According to U.S. Border Patrol (CBP), in six and a half months their agents have apprehended more than 418,000 illegal aliens, which surpasses the total for FY2018. In the last six months, CBP has encountered, more than 3,000 fraudulent family units. And CBP had apprehended almost 1,000 illegal aliens, mostly family units, before 5 a.m. on April 16.
Anti-enforcement politicians and Democrats in Congress reflexively blame the Trump administration or Central American dictators. Democratic presidential candidate Gov. Jay Inslee (Wash.) even blamed the crisis on climate change.
They can point fingers and shift blame, but the truth is that Congress is largely responsible for the surge of economic migrants and for creating conditions that will produce a humanitarian disaster.
“The dramatic increase in [family unit]apprehensions over the past year is directly linked to the U.S. government — executive, legislative and judicial branches — creating ‘pull factors’ that incentivize migrants to bring a child with them to gain entry to and release into the U.S.,” said a new report from the Homeland Security Advisory Committee, a non-partisan federal advisory panel comprised of experts from state and local government, first responder communities, the private sector, and academia.
That is also the conclusion of those with direct experience dealing with the consequences of governmental ineptitude and inaction.
“It’s part of the fraud scheme that we’re seeing, because [migrants]know that they’ll be released into the United States if they have a child,” says Maria Michel-Manzo, Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
So, how can the trend be reversed?
The HSAC members’ recognition of the imperative for Congress and the Trump administration to act was reflected in their decision to release their report this week, rather than in May as planned.
Noting the catastrophe at the border is “further exacerbated” by the 2017 Flores decision, they recommend rolling it back “by exempting children accompanied by a parent or relative, who is acting as the guardian of the child.”
Furthermore, “because the expansion of Flores is contributing to the flow of accompanied children, many who are of tender age,” the report suggests that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should act promptly to limit it by emergency regulation until Congress acts.
Among the other recommendations is for Congress to pass legislation modifying asylum laws “so that a hearing and decision can be provided to family members within 20 or 30 days” and to amend current immigration law “to require border crossers to present asylum claims” at ports of entry unless “extraordinary circumstances exist.”
During his tour of McAllen, Texas, on Thursday, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan told reporters that the day before more than 4,800 illegal aliens crossed the border.
“It’s very clear that the cartel and smugglers know the weaknesses in our laws. They know that family units and unaccompanied children will be released with no consequences for their illegal entries,” he said.
McAleenan realizes the answer to the problem at the border will require congressional action to change the laws. The members of the Homeland Security Advisory Committee and the border agents know it. Members of Congress know it too, but the question is whether they will do anything about it.
8 Comments
Come on Trump, build the damn wall and close the border
Fraud is an essential component of any corrupt enterprise. Our entire immigration system is a gigantic scam perpetrated on the American people by an increasingly corrupt and unrepresentative government. Many of us thought that would change when Trump became president.
We now understand that this administration is unlikely to be any part of the solution and is, in fact, part of the problem.
We have been sold out by BOTH political parties on the immigration issue. Our last 5 Presidents refused to enforce our immigration laws and we are seeing the results today. Far to many of our elected officials were more than willing to sell their soul and their country for money, power and votes. WE re-elected most of them !
We have no one standing up for us other than Trump and a few others. Our nation wasn’t sold to the highest bidder, it was given away piece by piece to illegal aliens and massive immigration from any number of laws put in place to do just that.
I’m not taking any bets on how this ends but either way it’s going to get ugly. REAL ugly and we have no one to blame except our government.
Seedbed for militia group which took action to aid USBP, FIX this Congress Now, Purge Congress
I’m Sure There’s Wide Open Spaces
A heavy duty Jeep Wrangler 4×4 could drive through around and through gaps in the wall today….I imagine that’s how the “human trafficking illegal alien sex slaves” get to America…large drug Cartel shipments of heroine too…
When Bernie did his Townhall on Fox one of the Fox moderators Martha MacCallum asked him about what he would do about the problems at the border. One of his first answers was “sensible immigration reform”, the non-answer talking point that’s always trotted out. It’s really code for amnesty. She also asked him a question about whether sanctuary cities should take in the immigrants they seem so eager to keep here, instead of border cities having to deal with them, and he replied “that’s not a real question” and he never directly addressed it.
How is any question “not a real question”? It’s the perfect example of why the Democratic party has refused to allow Fox to carry any of their presidential candidate debates in 2020. Because they know that they might get asked questions and be required to answer directly instead of the talking points softballs they know CNN And MSNBC will ask. When asked what his position was on abortion, whether it should be permitted basically right up until birth, he said that it’s “a decision between a woman and her doctor”. No, at a certain point it’s not, but that seems to be the Democratic line now, and it’s appalling. So much for worrying about “the children”.
It’s unthinkable what is being allowed to happen at our Southern border. It’s unthinkable. The GOP had control of the purse and could have done the wall 2016-2018 but they didn’t do it. Who can be trusted to safeguard this nation? NOT the elected “representatives”, it’s clear to me. Build the wall and shut down the border Mr Trump. Declare war on the drug cartel as an international terrorist organization and kill it!
That isn’t exactly true. The republicans in the House may have been able to pass some positives to change our immigration insanity, but it would never have passed the Senate. Then, the GOP only had a majority of 3 or 4 and quite a few of the GOP always voted with the democrats, so, in actual practice, the dems controlled the Senate. But I agree that the republicans are not a lot better than the democrats. When it comes to immigration and the constant borrowing and spending, none of Congress, neither party, actually acts in the best 8nterests of anyone but themselves, the rich corporations giving them power and money and foreign nations and foreign people. None actually represent the best interests of the USA or American citizens.