Ohio Senator Vance and Arizona Representative Biggs Send Bicameral Letter Opposing Biden’s Illicit Misuse of Immigration Parole

Wednesday, U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) and Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) wrote a bicameral letter to Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, requesting an explanation of the Department’s careless decision to drastically expand immigration parole programs in the face of a historic border crisis.

According to Vance, the American people have a right to know the reasoning behind the Biden Administration’s decision, as well as, more significantly, the legal basis for it.

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New Bill Would Ban Feds from Working with Big Tech to Censor Americans

Leading Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives filed new legislation that would ban federal employees from working with big tech companies to censor Americans.

The bill comes as ongoing reports show that federal law enforcement and the White House have regularly communicated with social media companies like Facebook and Twitter, pressuring the companies to remove posts and accounts for a range of issues, including questioning the COVID-19 vaccine.

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DHS Chief Mayorkas Insists Border is Closed as Biden Tours El Paso

Ahead of President Biden’s first trip to the southern border on Sunday in El Paso, Texas, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas again said the U.S. southern border is closed.

His comments came despite thousands of illegal border crossers pouring into the city, filling the airport, sidewalks, homeless shelters. Over the past few days, many were bused out of town and otherwise cleared out ahead of the president’s visit.

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Congressman John Rose Calls on DHS Secretary Mayorkas to Resign or Be Impeached over Reports of Illegal Immigrants being Transported to Tennessee

Tennessee Congressman John Rose (R-TN-06) called for U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to be removed from office via resignation or impeachment on Tuesday.

Congressman Rose’s demand follows reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are planning to bus illegal immigrants to Tennessee this week.

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Analysis: The Border Is Less Secure Than Ever, and the Implications Are Deadly

During a recent hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, Congressman Dan Bishop (R–NC) asked Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas, “Do you continue to maintain that the border is secure?” Mayorkas replied, “Yes, and we are working day in and day out to enhance its security.”

Contradicting that claim, objective measures show that the border is less secure than ever, and the situation is putting many thousands of lives at risk.

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Kevin McCarthy Threatens Biden’s DHS Secretary with Impeachment If He Doesn’t Resign

House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy threatened President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas with impeachment Tuesday during a visit to the border in El Paso, Texas.

McCarthy, who is vying for the House speakership, said Republicans will push for Mayorkas’ impeachment if he refuses to step down. He was joined by several Republican colleagues, including Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents a southern border district, that made the trip to show support for Border Patrol.

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Top Border Official Resigns Under Pressure After Historic Bad Year of Illegal Migration

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus resigned Saturday night under pressure from President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, vacating a crucial post just two months before a new Congress is seated.

The White House announced the departure just days after Magnus was ordered to resign or be fired. He initially resisted but bent on Saturday.

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Florida Files SCOTUS Brief Ahead of Oral Arguments over DHS Not Deporting Violent Criminal Aliens

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a lawsuit filed by Texas and Louisiana seeking to halt a Department of Homeland Security policy that limited federal agents from detaining and deporting dangerous criminal aliens and instead is allowing them to remain in the U.S.

“Biden’s refusal to enact federal immigration laws passed by Congress is jeopardizing public safety,” Moody said. Earlier this year, Moody and 18 other attorneys general also filed a brief with the court in support of Texas’ and Louisiana’s case.

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Mayorkas Told Border Chief to Resign or Face Biden Firing

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas instructed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Chris Magnus to resign or face firing directly from President Joe Biden, Magnus told the Los Angeles Times.

Magnus has long faced scrutiny from Republican lawmakers, who demanded his resignation in November following complaints from colleagues about his job performance, including that he fell asleep during meetings, as previously reported by Politico. He said Friday he’s refusing to back down from his post, according to the LA Times.

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Report: Biden Admin Program Granting Venezuelan Migrants U.S. Entry Quickly Filling Up

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The Biden administration is on pace to quickly meet its cap for a program to grant Venezuelan migrants legal entry just a few weeks after implementation, according to Reuters.

The U.S. has granted entry to around 7,000 migrants, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. The program, which began in early October, will allow a total of 24,000 Venezuelan migrants to enter legally.

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Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan Demands Biden Admin Show Compliance with Landmark Energy Decision

Republican Ranking House Judiciary Committee Member Jim Jordan told Biden administration authorities Tuesday to show how their agencies are obeying the Supreme Court’s June West Virginia v. EPA decision limiting the EPA’s power to unilaterally regulate emissions.

The court ruled in West Virginia v. EPA that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could not set carbon dioxide emissions caps for power plants to force a national transition away from coal power without explicit congressional authorization. Jordan sent letters to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Kathi Vidal, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan asking whether their agencies are complying with the decision.

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Government Officials Have a Special Portal to Flag Facebook Posts for Censorship

The Department of Homeland Security has left open a special feature that allows government officials to flag Facebook posts for misinformation after scrapping a controversial advisory board tasked with developing guidelines for social media censorship, the Intercept reported Monday.

DHS announced plans for a Disinformation Governance Board to “develop guidelines, standards, guardrails to ensure that the work that has been ongoing for nearly 10 years does not infringe on people’s free speech rights, rights of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in May, according to The Hill. While DHS shuttered the initiative after an onslaught of bipartisan opposition decrying the potential censorship, the Intercept found through an analysis of public and leaked documents that government efforts to police tech companies goes on.

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Biden Admin Promises Legal ‘Response’ After Court Declares DACA Illegal

The Biden administration says it will take legal action after a court declared Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) illegal Wednesday.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling “deeply disappointed” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who said his department will work with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to devise an “appropriate legal response.” The case will go back to a lower court while nearly 600,000 DACA recipients currently in the U.S. will be able to remain in the program.

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Nearly 5 Million Illegal Aliens Have Entered America Illegally Since Biden Took Office

Since President Joe Biden took office and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas altered federal immigration policies, roughly 5 million people from over 150 countries have entered the U.S. illegally.

This includes 3.9 million who have been apprehended entering the U.S. illegally nationwide and 3.4 million at the southern border. It also includes a minimum of 900,000 gotaways, those who’ve intentionally entered the U.S. illegally and evaded law enforcement who haven’t made asylum or immigration claims. The number of gotaways is significantly higher than what is reported and believed to be well over 1 million, Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officials have told The Center Square.

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Andy Biggs Sends Letter to U.S. Departments Demanding They Stop Transporting Illegal Immigrant Minors Across State Lines for Abortions

Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs sent a letter Friday to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the Department of Health and Human & Human Safety (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, demanding they cease transporting illegal alien minors across state lines to receive abortions.

“The Biden Administration is now savagely transporting alien minors in federal custody to receive abortions,” Biggs said in a press release. “This outrageous use of federal resources to transport minors across state lines for abortions or otherwise providing or facilitating abortions in DHS or HHS custody is a heinous act and must be stopped.”

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Inspector General: ‘DHS Could Do More to Address Threats of Domestic Terrorism’

Alejandro Mayorkas

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security “could do more to address the threats of domestic terrorism,” the Office of Inspector General concluded in a newly published report. The findings come after DHS has acknowledged that at least 50 people on the terrorist watch list have entered the U.S. illegally through the southern border since President Joe Biden has been in office.

The OIG found that DHS doesn’t have “staff dedicated to long term oversight and coordination of its efforts to combat domestic terrorism” and unless it puts in place “a cohesive long-term approach,” the agency charged with preventing terrorism “may not be able to proactively prevent and protect the Nation from this evolving threat.”

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TN-01 Rep. Harshbarger Comments on Speaker Pelosi’s Absence and Holding Biden and Mayorkas Accountable as Southern Border Invasion Continues

Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed State Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) to the newsmaker line to talk about Speaker Pelosi’s lack of communication with Republicans in Congress and her actions to hold President Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas responsible for the invasion at the southern border. 

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Border Enforcement Chief Celebrates Pride Month at DHS as Illegal Immigration Hits Record High

The Department of Homeland Security celebrated Pride Month on Wednesday with an LGBTQI+ flag-raising ceremony, while Border Patrol agents are encountering record numbers of illegal migrants.

“While initially a holiday to honor the 1969 Stonewall uprising in response to police harassment and persecution of LGBTQI+ citizens, today’s celebrations include pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia and concerts,” Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Christopher Magnus wrote in an email to Border Patrol agents, obtained by Just the News.

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Arizona Representative Shares Plans to Hold Biden Administration Accountable Amid Border Crisis

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) began sharing his plans to make the Biden Administration secure the border on Saturday during an appearance on Newsmax’s “The Benny Report.”

“We’re going to have to basically use every leverage point we have, and we’ve got a few coming up here, even in the minority. But we have to use every leverage point against Joe Biden and say you’re not going to get any spending; you’re not going to get anything you want unless you secure our border,” Biggs said.

Biggs also shared other plans he has for Biden administration officials.

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Commentary: Immigration Reform, America’s Holy Grail

Anyone who follows politics is accustomed to the overuse of the word “reform.” It is almost always depicted as a highly desirable goal that will sweep away bad precedents and usher in a new era of smarter government policy.

Reform is often a good and necessary thing. But there are few words left more open to interpretation. Reform, depending on who is suggesting the change, can mean entirely different things even when applied to the same issue. This is especially true when it comes to immigration.

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Commentary: All the President’s Border Policies That Have Illegals Heading North

While a federal court has stayed the Biden administration’s attempt to lift pandemic-prompted restrictions on immigrants pouring across the southern border, that is just one setback in a largely successful push by the president to make it easier for migrants to enter, live, and work in the U.S.

Since Joe Biden’s first day in office, when he signed seven executive orders on immigration that, among other things, suspended deportations and ended the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program that had eased the crush of those awaiting asylum hearings, the president has in word and deed sent signals that migrants have interpreted as welcoming. The initiatives include reviving the Obama-era policy known as “catch and release,” “paroling” illegal border crossers so they can enter the country, resettling migrants through secret flights around the country, and ending the “no match” policy that had helped the government identify people who were using fraudulent credentials to find work.

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Biden’s DHS Sets Up Orwellian ‘Disinformation Governance Board’

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced on Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security has set up a new board designed to counter what it deems to be “misinformation and disinformation” threatening the homeland.

The “Disinformation Governance Board” that will be tasked with patrolling the speech of Americans, will reportedly be headed by “disinformation expert” Nina Jankowicz, a fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington who formerly worked as an advisor to the Ukrainian government.

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Commentary: Impeach Mayorkas

It is clear that the Biden Administration has no intention of doing anything to stop the 15-month invasion by millions of illegal migrants at the southern border. In March, border apprehensions reached 221,000—a 22-year high.  With the impending end of Title 42, the regulation that keeps people out under conditions of pandemic, the administration has figured out how to exacerbate the crisis. When Title 42 expires on May 23, we will have a surge of migrants (who can put together the $6,000 to $8,000 needed to pay cartels) overwhelming the southern border. 

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Report: House Republicans to Impeach Mayorkas If They Retake the Majority

Reports have emerged that Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives is planning to impeach Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in the event that they retake the majority in November’s midterm elections.

According to Axios, plans to impeach Mayorkas are already being laid out by the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest conservative coalition in the House, with over 150 members. On Monday, an open letter was sent to Mayorkas that was signed by 133 members of the RSC, including Chairman Jim Banks (R-Ind.), and Brian Babin (R-Texas.), co-chair of the Border Security Caucus; although the letter did not mention impeachment, it nevertheless made the case by listing a number of complaints that the group has about Mayorkas’ open-borders and mass amnesty approach to immigration.

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Mayorkas Planning ‘Backlog Amnesty’ for Nearly 2 Million Illegals

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is planning to roll out a mass amnesty plan for approximately 1.7 million illegal aliens who are currently in courtroom backlogs awaiting deportation.

Breitbart reports that the plan will see officials use the massive backlog as an excuse to justify handing out work permits, green cards, and other forms of amnesty to the illegals, in order to reduce the amount of work, time, and resources that the government would have to otherwise spend dealing with the backlog.

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Arizona Attorney General Asks Mayorkas to Stop Letting Illegal Migrants Travel Through U.S. Airports Over Policy Allowing Them to Use Arrest Warrants as IDs

Republican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Jan. 27 demanding that he stop allowing illegal migrants to travel through U.S. airports over a TSA policy permitting them to use arrest warrants as identification.

“Until there is a federal commitment to securing the border and enforcing existing laws, our office requests that you prohibit travel through U.S. airports by any migrant that is illegally here,” Brnovich wrote.

“It is an affront to the most basic common sense to allow anyone to use an ‘arrest warrant’ as acceptable identification to pass through government security,” he said.

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Republican Lawmakers Demand Answers from Mayorkas Regarding DHS Documents TSA Allows Migrants to Use as Identification

Republican lawmakers have demanded the Biden administration answer questions regarding alternate forms of identification the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says it accepts from migrants traveling throughout the country.

Republican Texas Rep. Lance Gooden, along with 21 other Republican lawmakers, sent a letter Wednesday to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas raising concerns over a number of DHS documents migrants can use as identification, including certain arrest warrants, and the methods through which they are vetted.

The letter, exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, also seeks information on how border patrol agents and others are able to verify a migrant’s identity when issuing the documents in the first place.

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Mayor of Yuma Explains Why Migrant Encounters Are Up 2,405 Percent, Offers Solutions

Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls is speaking up about the recent surge of migrants in the Yuma sector on Arizona’s border with Mexico, explaining why it’s occurring and recommending solutions. He believes there are several factors contributing to the 2,405% increase in migrant apprehensions, and says there are both long-term and short-term ways to resolve the problem.

“The ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy of the Trump administration was ordered put back in place by the courts, but that has not fully happened,” he told The Arizona Sun Times. “In 2019 and 2020, there were 50 to 60 migrants a day being returned under the policy. Now, there are only about 10 a day. With 1,000 coming across the border daily now, that’s only 1%.”

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Pennsylvania Congressional Candidate Jim Bognet Denounces Illegal-Immigrant Flights, Says Rep. Matt Cartwright ‘Asleep at the Switch’

Congressional candidate Jim Bognet this week denounced transport of illegal aliens into Pennsylvania and rebuked his prospective opponent Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA-08) for inattention to the issue.

The Republican attorney and small-business owner who challenged Cartwright in 2020 aims to do so again next year and is taking the Democrat to task for his pro-open-borders record and his general alignment with President Joe Biden on migration and border security. A Hazleton native, Bognet said illegal immigration has palpably burdened parts of the Keystone State’s northeast. He called for a return to the tighter security policies pursued by former President Donald Trump and for the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

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Commentary: The Border Is a Major Problem for Biden and America

The Biden administration is drowning on issue after issue, and many of the bubbles are coming from the Rio Grande River. The problem, which dare not speak its name, is illegal immigration. The administration, its political party, and the mainstream media refuse to say the very word “illegal.” For a while, they called it “undocumented,” pretending the migrants somehow forgot their papers in the top dresser drawer in Guatemala or Haiti. Now, even that bland phrase is deemed too clear and honest. The new woke term is “irregular immigration.” Anything to minimize the problem, sway public opinion, and avoid plain talk.

The obfuscation goes much further than a few phrases. Consider Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas’ testimony to Congress last week, where he faced awkward questions about the administration’s decision to stop building the border wall, including portions that had already been contracted and paid for. Mayorkas’ reply, “We are not going to construct a border wall along the ragged and jagged cliffs along certain parts of the border.”

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Biden Administration Says It Doesn’t Release Migrants Without Court Dates … Anymore

The Biden administration said it’s no longer releasing migrants into the U.S. without court dates, CNN Politics reported Tuesday.

Migrants will be issued formal notices to appear in an immigration court when released from federal custody instead of notices to report, which direct them to check in with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office within 60 days, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, according to CNN.

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Border Agents Ordered to Cease Deporting Nicaraguans under Public Health Emergency Authority

On Friday, Customs and Border Patrol agents received instructions on a new policy: Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security would no longer allow deportations of Nicaraguan illegal aliens under Title 42, a clause within the 1944 Public Health Services Law that “allows the government to prevent the introduction of individuals during certain public health emergencies.”

All Nicaraguans entering the U.S. illegally, with some exceptions related to criminal history, will be released directly into the U.S. as of Friday afternoon, Just The News has learned.

The order to all CBP agents was issued verbally on a conference call. Official orders in writing are expected soon. The Department of Homeland Security has not issued a statement, nor has CBP.

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Rep. Andy Biggs Demands Answers From DHS on New Guidelines That Gut Immigration Enforcement, Calls for Mayorkas’s Removal

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-05-AZ) and Rep. James Comer (R-01-KY) sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers regarding new “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law” that they assert hamper the ability of ICE agents to enforce immigration laws. They warn that the new guidelines will restrict enforcement even more than the interim guidance which was implemented in January, which caused arrests and removals to plummet by more than 60 percent.

Biggs called to remove Mayorkas in a statement accompanying the letter, “These guidelines are an affront to the rule of law and will only further incentivize illegal immigration. Instead of preventing ICE from enforcing the law, the Biden administration should be empowering them to keep our country safe. Moreover, Secretary Mayorkas should be removed from his position of authority immediately for implementing crisis-creating policies.” 

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Commentary: America Gone Mad

After three weeks in Europe and extensive discussions with dozens of well-informed and highly placed individuals from most of the principal Western European countries, including leading members of the British government, I have the unpleasant duty of reporting complete incomprehension and incredulity at what Joe Biden and his collaborators encapsulate in the peppy but misleading phrase, “We’re back.”

As one eminent elected British government official put it, “They are not back in any conventional sense of that word. We have worked closely with the Americans for many decades and we have never seen such a shambles of incompetent administration, diplomatic incoherence, and complete military ineptitude as we have seen in these nine months. We were startled by Trump, but he clearly knew what he was doing, whatever we or anyone else thought about it. This is just a disintegration of the authority of a great nation for no apparent reason.”

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Biden Administration Has Lost Track of 45,000 Unaccompanied Minors Who Entered Illegally

The Biden-Harris administration has lost track of at least 45,000 unaccompanied minors who were brought across the southern border illegally — and President Joe Biden has yet to issue a statement about it.

So far this year, unaccompanied minors arriving at the border have hit record numbers. In June, there were 15,234 encounters with unaccompanied children, in July, 18,958 encounters, and in August, there were 18,847 encounters, according to Customs and Border Patrol data.

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24 Legislators Want Ducey to Declare a State of Emergency on the Border Crisis

A significant group of Arizona Republican legislators is calling upon Gov. Doug Ducey to declare a state of emergency over the crisis on the border between Arizona and Mexico. The 24 senators and representatives sent the letter to Ducey on Tuesday.

Rep. Leo Biasiucci (R-Lake Havasu), the Majority Whip, told The Arizona Sun Times, “I think all of America can agree that our southern border is a complete disaster. As this Biden-Harris administration continues to ignore our calls for help, thousands of illegal immigrants are pouring into our state daily. This administration is signaling to the world that we have an open border. Myself, along with my Republican colleagues at the Arizona Legislature, will not tolerate this lawlessness anymore. We are a land of law and order. But when the federal government fails at their duty to protect our border, it is up to us to uphold our oath to the constitution and do whatever it takes to help stop this invasion.”

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Former Acting Commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Mark Morgan Weighs in on Biden Administration: ‘This Is About Perpetual Political Power and It’s Disgusting’

Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Mark Morgan, Former Acting Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection to the microphones to discuss the borders effect on all of America and leadership differences of former President Trump and President Biden.

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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Claims at Least 20 Percent of Migrants Have Illnesses

Alejandro Mayorkas

Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced on Monday that the rate of illegal aliens carrying diseases with them into the country is “approximately 20 percent,” even though many such illegals have not been properly tested, as reported by the New York Post.

“When one is speaking of 7,000 or 7,500 people encountered at the border every day,” Mayorkas said at a press conference, “if one takes a look at that system, it is not built for that in a COVID environment where isolation is required.”

Mayorkas did not expand on what he meant by “illness,” and whether he was referring to the Chinese coronavirus or other diseases. However, he did mention that he does not expect to see a “tragic rise in the Delta variant” (also known as the India variant) following the latest surge at the border, which saw over 10,000 illegals, mostly from Haiti, enter the country illegally.

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Gov. Abbott Says Texas Will Hire Border Patrol Agents If Biden Administration Fires Any

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he would hire any Border Patrol agent fired by the Biden administration after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said agents would no longer be permitted to use horses to guard the border in Del Rio, Texas.

Criticism of mounted agents was widespread after a photograph showing agents using horse reins was misconstrued by members of the media and some politicians suggesting the agent was using the reins as a “whip.”

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Around 12,400 Migrants Are Waiting to See Whether They’ll Be Allowed to Remain in U.S.

U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visits with a group of Border Patrol agents and CBP employees as he tours the Del Rio Port of Entry in Del Rio, Texas, September 20, 2021. DHS photo by Benjamin Applebaum

Around 12,400 migrants could be allowed to remain in the U.S., Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said during a White House press conference on Friday.

Border officials relied on Title 42, a Trump-era public health order implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to expel most migrants from the U.S., according to Mayorkas. Migrants who needed immediate medical attention or who feared torture if they were returned to their home country weren’t subject to removal.

“Approximately 12,400 will have cases heard by an immigration judge to make a determination on whether they’ll be removed or permitted to remain in the United States,” Mayorkas said. If someone is not subject to title 42 expulsion for the three reasons that I explained, acute vulnerability, operational capacity limitations, or a convention against torture exception, then the individual is placed in immigration proceedings.

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Border Patrol Requested Additional Aid in Del Rio Months Before Thousands of Migrants Arrived

U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks with Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol Raul Ortiz as he tours the Del Rio Port of Entry in Del Rio, Texas, September 20, 2021.

Border Patrol agents requested additional federal aid in Del Rio, Texas, months before thousands of migrants set up a temporary camp under an international bridge and overwhelmed immigration officials, CNN Politics reported Thursday.

Border officials reported an increase in migrants crossing the Rio Grande River earlier in the summer but didn’t know more than 14,000 migrants would end up setting up camp under the bridge, according to CNN Politics. On June 1, the union representing Del Rio Border Patrol agents asked for additional technology resources to help agents quickly process large groups of migrants in the field before sending them to a station.

“This way, we can at least get part of the process finished before they even get to the station instead of wasting that time,” said Jon Afinsen, president of the National Border Patrol Council in Del Rio, in an email exchange with regional Border Patrol management, CNN Politics reported.

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Arizona Attorney General Brnovich Demands Response from Biden Administration over ‘Laissez-Faire’ Policy Toward Migrants with COVID-19 Entering the Country

Concerned about the lack of testing of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich sent a letter to Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, demanding to know what the Biden administration is doing to ensure that migrants apprehended crossing the border who are infected with COVID-19 or who have been exposed to it are not coming into contact with Americans. He gave Becerra until October 1 to respond. Considering Brnovich has sued the Biden administration multiple times, it appeared to be a threat that he would file another lawsuit if nothing was done.

Brnovich said in his letter, “The Biden administration has chosen the path of increasing government regulation at opposing individual liberties when it comes to handling COVID-19 in the midst of American communities. Yet this same administration has been nothing short of laissez-faire in dealing with tens of thousands of migrants that are pouring across our open border and being ferried across our nation during the same world-wide pandemic. This hypocrisy is stunning and fundamentally unfair to American citizens.” 

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