(New York Post) The Biden administration is quietly rushing to implement new policies that will loosen restrictions on migrants who entered the US illegally — a parting attempt to thwart President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration crackdowns and mass deportations, sources tell The Post.
And the Big Apple will be ground zero for these changes.
The outgoing administration intends to launch an ICE Portal app starting in early December in New York City that will allow migrants to bypass in-person check-ins to their local ICE office.
Homeland Security sources tell The Post the app will make it easier for migrants to flee authorities in part because the software has proven to be glitchy and unreliable.
Even when it’s working correctly, the new app doesn’t check for past arrests or outstanding warrants — something the current system tied to in-person appointments does, sources said.
Up to 100,000 migrants will be enrolled in the first wave of the program, sources said.
That’s just one of a handful of initiatives being pushed through before inauguration day — including allowing migrants to contest government orders to undergo electronic tracking while they await their immigration appointments.
And experts said rolling back the policies might not be as simple as Trump waving his pen, because changes could be subject to both procedural hurdles and legal challenges.
“A lot of lawsuits get filed, maybe frivolously, but it just kind of stalls what the administration wants to do,” one DHS source said.
Former acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan slammed the Biden administration’s last-minute moves as “the opposite of a peaceful transition of power.”
“This is an obstructionist transition,” said Morgan.
“What they’re trying to do in the last final day, they’re going to try to put up as many roadblocks and obstacles and throw as many grenades as they can on their way out.”
Morgan added that he believes that Trump’s move to abolish the new Biden policies could be slowed down by court challenges — which were effective in blunting Trump immigration policies in his first administration.
In New York City’s field office, where the app will launch, ICE is already overwhelmed by the number of illegal migrants roaming the streets.
As of early last year, the office was already “fully booked through October 2032” for appointments to process migrants released into the US, according to an official document previously reviewed by The Post.
