Archive for the ‘Illegal Immigration’ Category

Democrats have shifted stance on illegal immigration: Byron York – Washington Examiner

The Washington Examiners Byron York reflected on how much the Democratic Party has shifted its stance on illegal immigration, as many members used to view it as unacceptable.

York, the chief political correspondent for the Washington Examiner, discussed how then-Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both spoke out against illegal immigration when they were in the White House, as it used to be a bipartisan political point. However, York argued that things have changed since at least the mid-2000s and again in 2013 when Congress had worked on addressing illegal immigration within the country.

A lot had changed inside the Democratic Party, York said on Fox Newss America Reports. There was a move toward being more pro-illegal immigrant, essentially. In the earlier events, old-style Democrats like Bernie Sanders actually voted against an immigration reform on the labor union belief that having lots and lots of unskilled immigrants in the United States would lower American wages. That changed, and in the early 10s and the mid-10s, and now it has become in Joe Bidens time an actual encouragement of millions to cross into the United States.

York was also asked about footage from November 2006 of then-Sen. Joe Biden, who said he had voted for a 700-mile fence along the southern border. The footage stands in contrast with Bidens leadership as president, during which time he has feuded with Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) over border security.

York noted how Congress had initially passed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 in a bipartisan movement, but then Congress essentially decided not to do it, meaning the 700-mile fence was never constructed. Congresss decision not to go through with the border wall allowed Donald Trump to campaign on the matter when he ran for president in 2016.

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The Center Square Voters Voice Poll released last month showed that illegal immigration was the second-biggest concern among likely voters ahead of the 2024 election at 44%, right behind inflation at 45%. The poll consisted of 2,510 voters, including 1,044 Republicans, 1,126 Democrats and 340 true independents, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The 2024 presidential election is likely to be a rematch between Trump and Biden. Trump is making a campaign stop Tuesday in Michigan, where he is expected to focus on his criticism of Bidens border policies.

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Democrats have shifted stance on illegal immigration: Byron York - Washington Examiner

200,000 Deportation Cases Thrown Out as Mayorkas’ DHS Fails to File Paperwork | FAIRUS.org – Federation for American Immigration Reform

According to a new report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University,200,000 deportation cases have been dismissed by Immigration Judgesbecause the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), led by recently-impeached Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, failed to file a Notice to Appear (NTA). An NTA is issued upon an aliens arrival at the border and serves as the first step in initiating removal proceedings undersection 239(a)of theImmigration and Nationality Act(INA). After issuing an NTA to an alien, DHS must also then file the NTA with an immigration court to ensure the case can proceed. Filing an NTA is one of DHS most basic responsibilities to ensure cases are properly adjudicated in immigrationcourt.

The Biden Administration has seen a higher number of dismissals due to failure to file an NTA compared to past administrations. During the Trump Administration, an average of 1.2 percent of new cases (approximately 3,880 per year) were dismissed. But those numbers have exploded since Secretary Mayorkas assumed office, jumping to an average of 8.5 percent dismissed from 2021-2023 (more than 60,000 cases per year). As a particularly stark example, under Mayorkas immigration courts in Miami and Houston dismissed more than 50 percent of new cases because NTAs were notfiled.

If an NTA is not filed properly, DHS has the option to restart the process by issuing a new NTA to ensure that aliens have their cases heard and adjudicated. However, TRAC revealed that in nearly three-quarters of the 200,000 dismissals, DHS did nothing to remedy its mistake. The result is that the illegal aliens will not have to face any consequences for violating our immigrationlaws.

Currently, theimmigration court case backlogsits at over 3.4 million cases. This is more than double the 1.4 million backlogged cases when President Biden took office in 2021, and nearly nine times the backlog of 396,978 cases in 2014. Shockingly, only a small fraction of cases are completed each year, resulting in many illegal aliens remaining in the country for years before cases are even heard. And, with policies that incentivize the flow of illegal aliens flooding the border and being released into the country, the backlog will only continue togrow.

Rather than implementing meaningful policy change to decrease the backlog, the Biden Administration has bypassed important authorities such as expedited removal in favor of mass catch-and-release policies. Expedited removal, undersection 235(b)(1)of the INA,grants border officials the authority to quickly remove illegal aliens, while still providing for asylum claims to be heard. The Biden Administration, however, has instead sought to limit its use, quickly release aliens at the border, and place them in regular removal proceedings, which can take years.As a result, illegal aliens are flooding across our borders, with immigration agencies buckling under the weight, and the court backlog rising sharply.If the Biden Administration took advantage ofexisting statutory authoritieslike expedited removal, the backlog would be dramaticallyreduced.

Not content to usher in the worst border crisis in history, the Biden Administration is now failing to follow through on immigration cases too. With this combination of failed policies and non-enforcement, more and more illegal aliens will be able to take advantage and reside in the country indefinitely, creatingenormous costs for American taxpayers. Under Secretary Mayorkas, DHS has been characterized by a lawless, open-borders agenda with no real intention to remove illegal aliens from the United States. The Secretary has proven time and time again that he is unfit to lead DHS, and the Senate must take action to officially remove him fromoffice.

To learn more about the case against Secretary Mayorkas, clickhere.

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200,000 Deportation Cases Thrown Out as Mayorkas' DHS Fails to File Paperwork | FAIRUS.org - Federation for American Immigration Reform

Biden Created the Border Crisis. Now, Texas Is Stepping Up to Defend Our Sovereignty. – The Mountain Press

Since taking office three years ago, President Biden has taken every step necessary to make illegal immigration legal. In just his first 100 days, the President took 94 actions to open our border and weaken immigration law, including halting border wall construction, pausing deportations, and ending the successful Remain in Mexico policy. As a result, 9.2 million immigrants have entered our country illegally including countless cartel members, violent criminals, and suspected terrorists.

While President Biden continues to push his radical agenda, border states such as Texas are stepping up to do what the administration wont: secure our border and secure our communities. To see firsthand how Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and authorities in the Lone Star State are working to keep Americans safe, last week I visited Eagle Pass, Texasonce a hotspot for illegal entry that has seen a dramatic decrease in migrant encounters.

One of the biggest reasons for the decline: border barriers including buoys, shipping containers, and razor wire fences that Texas officials have placed in and along the Rio Grande river as part of the states Operation Lone Star campaign to deter migrants from illegally entering our country.

Texas Department of Public Safety officials and Border Patrol agents point to these barriers, more than anything else, as the driving force behind the states decreasing number of illegal entries: As the state has ramped up its efforts to put in place temporary barriers, illegal border crossings in Texas fell from 149,806 in December to 68,260 in Januarya 54% decrease. Instead, illegal immigrants are now traveling further west to other border states, such as California and Arizona, that have much weaker restrictions on illegal entry.

At the same time, Texas has deployed thousands of National Guardsmen to the border to help block illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and human trafficking. In total, Texas authorities have apprehended more than 500,000 illegal immigrants and intercepted 467 million lethal doses of fentanyl, among countless other illicit substances.

One thing is clear: Under Republican leadership, Texas is accomplishing so much to secure our border, protect families, and save American lives.

Yet, without support from the Biden administration, the state and its localities face a tremendous burden in defending their communities.

While in Eagle Pass, I heard from ranchers who have had their property destroyed, stolen, or broken into by illegal immigrants crossing into our country from Mexico. In one instance, two migrants broke into a ranchers home while his 16-year-old daughter was studying at home alone.

Texas law enforcement also warned about the ways cartels are using new technology to aid their smuggling operations, including by using Chinese-owned TikTok to recruit Americans into their human trafficking rings. At the same time, cartels are flying drones into the United States to scope out the location of border agents and redirect their smuggling routes.

More than anything else, authorities in Texas told me that they need more border wall construction, better technology, and additional agents to help combat this threat. But time and again, President Biden has refused to help them. Instead, his administration is suing Texas for placing barriers along the border to prevent illegal entries and for enacting a new state law that empowers local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants.

Make no mistake: President Biden is targeting Texas because Texans are standing up to his open border policy. And if the President refuses to support the communities on the front line of combating his border crisis, Congress must step up.

Thats why in the U.S. Senate I introduced the Creating Obstructions Necessary to Address Illegal and Nefarious Entry Rapidly (CONTAINER) Act, which would empower border states such as Texas to place temporary barriers on federal land to protect their communities. No state or locality should face lawsuits from the federal government for trying to secure our border and protect the sovereignty of the United States.

I also introduced the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act, which would reaffirm the authority of state and local governments to enforce federal immigration laws by apprehending, detaining, or transferring illegal immigrants to federal custody.

Among its important measures, this legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security to provide grants to state and local governments to help them enforce immigration law and construct detention facilities. It would also require DHS to take illegal aliens into custody within 48 hours after receiving a request from a state or locality and provide the Justice Department with essential information about illegal immigrants who have overstayed their period of stay.

After my visit to Eagle Pass, I know these pieces of legislation would do so much to support border states and communities that are forced to confront the consequences of President Bidens border crisis every single day. It is far past time Congress took action to help them.

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Biden Created the Border Crisis. Now, Texas Is Stepping Up to Defend Our Sovereignty. - The Mountain Press

Gretchen Whitmer Lashes Out At Trump Following His Michigan Visit Focused On Illegal Immigration – The Daily Wire

Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer slammed former President Donald Trump after he visited her state on Tuesday to address the murder of 25-year-old Ruby Garcia, who was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant.

Whitmer appeared on CNN with host Kaitlan Collins Tuesday night to discuss a range of issues, including Trumps comments on illegal immigration. The former president spoke at a campaign event with law enforcement in Grand Rapids on Tuesday afternoon, where he warned that the ongoing border crisis under President Joe Biden has turned every state into a border state.

The former president was in Grand Rapids today, and he was capitalizing on a horrible tragedy that happened here, Whitmer said. There is a family that is grieving the loss of Ruby Garcia, and she was a real person with a real story. And its a horrible story that happened.

All of that being said, [Trump] came in to perpetrate the continued storyline that he had done everything to keep us safe, which is boloney, Whitmer continued. We know that under the Trump administration, he actually called me, the governor of Michigan, to ask that we send the National Guard to help with surveillance on the southern border, and we helped him out because he couldnt get it done.

The Michigan governor also blamed Trump for Congress failing to pass legislation containing certain border and immigration reforms, which Biden had requested be signed into law before he took further action to address the border.

Hes also the reason that the negotiation in Washington, D.C., didnt come to fruition. He torpedoed a deal that wouldve had the strongest border security in decades in this country that President Biden put on the table. He told Republicans to walk away and they did, Whitmer said.

Trump had branded the border legislation the Stupid Bill and said Republicans shouldnt vote for it unless we get EVERYTHING needed to shut down the INVASION of Millions & Millions of people, many from parts unknown, into our once great, but soon to be great again, Country! GOP leaders in the House opposed the bill, arguing that it fails in every policy area needed to secure our border and would actually incentivize more illegal immigration.

During his Tuesday speech in Michigan, Trump called Whitmer a terrible governor, who along with Biden, is stealing your money to give free housing to illegals and then asking you to quarter these people.

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Whitmer responded to Trumps criticism, telling Collins that those talking points dont matter a whole lot to people every day.

Michiganders are hardworking people. They want leaders who see what theyre struggling with and work to solve those problems, and thats exactly what I will continue to stay focused on, and I know thats what President Biden will continue to stay focused on, she added.

Republican leaders in Michigan have raised concerns about a new Michigan Newcomer Rental Subsidy Program established by the Whitmer administration that hands out up to $500 a month to refugees and migrants. The GOP lawmakers said the program could be helping people who entered the country illegally pay for housing in the state.

Gretchen Whitmers rent subsidy program makes handouts available to illegals who were caught in the country and then frantically claimed asylum to avoid deportation, Michigan House Republican Leader Matt Hall told The Daily Wire last week. The Whitmer administration must come clean about this dubious program to the taxpayers who are paying for it. Michiganders shouldnt have their dollars taken to reward those who broke our immigration laws.

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Gretchen Whitmer Lashes Out At Trump Following His Michigan Visit Focused On Illegal Immigration - The Daily Wire

Payback: 90% of illegal immigrants in secret program flown to Florida and Texas – Washington Examiner

The Biden administrations program of secretly flying illegal immigrants directly from Latin America to U.S. cities dumps over 90% in hubs of two Southern states governed by the presidents harshest border critics, according to government data.

Some 347,959 migrants allowed into the secretive system fly directly to airports in Florida and Texas, with Florida receiving the vast majority at 325,995, according to an analysis of U.S. Customs and Border Protection numbers by the Center for Immigration Studies.

It is unclear how many of the immigrants fly on to other U.S. cities, though the government has said there are over 40 final destinations.

This early evidence suggests that a great many of these inadmissible alien passengers, probably a majority, initially land at international airports in Republican Gov. Ron DeSantiss Florida, said CIS, which reported that the program has let in 386,000 people since October 2022. In fact, Florida turns out to be the top landing and U.S. customs processing zone for this direct-flights parole-and-release program, tallying at nearly 326,000 of the initial arrivals from inception through February.

Investigator Todd Bensman said the program allows aspiring illegal border crossers from nine Latin American countries to buy an airline ticket to fly directly to the city of their choice, where they are processed and let go.

Begun in October 2022 for Venezuelans and expanded in January 2023 to Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Colombians, the program approves flight travel authorizations for aspiring illegal border-crossers still in other countries to instead arrange commercial airline passage for themselves over the southern border and then receive temporary but easily renewable humanitarian parole from CBP officers at the airport, Bensman said in his new report. One incentive to dissuade beneficiaries from illegal border crossings is that the parole program comes with eligibility for renewable work permits.

Bensman and CIS have been fighting with the administration for clearer data on where the illegal immigrants end up, but the Department of Homeland Security has refused to cough up the information, citing security concerns.

Bensman said state and local authorities should know what they are facing.

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Public knowledge of where these flights deliver migrants should matter to local, state, and national leaders in cities struggling with migrant influxes, who could use the information to financially plan for their care or petition the federal government to stop the flights, he said. The information may also hold implications for litigation by Texas, Florida, and other states that have sued to stop the parole programs on grounds that the administrations illegal abuse of the narrow statutory parole authority has directly harmed them.

The administration has refused to work with Texas or Florida on the surge of illegal immigrants entering the states. DeSantis and Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) have bused and flown some of the illegal immigrants to northern sanctuary cities governed by liberal mayors, including Chicago, Boston, and New York City.

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Payback: 90% of illegal immigrants in secret program flown to Florida and Texas - Washington Examiner