Elite tactical border patrol agents from the southern border will be deployed to help make arrests within a number of sanctuary jurisdictions, according to a new report. Local law enforcement agencies jeopardize the public safety by refusing to hand over criminal aliens to federal immigration authorities and by releasing criminal aliens back into the community. U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) agents must also risk their lives by re-arresting violent criminals who were released by local agencies within sanctuary jurisdictions.

(Via The New York Times)

The specially trained officers are being sent to cities including Chicago and New York to boost the enforcement power of local ICE officers, according to two officials who are familiar with the secret operation. Additional agents are expected to be sent to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, New Orleans, Detroit and Newark, N.J. ... Lawrence Payne, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, confirmed the agency was deploying 100 officers to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which conducts arrests in the interior of the country, “in order to enhance the integrity of the immigration system, protect public safety, and strengthen our national security.” The deployment of the teams will run from February through May, according to an email sent to Customs and Border Protection personnel, which was read to The New York Times by one official familiar with the planning. Among the agents being deployed to sanctuary cities are members of the elite tactical unit known as BORTAC, which acts essentially as the SWAT team of the Border Patrol. With additional gear such as stun grenades and enhanced Special Forces-type training, including sniper certification, the officers typically conduct high-risk operations targeting individuals who are known to be violent, many of them with extensive criminal records. The unit’s work often takes place in the most rugged and swelteringly hot areas of the border. It can involve breaking into stash houses maintained by smuggling operations that are known to be filled with drugs and weapons.

The report notes that ICE leadership had put in the request for additional support in helping track down known criminal aliens subject to potential removal. According to one official, the goal of the new deployment is to increase arrests in sanctuary jurisdictions by a minimum of 35 percent.

ICE has also been issuing immigrant subpoenas in an effort to learn basic information from local law enforcement agencies about the criminal aliens being released back into the community.