There’s been lots of talk lately about why ICE has chose Minneapolis as a primary target, and while yes, it’s a blue state and the DOJ has tried to get voter information, it’s important not to forget the obvious – Republicans hate Somalis. They hate Ilhan Omar, they hate that Somalia is a “shithole country,” they hate that Somalis are seen as “not wanting to integrate” and being anti-American (read: anti-Republican) while enjoying the benefit of living here.
Well, does anyone remember “They’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats?” Haitians in Springfield have been put on notice, literally, as their asylum status will expire on Tuesday. On the news this morning I heard one of our senators, Bernie Moreno, saying that he’s assumed the Haitians have all self-deported at this point.
I’ll just add, Border Patrol cannot operate outside 100miles from the border. Minneapolis is within 100miles. It looks like Springfield is 90miles.
It won’t dictate what city specifically, but will dictate the possible cities. Assuming they want border patrol + ICE.
The miles are “as the crow flies” so it goes in deep. And the Canadian border starts at the edges of all the Great Lakes. It gets in further than you think. Rightly or wrongly.
The exact wording matters, but yes, they are still doing that. It’s a “functional border” and that comes from the Courts. It’s why CBP operate in airports and they decide who gets to come “into the US”. You’re not in the US until you clear customs. Geographically you are, but not legally. Different rights apply.
I don’t think that kind of functional border definition is the same one that allows BP to operate within a 100 miles of. I think that “external boundary” has to be a land or coastline - more like a real border.
Also worth noting as I didn’t realize this, Columbus (40 minutes east of Springfield) has the 2nd largest Somali immigrant population after Minneapolis. I knew we had a big Somali community but I didn’t realize we were that high in the charts.
That, and the fact the Columbus is the closest city with federal offices, could heat things up here as well.
Their actions are limited outside of 100 miles from a border (including coastlines), and they also operate with full jurisdiction at 238 different points of entry (such as airports). But they can operate anywhere in the US.
The 100-mile zone limits Border Patrol’s authority to a certain extent: they cannot board buses or trains outside the zone, nor can they set up fixed vehicle checkpoints. It is, however, within their power to pull a driver over and interrogate them about their immigration status if they have “reasonable suspicion” that they are not a citizen.
Note that the source above is an organization that does advocacy for immigrants’ rights and tries to provide legal counsel to immigrants in detention centers, so any bias they have would be against the CBP.
So they certainly have the authority to operate in Springfield, or anywhere else in the US, at least to some degree.
I get it now, they just lose some of their extra powers once they get past 100 miles, but they can still operate (without those extra powers) anywhere.