The recent spotlight on immigration, the claims by the administration that “it’s up to Congress to fix it”, and the associated senate bill are all fascinating to me for one simple reason: There is a big assumption that people aren’t doing their homework but instead relying on what they are told. So, let’s (again) put some facts out there. And again, before some label this as “right wing extreme views”, I would offer two comments: 1. I am not right-wing, although I lean right most of the time, and 2. A little self-driven motivation to confirm what this post states would do us all good, instead of simply following the flock.
Let’s start with the obvious: I assume you all know that Biden, in his first week, canceled almost every single Trump executive order and policy, right? Most he actually canceled in his first day, but others he needed departments with new cabinet secretaries (or “acting” secretaries) to go dissolve. Did you know that included almost a dozen illegal immigration exec orders and over 1,000 department-level policies? Like applying for asylum in your home country or next adjacent country, or remain in Mexico? Like the policies that wanted proof of US aid going to those countries being used for the people and economies? Yup, over 1,000 of those polices were immediately canceled as a blanket move, regardless of the impact.
What about the senate immigration bill? Well, first, let’s backtrack to HR2 – passed by the House last year, and totally ignored by Chuck Schumer and therefore dead on arrival in the senate. It strengthened the border security, reinforced border patrol, and increased penalties for traffickers. But, the dems led by Schumer wouldn’t even take it up.
Should congress do something? Is it really all up to them? Yes and no. Yes – the system needs to be improved. No, the illegal crossings were far-better managed through the last several administrations without need to pass bills. Biden undid every bit of that. He could, with a signature, change that tomorrow. But this is a political football he wants to use.
Let’s also recall that Texas AND the Feds (yes, Biden’s immigration department) started flying and bussing illegal migrants all over the US, mostly to sanctuary cities. Now, recall we are at 8 million known illegal entrants into the US with a 2% deportation rate in just the last 3 years, compared to a tenth of that volume with a 47-49% deportation rate under both Trump AND Obama. So the border states are still being crushed under volumes way higher than the 100K in NYC, the 35K in Denver, etc.
But what about the bill? Well, when you actually read the language, you should be shocked. Here are a few highlights: In that bill we can allow up to 4,999 people to cross illegally per day. That’s 1.8 million per year. Just under what is ALREADY happening. FYI, at 5,000 per day, for 7 days or longer, -OR- 8,500 in one day, the DHS secretary, under this bill, is REQUIRED to close the border. Great, right? Except … a paragraph shortly after that allows the president to suspend that closure for up to 6 weeks (actually that might be 90 days in the latest wording – I do need to check that one). Which basically negates the ability to close the border. It calls for hiring more agents – but specifically for improving processing of the arrivals. It calls for more judges – but specifically to accelerate the asylum hearings. But what it doesn’t do is protect the border. At all.
Those of us that actually know the US Constitution or have at least read it understand that at least 4 sections are being violated right now by both those entering illegally and those tasked with enforcement. You should know that our current law requires detention and deportation, and felony charges upon unlawful re-entry. Zero of that (not some, not a little, … zero) is being enforced by policy and exec order under this administration. This is a stark departure from Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump policies. This is, in fact, all Joe.
The recent letter from senior FBI officials (retired and current) to congress warning of the “perilous” (their words) situation we face in the US due to the illegal entries is something you should go read. The warning by Christopher Wray… just in the last month… about the level of alert and highest level of terrorist concern the FBI currently has (testimony in congress – another to google and confirm yourself) due to the illegal border crossings are something to pay attention to and not just “write off” in your daily lives. The current numbers, so you know what has led to this concern, are almost 100,000 military-aged men from China (over 36K and climbing), Russia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Syria, and Iran that have crossed in the last 3 years. The government turned them loose in our interior. We have no tracking of where they are, what they are doing, or who they are associated with … none. This is what led to the FBI notice to congress.
Sound like Chicken Little and the Sky is Falling? Perhaps. But keep in mind our vetting tightened up tremendously after the Saudi teams came into the US legally during Clinton, then flight-trained in the US and then highjacked and flew 4 airliners on 9/11. But in these last 3 years we have zero visibility and vetting into thousands (millions) of illegal new entrants. We’ve caught hundreds that were on the post-9/11 terror watchlist, but who go away? We have no clue.
Something to think about.
