On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” CNN Correspondent Rosa Flores reported that a Border Patrol agent and the head of a local charity along the border said that there has essentially been an end to catch and release under the Trump administration due to smaller numbers of migrants crossing and quick deportations.
Flores said that a Border Patrol agent she spoke to told her that there has been a “de facto end of catch and release” and that this has been one of the biggest changes under the Trump administration and also told her that the “de facto end of catch and release is not due to a directive from the president, but actually the result of extremely low migrant crossings and swift deportations.”
Flores then showed a clip of an interview with Sister Norma Pimentel, Executive Director of Catholic Charities Rio Grande Valley, who has received migrants from Border Patrol under past administrations.
In the clip, Flores asked, “So, since Trump took office, the number of migrants released to you are very few.”
Pimentel answered, “Are very few. Almost zero.”
Flores then asked, “Almost zero, so, practically the end of what they call catch and release?”
Pimentel responded, “Correct.”
Flores also stated that migrant crossings fluctuate, so the “de facto end of catch and release could just be temporary.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
