound, is urging the Biden Administration to ensure that migrants have tested negative before boarding their buses and transported across the country. The air transportation of migrants across the country is actually not unprecedented. In 2019, during the surge of migration at the United States/Mexico border, the Trump administration used similar tactics. Air travel was utilized to relocate many of the undocumented immigrants to other facilities that were more suited to hold them, having more room and larger space for these sums of people.

ARTICLE: ETHAN FINN

POLITICS EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE

PHOTO CREDITS: MTPR

Leave a Reply