President Biden named a brand new Border Patrol chief on Friday as U.S. immigration insurance policies have come beneath renewed scrutiny following the tip of Title 42, a pandemic-era restriction that allowed the authorities to expel most migrants for greater than three years.
Jason Owens, who has served within the Border Patrol for greater than 20 years, was most not too long ago the chief of the Del Rio division in Texas, which handles one of many busiest areas for unlawful crossings. He succeeds Raul Ortiz, who is ready to retire on the finish of the month after serving 32 years within the Border Patrol.
Mr. Owens takes over at a time when unlawful crossings have decreased. Though the numbers have gone down within the weeks since Title 42 was lifted in Could, officers count on the variety of crossings to rise once more this summer time, as 1000’s of migrants make their means via South and Central America with plans to go to the USA.
Because the chief of the Del Rio division, Mr. Owens targeted a lot of his time on making ready for and responding to those sorts of influxes. He additionally should cope with authorized challenges to new Biden administration border insurance policies, that are designed to discourage individuals from crossing into the USA illegally.