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A potential TikTok ban has raised concerns among small business owners on TikTok, who have found success and built sizable audiences without having to pay for marketing.

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When Aparna Singh first heard about a potential TikTok ban, she "immediately went into panic mode."

"With the majority of my sales coming through TikTok, I definitely was thinking, 'Is this going to be the end of my business?'"

Singh is the owner of a small business called Indian Goddess Boutique, which sells Indian-inspired jewelry and accessories. The social media app has been an "integral part" of her business, said the 33-year-old.

"I get 90% of my sales through TikTok. Everyday I try to post at least one video about my business. Days I do not post, I see a decline in website traffic and sales."

That is the same worry on the minds of some small business owners on TikTok, who have found success and built sizable audiences without having to pay for marketing.

Their concerns come after TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was grilled by lawmakers on the app's addictive features and whether data from U.S. users could end up in the hands of the Chinese government through its China-based owner, ByteDance.

Politicians have also threatened a nationwide TikTok ban unless ByteDance sells its stake in the app, a move China said it "strongly" opposed. The app is already banned on government-owned devices in countries like the U.S., Australia and the U.K.

Concerned about a potential ban of TikTok, small business owners told CNBC Make It why they think the short-video app should stay.

Like many other content creators, Singh started a TikTok account during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and began advertising her business on it.

"I previously was focusing on Instagram to grow my business. Unfortunately the Instagram algorithm has changed so much over the years, I was barely getting any engagement," she explained.

On Instagram, she was "barely making any sales" maybe five to 10 orders a month, she said.

"Hashtags weren't helping. It just wasn't helping me reach the broader audience I needed."

But everything changed for Singh when she started using TikTok one video of her wearing a nose ring she sold went viral and sales "skyrocketed overnight."

In 2020 the year she started using the app she made $20,000 in sales. One year later, Singh said she made $350,000, while "spending $0 in advertising."

"That video showed me what product I should be focusing more on and what my customers really like," she added.

That's the beauty of TikTok, according to small business owners that CNBC Make It spoke to it has helped them find their customer and community "faster than any other platform."

"I love how the TikTok algorithm boosts your videos to more people even if you have a small following, as long as the content is relatable to who you are trying to reach," said Teena Ho, who sells stickers with original designs via @kawaiiflavor.

"When I created my TikTok page, my very first video reached thousands of views whereas on other social media apps, it would only be under 200 views."

Renee Powers, who runs Feminist Book Club, an online community and book subscription company, agreed. She said TikTok has been "brilliant" for identifying a niche audience and a foundation for growth.

How does a small brand like ours reach them without investing thousands of dollars in traditional media advertising? That's what TikTok helps us do.

Renee Powers

Entrepreneur, Feminist Book Club

"For small businesses, it is the overwhelming leader in discovering the perfect audience for your brand how does a small brand like ours reach them without investing thousands of dollars in traditional media advertising? That's what TikTok helps us do."

She said each time a TikTok video gains over 50,000 views, her business sees a "30% to 50% influx in traffic" on the company's website and followers on other social media platforms.

"It got to the point last summer that we had to upgrade our website host because our traffic was consistently much higher."

TikTok has raised fears over privacy and security concerns including claims that U.S. user data could fall into the hands of the Chinese government.

In April, TikTok was fined $16 million in the U.K. for misusing children's' data, after it allowed 1.4 million children under the age of 13 to use the app in 2020.

Despite the security concerns, small business owners have expressed frustration over the possibilities of a complete ban. Those that CNBC Make It spoke to said a ban is not the "appropriate measure" to safeguard the privacy of users.

"As a former National Science Foundation fellow in Electronic Security and Privacy, the privacy concerns are not lost on me That's not to say I don't have concerns about TikTok, but I do think the benefits outweigh the harm," said Powers.

"A ban on TikTok is not the answer to this issue. Rather, TikTok has become a scapegoat for data privacy concerns. Bytedance is not the first, nor will it be the last, company that misuses our personal data."

She added that if the government "throws the book at TikTok," it needs to do the same for all social media platforms.

Back in 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was questioned over the social network's role in the 2016 presidential elections and how it handles data though no ban was proposed.

"What truly needs to happen is not a ban, but a nationwide user data protection policy that is platform agnostic and enforced by a dedicated independent organization," Powers said.

Bytedance is not the first, nor will it be the last, company that misuses our personal data.

Renee Powers

Entrepreneur, Feminist Book Club

Singh added: "If I was this concerned about this [privacy] issue, I would not have any social media apps or [use] technology."

TikTok is "helping millions of Americans be able to provide for their families in such a hard time in our economy. Why take that away?"

Without TikTok, small business owners say they will be at risk of losing growth momentum and that their company's income will be "taking a hit."

"We have a team of content creators that contribute TikTok videos, podcast segments, and blog posts," said Powers.

"Obviously, without TikTok, we would have to let go of our TikTok creators. Without the organic brand awareness that TikTok brings, we would have to sink money into more traditional marketing strategies."

Singh added: "I currently have one employee, my sister, so this ban will take a toll on my family. If the TikTok ban takes place and I will have to pivot my marketing in another direction."

For now, Ho and Powers are looking to Google-owned YouTube shorts a short video rival to TikTok as an option.

"Start making contingency plans now. Grow your email list. Let your followers know where they can find you if the ban is approved," Powers advised other small business owners on TikTok.

As for Ho, "building a strong community" online will be all the more essential.

"If TikTok were to be gone one day, your community will follow you to the next platform," said Ho."It's important not to put all your eggs in one basket."

The business owners also stressed the importance of not solely relying on TikTok for sales but all other platforms as well. That includes optimizing email marketing, ads on Google, Instagram and Facebook, Singh said.

"TikTok is not the only place to support small businesses. We're on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Yelp, Google, Etsy," Powers added.

"TikTok may make it easy to discover new-to-you small businesses, but if you're passionate about shopping small, please put in the extra effort to find us."

Don't miss:Here are the top skills you will need for an A.I.-powered future, according to new Microsoft dataLike this story?Subscribe to CNBC Make It on YouTube!

Excerpt from:
Benefits outweigh the harm: Worried about their livelihood, small business owners push back on potential TikTok ban - CNBC

The last remaining Trump-era immigration policy holding masses of illegal migrants at bay, known as Title 42, was put to rest last week by the Biden administration. But while there was some initial chaos at the border, it's died down somewhat in the intervening days, leading the corporate liberal media which has been ignoring the border crisis for three years to strike a reassuring tone.

It's a mistake. This is just the beginning of a new crisis, albeit in a slightly different form. This is the lull before the storm, as a new wave of migrants heads through Mexico, which has discontinued its Trump-era policy of preventing Central Americans from crossing into its territory.

There may have been no panic at the border, but that's because the administration has increased the legal routes of immigration available to the millions of migrants making their way to the U.S. The "relative quiet" has allowed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to claim that the administration's policies are "working," but by "working," he doesn't mean that it is keeping illegal immigrants from gaming the system; he means that they are doing so far from the public eye.

The administration is now processing illegal migrants as fast as possible before letting them loose. Biden has opened 100 regional processing centers and is paroling as many as 30,000 illegals posing as asylum seekers a day. Many who might have hesitated to attempt the perilous journey to the border will now no longer have to. Biden has opened the door.

The issue was never whether or not Title 42 would remain in place. The problem is that having come into office pledging a more compassionate approach to illegal immigration and having, by administrative orders and unfair criticism of the Border Patrol, essentially downgraded enforcement of the laws, Biden engendered a massive surge of migration.

The big winners at the border have been the drug cartels who effectively control the Mexican side. Thanks to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's "hugs, not bullets" approach to the criminals, the cartels control the traffic in illegal immigrants and drugs and are managing the flow to Biden's processing centers.

Some corporate media outlets like the New York Times have begun to notice the human cost of illegal immigration, as in a investigative piece about the fate of children who are trafficked over the border and become virtual slaves or are sexually exploited was shocking. But that just skimmed the surface of a humanitarian catastrophe. Lax enforcement of immigration laws has also given a huge boost to the drug cartels' efforts to maintain the traffic in fentanyl that is fueling the American opioid addiction crisis.

This man-made disaster cries out for a tougher response than the administration seems able to muster. Were Biden serious about the problem, he would reinstate Trump's draconian enforcement measures aimed at deterring the flow of illegal migrants and pressuring Mexico to do its part to stop it as well. He should also recognize that America's asylum laws are outdated and that the system is now so overwhelmed by false claims that genuine refugees who truly are in fear for their lives are being prevented from escaping to the United States.

Yet rather than stopping illegal immigration, Biden is content to let millions keep pouring across the border, as long as it doesn't lead to negative stories about the chaos there or the plight of both the migrants and the border communities who are being swamped by them.

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS.org and a senior contributor to The Federalist. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.

Originally posted here:
Illegal Migrants Have Abandoned the BorderBecause Biden Opened the Door | Opinion - Newsweek

A federal judge is dueling with the Biden administration after the reported release of some 2,500 migrants into the U.S. lastweekend.

Judge T. Kent Wetherell has threatened to hold Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials in contempt of court for violating his order temporarily blockingparole at the border. Late Monday, the judge, sitting in Tallahassee, Fla., denied a motion by Department of Justice attorneys for a stay of the restrainingorder.

The DOJ lawyers plea was comical, if not contemptible. In part, they argued that halting the administrations wholesale parole program irreparably harm[s] the United States and the public by frustrating measures that are necessary to secure the border and protect the health and welfare of both migrants and Border Patrol agents, in light of the significant increase in the number of non-citizens [sic] who have arrived and are expected to continue to arrive in the comingdays.

Unmoved, Wetherell responded that he expects to issue a preliminary injunction. That will likely trigger an appeal by the DOJlawyers.

While Judge Wetherell keeps President Bidens barristers busy and on the defensive, the administration may yet wriggle off the hook and get its way. Try thisscenario:

If prevented from paroling illegal aliens en masse, the Border Patrol will simply resume handing them notices to appear with 2028 court dates and release them, never to be seen again. In fact, this had been standard procedure for months. Unable to secure amnesty by legislation, the administration is crassly using these extra-legal admittancesinstead.

Its not a stretch to see bulk admissions followed by a giant wave of green card marriages and bogus family-based green card applications. Once applications are pending, no liberal immigration judge will order deportations, so these folks will be allowed to stay pending adjudication, which will take an overwhelmed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) too long toprocess.

This scenario will necessitate the hiring of thousands more compliant USCIS officers who will dutifully rubberstamp everything.(Former USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas, now DHS secretary, set the tone at the agency where he catered to immigrants as customers and harried adjudicators to issue green cardapprovals.)

Once a million or so green cards are issued, the approximately 15.5 million illegal aliens who preceded them will clamor for a path to citizenship. Open-borders lawmakers will proclaim: Its not fair that we gave recent arrivals a path to citizenship when there are others who have been living and working here for decades. We need to amnesty them and bring them out of the shadows. It would be unjust and impractical to deport themall.

Even if Team Biden cant use parole to generate green card eligibility, this administrations evisceration of border security will continue to stuff the country full of illegal aliens. The deliberate handcuffing of law enforcement will ensure that deportations from the interior keep dwindling and border gotaways keeprising.

While Judge Wetherells efforts to uphold immigration laws are commendable and correct, we can be certain that the Biden administration will remain unrelenting in its effort to defy his orders and find new ways to circumvent ourlaws.

Read the original post:
Win or Lose in Court, Team Biden Plays a Long Game on Illegal Immigration - Federation for American Immigration Reform

May 19, 2023 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard are continuing to work together to secure the border; stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry.

Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 376,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 28,000 criminal arrests, with more than 25,000 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, Texas law enforcement has seized over 416 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.

Texas has also bused more than 9,400 migrants to our nation's capital since April 2022, over 6,700 migrants to New York City since August 5, more than 1,900 migrants to Chicago since August 31, more than 1,000 migrants to Philadelphia since November 15, and 40 migrants to Denver on the first bus that departed this week (story, below).

Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration's refusal to secure the border. Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Joe Biden's open border policies.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS FROM OPERATION LONE STAR:

Governor Abbott Applauds Texas National Guard, DPS For Border Efforts

Governor Greg Abbott today thanked Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers for their selfless service at the southern border and provided an update on Texas' response to the ongoing border crisis during a press conference in Brownsville. During the Governors visit to the Texas-Mexico border, he applauded the hardworking men and women of Operation Lone Star, serving as part of Texas unprecedented response to fill in the gaps created by President Bidens reckless open border policies.

Im here in Brownsville today to thank the hardworking men women who are defending our border for their bravery and courage, said Governor Abbott. "These men and women in uniform here today, they're considered to be heroes by their fellow Americans. They should be proud of what they've done. I'm proud of what they've done."

Read more about Governor Abbott's visit to the border.

Governor Abbott Urges Nations Governors To Help Combat Border Crisis

Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday urged the nations Governors to help support Texas unprecedented border security efforts in the wake of President Joe Biden ending Title 42 last week and his continued refusal to enforce federal immigration laws. In letters sent to each of his fellow Governors, Governor Abbott requested support in responding to the ongoing border crisis through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which enables states to provide assistance and share resources with another state in response to a disaster or emergency.

The flood of illegal border activity invited by the Biden Administration flows directly across the southern border into Texas communities, but this crisis does not stop in our state, reads the letter. Join us in the mission to defend our national sovereignty and territorial integrity and send all available law enforcement personnel and resources to the Texas-Mexico border to serve alongside our thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers.

Read more about Governor Abbotts letters to Americas Governors.

WATCH: Governor Abbott Highlights Texas Leadership Amid President Bidens Border Crisis

Governor Abbott spoke with The Dana Show this week about the Biden Administrations continued denial of the magnitude of the border crisis created by the Presidents reckless open border policies. Following the Governors request of his fellow Governors to support Texas historic response, he emphasized how Operation Lone Star and the new Texas Tactical Border Force are successfully repelling illegal immigrants, with an increased presence at hotspots along the border, as well as miles of additional razor wire barriers.

We have Texas National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers on the Texas side of that razor wire, making sure no one gets through, said Governor Abbott. The National Guard, as well as law enforcement in other states, have seen what Texas is doing to block and prevent people from crossing our border illegally. Were getting requestsfrom Idaho and Florida alreadyfrom other states to lend their National Guard or their law enforcement officers, who believe our border should be secured and our sovereignty should be protected.

Governor Abbott Announces First Bus Of Migrants Arrives In Denver

Governor Greg Abbott yesterday announced the arrival of the first group of migrants bused to Denver, Colorado from Texas. The migrants were dropped off near Civic Center Park at 14th Street and Court Place on Thursday afternoon.

"Texas' overwhelmed and overrun border communities should not have to shoulder the flood of illegal immigration due to President Biden's reckless open border policies, like his mass catch and release without court dates or any way to track them," said Governor Abbott. "Until the President and his Administration step up and fulfill their constitutional duty to secure the border, the State of Texas will continue busing migrants to self-declared sanctuary cities like Denver to provide much-needed relief to our small border towns."

Read more about the arrival of the first migrant bus in Denver.

WATCH: Governor Abbott Emphasizes Continued Need For Operation Lone Star

On Thursday, Governor Abbott joined Fox News to provide an update on Texas unprecedented border crisis response following President Biden ending Title 42 last week. Operation Lone Star is successfully repelling migrants attempting to cross the Texas-Mexico border illegally, as Mexican drug cartels attempt to recalibrate their criminal smuggling operations to continue profiting off the chaos created by President Biden's open border policies.

[Cartels] are holding tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people back, trying to figure out where and how to cross the border, said Governor Abbott. Theres only one governmental entity in the entire United States of America that is repelling people who are trying to enter illegally, and thats the State of Texas.

WATCH: DPS Lt. Olivarez Details Texas Effective Deterrence As Title 42 Ended

DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez this week discussed with Fox News how Texas heightened border security efforts in preparation for the end of Title 42 helped stop thousands of illegal border crossings. He points to the miles of additional razor wire, the border wall, increased manpower, and a unified show of force as being effective deterrents from the State of Texas in spite of the federal governments inaction.

Governor Abbott took a proactive approach and deployed additional state resources and the Texas National Guard and DPS troopers to place razor wire along the Rio Grande in Brownsville, said Lt. Olivarez. We took a more aggressive response in trying to block these crossings, and we prevented thousands who could have potentially made it across the border illegally. The federal government should take a page out of Governor Abbotts border security playbook and use that to secure the border, because we saw how effective it was.

WATCH: DPS Regional Director Discusses President Bidens Handling Of Crisis

This week, DPS West Texas Regional Director Jose Sanchez discussed with Fox Business the lack of support by the federal government in addressing the ongoing border crisis. Because the Biden Administration has enabled record-levels of illegal immigration over the past two years, Texas has had to go to historic lengths and utilize all available state resources to respond to this ongoing crisis, especially leading up to President Biden ending Title 42 last Thursday.

We didnt know what to expect [with the end of Title 42], but thanks to Governor Abbott and DPS Director Steve McCraw for giving us the support we needed down here to help secure the border, today we actually woke up to a calm day, said Director Sanchez. We closed the holes with the amount of personnel we have along the border. We have proven throughout these past two years that when you have concertina wire, barriers, and a show of force on the border, it proves to be a deterrence.

WATCH: Texas National Guard Utilizes All Strategies To Deter Illegal Crossings

Texas National Guard soldiers are using all available strategies to deter illegal immigrants from crossing the border into Texas. Soldiers helped install miles of additional razor wire along the border and continue to maintain a strong presence behind the barriers. Texas National Guard drone teams also play a critical role in detecting illegal immigrants attempting to hide.

The drone teams make us extremely proficient, said Staff Sgt. Samuel Garza. The capabilities drone teams bring to the mission is that we can get eyes on from about a mile and a half out from us. We can coordinate our ground teams and work them in to have less resistance from [illegal immigrants] being captured.

Texas National Guard Foot Patrols Help Deter Illegal Border Crossings In Laredo

Texas National Guard soldiers helped deter a group of illegal immigrants from entering Texas near Laredo this week. Soldiers responded to sensors alerting law enforcement partners of the group attempting to climb the riverbank into the thick brush along the Rio Grande River. Once the group of illegal immigrants saw the soldiers, they turned around and swam back to the Mexico side.

WATCH: Human Smuggler Leads DPS Troopers On High-Speed Vehicle Pursuit

A human smuggler led DPS troopers on a high-speed vehicle pursuit in Kinney County earlier this week. The smuggler was eventually stopped and arrested. He is an illegal immigrant from Honduras and will be charged with evading and smuggling of persons. Four illegal immigrants from Mexico were referred to Border Patrol.

WATCH: Operation Lone Star Showcases Reinforcements Prior To Title 42s End

In the leadup to Title 42 ending last week, DPS troopers and Texas National Guard soldiers worked together to reinforce border barriers near Brownsville to deter migrants from crossing the border illegally into Texas.

DPS Trooper Stops Group Of 30 Chinese Nationals Attempting To Cross Border

A DPS trooper working operations in Roma encountered a group of Chinese nationals walking alongside the road this week. The group, which totaled 30 in all, was stopped and referred to Border Patrol.

See the rest here:
Operation Lone Star Repels Illegal Immigrants From Crossing Border - Office of the Texas Governor

A Honduran national who police say entered the United States illegally in 2021 has been charged with raping a teenager in Alabama.

Geovani Grevi Rivera-Zavala, 29, has been charged with rape and is being held without bail following an alleged sexual assault on a teenage girl inside a Prattville, Alabama, restaurant last weekend, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.

Alabama police said in court that the teenage victim had been eating with relatives when she noticed Rivera-Zavala staring at her from across the restaurant.

The girl later walked to the bathroom, where she saw another woman she didnt know, and when that woman left, Rivera-Zavala, who she also did not know, allegedly entered the bathroom, locked the door, forced the teen into a stall and raped her.

KATHY HOCHUL COMPLAINS NEW YORK 'BURSTING AT THE SEAMS' WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

(L) Geovani Grevi Rivera-Zavala (R) Autauga County Jail (Autauga County Sheriff's Office)

Kaitlyn Sweat, a Prattville Police Department investigator, testified that the girl tried to fight her attacker off during the incident and told him, "No" multiple times.

The girl is said to have told her relatives what happened when she returned to the table, at which point police were called, and Rivera-Zavala was identified as he tried to leave the restaurant.

Sweat says that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed an immigration detainer on Rivera-Zavala, who said in court that government sources told her the 29-year-old from Honduras had entered the U.S. illegally at Eagle Pass, Texas, in November 2021.

BORDER PATROL ARREST 16 PEOPLE ON FBI TERROR WATCH LIST IN APRIL AT SOUTHERN BORDER

Autauga County Jail in Prattville, Alabama (Google Earth)

WSFA-TV reported that Rivera-Zavala was using a different name at the time he crossed into the United States and was fingerprinted and then released into the country.

"Were not interested in negotiating with the feds," District Attorney CJ Robinson told Autauga District Judge Jessica Sanders, who denied bail for Rivera-Zavala.

"They can take custody of his body when DOC (Department of Corrections) is done with him. We arent going to negotiate for a lesser charge so the feds can deport him."

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Migrants at the front of the line are processed for entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (Fox News Digital / Jon Michael Raasch)

Rivera-Zavala faces a Class A felony rape charge that could result in 10 to 99 years to life in prison.

The U.S. Border Patrol reported 458,000 migrant encounters during fiscal year 2020 and then 1.7 million in fiscal year 2021. In fiscal year 2022, the number of migrant encounters at the border ballooned to 2.3 million, and border authorities encountered more than 718,000 migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border in the first 100 days of fiscal year 2023.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

More here:
Honduran national in US illegally and released by Biden admin charged with raping teenage girl - Fox News