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WASHINGTON, March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --Taking heat from everyone from the President of Mexico to border state Democrats for the humanitarian, health, and national security border crisis his administration has triggered in just two months, President Biden has thrown one architect of the mess, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas under the bus, and tasked another architect of the mess, Vice President Kamala Harris, with fixing it.

"Today's move by President Biden is like pulling Inspector Clouseau off the case and replacing him with Lieutenant Drebin," quipped Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). "Like Secretary Mayorkas, Vice President Harris has a long record of open hostility toward controlling our borders and enforcing our immigration laws."

Given the vice president's track record of encouraging illegal immigration and disparaging immigration enforcement agencies, President Biden's announcement that she will lead the effort to restore order would be comical if it were not so serious. "I have asked her, the VP, today, because she is the most qualified person to do it, to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border," Biden said, apparently without irony.

"President Biden's memory may be a bit faulty, but the rest of us remember that we actually had agreements with Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries that were helping us stem mass migration. He tore them up!" Stein charged. "He also halted construction of the border wall and scrapped numerous other policies put in place by his predecessor that discouraged people from abusing our political asylum process and from putting their kids into the hands of criminal cartels that smuggle them across the border. Until President Biden and Vice President Harris are prepared to restore the policies they blew up, the crisis will continue no matter who's making the photo ops at the border," concluded Stein.

Contact: Matthew Tragesser, 202-328-7004 or [emailprotected]

ABOUT FAIR

Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country's largest immigration reform group. With over 3 million members and supporters nationwide, FAIR fights for immigration policies that serve national interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.

SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

http://www.fairus.org

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Biden Taps Harris, a Staunch Foe of Immigration Enforcement, to Deal with the Border Crisis He Denies Even Exists, Says FAIR - PRNewswire

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) Several groups are calling on Joe Biden to invest more federal dollars to deal with the migrant surge on the southern border.

That money should be used to immediately hire more immigration judges and shore up border infrastructure. That includes expanding temporary holding facilities and child shelters, as well as modernizing border security through technology. That, in turn, will free border agents to deal with this or future challenges, participants in a Border Solutions Roundtable said this week.

The groups are also calling on Biden to involve the governments of Mexico and Northern Triangle countries of Central America in addressing internal crises that make so many people leave their homes and seek and end to persecution or a better way of life in the United States.

I really think solutions have to begin south of the border, said Danilo Zak, senior policy and advocacy associate at the National Immigration Forum. That [] really represents the only path toward an ideal scenario where children, families and other migrants are safe and secure in their own country (with) no need to flee or migrate irregularly in the first place.

Analysts and advocates say the U.S. should help Central American nations address the root causes of migration like insecurity and poverty and provide a reliable structure for people there to apply for asylum remotely, without putting their lives and those of their children in jeopardy by making a dangerous trip through Mexico.

We should do more to combat cartels and smugglers. Part of that is engaging in a more effective messaging campaign to dispel some of the fiction sold by these cartels to desperate migrants, Zak said. And thats not just dont come, but to inform them about asylum laws and the immigration system to dispel misinformation by the smugglers.

But while that happens, the Biden administration must make immediate changes to the way it deals with the thousands of family units and single adults that are showing up at the border, they say.

The problem with the border right now is not that so many people want to come here, but solely that people are coming illegally and when they do come Border Patrol treats them inhumanely by caging them or dumping them in destitute and dangerous cities in Mexico, said David J. Bier, senior policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based public policy research organization.

Bier suggests the federal government apply the same standard to would-be refugees today as it did to Cuban emigres who showed up to ports of entry prior to 2017.

The government should grant asylum immediately at the border to as many applicants as possible. It should grant the rest parole status and admit them to pursue their applications, Bier said. This would end the illegality and inhumane treatment. Perhaps more people would come but if they crossed legally this wouldnt be a problem any more than the millions of legal crossers that we (process) each week.

Bier says refugee admission policies are behind the steep rise in unaccompanied minors coming across the border.

We will accept 100 percent of them but only if they cross illegally. If they seek asylum at ports of entry, nearly all will be refused entry. This approach means that nearly all kids are being forced into the hands of smugglers, he says. If they are with their parents, in many cases theyre expelled to Mexico. So, many parents are sending their kids alone and trying to sneak in behind them, leading to repeated attempts over and over by parents to reunite with their kids.

The migrants wouldnt have to resort to smugglers if, for instance, theyre given Temporary Protected Status on account of hurricanes that struck the Northern Triangle late last year and devastated communities and farms.

And Biden should boost the H2-B visa cap for temporary workers, he said, because despite the pandemic millions of job openings exist in certain industries.

Monica Weisberg-Stewart, chair of the Texas Border Coalition, said border security issues must also be addressed or else the Mexican drug cartels will continue to exploit women and children, smuggle drugs and inflict pain on our American way of life.

She said immigration reform, better equipped and staffed ports of entry and new asylum laws are a must.

Asylum laws need to be updated. The children traveling alone needs to be addressed. We believe keeping Title 42 on the border is essential given what is happening at the border currently, she said. Title 42 is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order allowing federal officials to immediately expel unauthorized migrants to prevent cross-border spread of COVID-19.

More immigration judges are needed to deal with the surge and Biden should engage border leaders and residents before making decisions that affect them, she said.

We are right here on the border. Our mayors are dealing with these issues every day, Weisberg-Stewart said.

She added border agents need to be allowed to do their jobs because theres a lot of mixed messages.

Visit theBorderReport.com homepagefor the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the United States-Mexico border.

Excerpt from:
Groups urge Biden to hire more immigration judges and fight drug cartels - WNCT

National Review

Senator Mike Braun (R., Ind.) on Saturday said a Biden official asked a group of Republican senators who visited the southern border to delete photos they had taken of the overcrowded conditions at a migrant processing and holding center they toured one day earlier in Donna, Texas. There was one of Bidens representatives. I felt sorry for the lady because she actually talked to me about deleting a picture, but by the time she got to me, all those other pictures were taken, and that shows you the hypocrisy, Braun told the Washington Examiner. None of us would have gone down there if we were going to be muzzled, Braun said, adding that Border Patrol instructed them not to take photos, though they were telling us that because they had to. Braun visited the facility, which is at 700 percent capacity, with a group of 18 other Republican lawmakers. Photos reveal children sleeping on the ground on mats and migrants crowded into enclosed pods. The Indiana Republican told the paper that the group ran into so-called coyotes, who guide migrants across the border for money, during a stop at the edge of the Rio Grande with border agents. All of a sudden to hear from the other side of the river taunting from the smugglers and coyotes, most of it in Spanish, telling the border guards that whatever you do, were coming, Braun said. That kind of hit home in such an anecdotal way because it is one story that kind of is a metaphor for whats happening all up and down the border. After the visit, Braun wrote a letter to the president urging him to visit the border himself. The crisis surrounding this surge makes it a moral imperative for you to see firsthand what is happeningand not the sanitized version of the border tour taken by some of my congressional colleagues, Braun wrote. Having personally gone this week, I can testify to this being an inhumane, unsustainable and dangerous situation. The lawmakers visit comes amid a worsening crisis at the border as officials struggle to keep up with an influx of migrants especially unaccompanied minors at the border. As of Thursday, there were more than 18,000 unaccompanied minors in Border Protection and Health and Human Services custody. The increase has caused delays at processing centers that are required, by law, to transfer children to HHS shelters in under 72 hours.

Continue reading here:
Immigration Reform - Crisis at the southern border - Yahoo News

The number of people who have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border has trended upward since October, and the Biden administration is struggling with how to address the rapid influx of undocumented immigrants. How can robust immigration reform move forward?

Join The Texas Tribune at noon Central on March 31 for an interview with U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, and McAllen Mayor Jim Darling. Texas Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey will moderate.

Theyll discuss the increase in migrant apprehensions, cramped conditions at Border Patrol facilities and what this all means for Texans.

Register for the conversation here

Escobar, D-El Paso, has represented Texas 16th Congressional District since 2019. She sits on the House Judiciary, Armed Services and Ethics committees and is vice chair of the Democratic Womens Caucus. Escobar is also co-chair of the Womens Working Group on Immigration. Previously, she served as El Paso County judge and as county commissioner.

Darling has served as mayor of McAllen since 2013. Previously, he spent 28 years as a city attorney with the city of McAllen and other governmental entities and as a city commissioner for six years. Darling is also the chair of the Lower Rio Grande River Water Authority, Hidalgo-McAllen International Bridge Board and Anzalduas International Bridge Board.

This conversation will be livestreamed starting at noon Central on Wednesday, March 31 here and on our social media channels.

Tribune events are also supported through contributions from our founding investors and members. Though donors and corporate sponsors underwrite Texas Tribune events, they play no role in determining the content, panelists or line of questioning.

Originally posted here:
Veronica Escobar and Jim Darling on the state of the border - The Texas Tribune

John Raoux/AP/Shutterstock / John Raoux/AP/Shutterstock

As of March 2021, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates former President Donald Trumps net worth to be $2.33 billion. Trumps net worth dropped by about $700 million in his last year of presidency.

See: All the Ways the Trumps Have Made Money Over the Past 20 YearsFind: Trump Faces Trouble with the Crown Jewels of His Real Estate Empire

Forbes reported that Trump was worth $3.7 billion when he first took office in 2016. That plummeted to $3.1 billion his first year in office, and then declined to $2.5 billion in 2020. He lost an additional $700 million following the Capitol Hill riots and his impeachment, when several organizations stopped doing business with Trump or any of his properties.

The 2020 dip in Trumps overall net worth was largely due to the coronavirus and the impact it has had on industries in which he holds his biggest assets. Values for office buildings and hotels have plummeted. His properties in Washington, D.C. and Chicago appear to be underwater, while Doral, his golf resort in Miami, has lost 80% of its value in a year, Forbes reported.

Additionally, the Capitol Hill riots resulted in Trumps golf course losing the right to host the PGA championship tour in 2022, which will undoubtedly lead to lost marketing opportunities and reduced profits for the course. In the days following the riots, Shopify closed Trumps online stores.

See: PGA Pulls Event from Trump Golf Course, Shopify Terminates Trumps Online Stores, Banks Cut TiesFind: Trump Ex-Lawyer Sued by Dominion for $1.3 Billion How 14 Corporate Lawsuits Turned Out

Whats more, at least $590 million in loans will come due in the next four years, Bloomberg reports, which could further impact the billionaires bottom line.Still, Trump retains some valuable assets, including garages in New York City, the Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida and three nearby homes.

A businessman and former reality television star, Trumps path to wealth was very different than that of your typical politician. Read on for a better understanding of how Trump built his fortune.

Story continues

When he was sworn into his presidency, he was the oldest person to be sworn in he was 70 years, 220 days old on Jan. 20, 2017. (That title now belongs to Biden, who was 78 when he was sworn in). Trump beat out a number of contenders to become the Republican nominee for the 2016 presidential election. He went on to defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. His term ended on Jan. 20, when President Joe Biden began his term as the 46th president.

Trump was born into a wealthy family and inherited about $40 million from his late father, real estate developer Fred Trump. In 1971, Donald Trump became head of what would later be known as The Trump Organization.

Trumps earnings and title have since helped him develop more than 500 companies. The business mogul has his stake in luxury golf courses, skyscrapers, television shows, casinos, books, merchandise and more.

See: Trumps 14 Most Questionable Campaign Expenses

The only thing bigger than Trumps personality is his business acumen. He landed a deal with Hyatt, the city of New York and the unprofitable Commodore Hotel beside the Grand Central Station, earning the right to renovate and rebrand the ailing hotel into the Grand Hyatt. In 1980, that hotel became an instant success, making Trump one of the best-known real estate developers in the area.

Find Out: Just How Rich Are President Joe Biden and These Other Big Names?

In 1984, Trump completed construction on the 68-story Trump Tower, which serves as headquarters for The Trump Organization to this day. The building includes a 60-foot waterfall and, on opening day, had five levels of retail stores and restaurants.

Trump has owned a slew of successful businesses and properties, among them Trump Place, a luxury residential community spanning 92 acres. The Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago has a hotel, condos and numerous restaurants and shops. The success of Wollman Rink, a Central Park staple, is arguably credited to Trump.

However, following the storming of the U.S. Capitol, New York City announced that it was severing its business ties with Trump. On Jan. 13, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would be terminating three contracts with The Trump Organization that would cease its operations of a carousel in Manhattans Central Park, skating rinks and a golf course in the Bronx, Reuters reported.

Learn: These Are All the States With Trump Properties and Businesses

Donald Trump has major business wins to his name, but he also has some big losses.

In 1988, Trump spent $365 million on a fleet of Boeing 727s, as well as landing facilities in Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. He also bought the rights to paint his name on a plane. His attempt to build a luxury flying experience under the Trump Shuttle name failed, however, and the company was decommissioned.

In 1990, the banks that backed Trumps investments provided him with a $65 million bailout in new loans and credit. Trumps famous Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, went bankrupt in 1991, and Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts went bankrupt in 2004. In 2009, the same company now called Trump Entertainment Resorts filed for bankruptcy again.

One of Trumps highest-profile business failures is Trump University. The unaccredited online college was launched in 2005 and closed down in 2010. Three Trump University lawsuits plagued his first presidential campaign, alleging that Trump University was a scam that cost students tens of thousands of dollars. Trump settled the lawsuits for $25 million, though he did not admit any wrongdoing.

Donald Trump has been married three times. He was with his first wife, Ivana, from 1977 to 1992. The couple had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. The three eldest Trump children along with Ivankas husband, real estate investor and developer Jared Kushner were highly involved in their fathers presidency.

Trump married Marla Maples in December 1993, two months after Maples gave birth to their daughter, Tiffany. The couple divorced in 1999.

Trump has been married to his current wife and former first lady, Melania Trump, who has an estimated net worth of $50 million, since 2005. Melania is the mother of Trumps youngest son, Barron.

Look: The Wealthiest Presidential Children

Donald Trump sometimes lives in a three-floor penthouse in Trump Tower with his wife, Melania, and son Barron. The luxuries the family enjoys at Trump Tower include an indoor fountain and a door encrusted with diamonds and gold, Business Insider reported.

Among Trumps other notable properties is Mar-a-Lago, where he spent 25 of his first 100 days in office. He moved back to the estate after his term as president ended, CNN reported. The luxury club is worth $180 million, according to Forbes, and sits on 17 acres of valuable South Florida land. Trump bought the estate which boasts 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, 12 fireplaces and three bomb shelters for the bargain price of $10 million in 1985.

Before having access to Air Force One, Trump shuttled between campaign stops in his $100 million Boeing 757 adorned with gold seatbelts. His fleet of luxury vehicles includes a Rolls Royce, an electric blue 1997 Lamborghini Diablo and a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

More From GOBankingRates

Andrew Lisa contributed to the reporting for this article.

Last updated: March 18, 2021

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Donald Trump Recently Lost $700 Million How Much Is He Worth?

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Donald Trump Recently Lost $700 Million How Much Is He Worth? - Yahoo Finance