Mullin v. Al Otro Lado · ¶94

The stated purpose of the Government’s metering policy, consistent with its origin, was to manage CBP “‘resources’” and respond to capacity limitations at ports of entry. Ibid. Over time, however, it became clear that the metering policy had little to do with capacity issues. According to a report by the Office of the Inspector General of DHS (OIG) issued in 2020, CBP often invoked lack of capacity as a justification for metering “regardless of the port’s actual capacity and capability,” including while facilities sat empty. App. 397, 408; see id., at 221 (chart showing significant excess detention capacity even while metering was in effect). For some ports, detention facilities “were completely empty” 80% of the time during which they were turning away asylum seekers under the metering policy. Id., at 192. Still, as a CBP whistleblower would later testify, officers at ports on the…

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