A Homeland Security promotional video shows Honduran men, chained at the waist and handcuffed, boarding stairs to a plane with the Franklin Mountains as a backdrop.
Inside a federal agent walks the aisle between seats packed with dark-haired men. The video is wordless but the message is clear: Migrants who cross into the United States illegally will be sent back.
Since Title 42 ended on May 12, the Biden administration has launched a public relations blitz aimed at dissuading would-be migrants from making the journey north and persuading the American public that it’s enforcing the law at the border.
A transformation in border enforcement is underway as U.S. authorities return to applying the nation’s immigration laws under Title 8 after ending quick, pandemic-era expulsions. The messaging suggests the administration wants to project a hard line while taking a swing at critics on the right who claim the president supports “open borders.”
