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.
Read the full storyTag: border security
DHS Sec. Says Biden’s Plan Is ‘Working,’ and Has Led to ‘a Drop in the Number of Encounters at the U.S. Border’
During a Senate hearing Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed the Biden Administration’s border policies are “working,” and have led to a drop of encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mayorkas was responding to Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who was grilling the DHS chief about the ongoing surge of illegal immigrants at the border during a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on “Threats to the Homeland.”
Read the full storyNational Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd on Southern Border: ‘If the Outrage Exists, Then a Change Can Happen’
Monday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd to the newsmakers line to discuss the current surge, agent morale, and the need for the public to express their outrage to make a change.
Read the full storyMemo Shows Border Patrol Is Experiencing ‘Critical Shortages’ of Frontline Personnel
An internal memo within U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that agency leaders are warning of a major shortage of personnel amid a surge of immigration activity at the country’s southern border.
The memo, dispatched on Sept. 17 and obtained by Just the News via a source, warns that Border Patrol “continues to experience critical shortages of frontline personnel due to the rising encounters of individuals attempting to enter the United States without proper authorization along the Southwest Border.”
Read the full storyBiden Administration Funds New Project to Bolster Tajik-Afghan Border, Abandons U.S. Border Wall
While the Biden administration halted construction of the border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the United States is funding border security efforts for Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic trying to keep Afghan insurgents and refugees out.
One day after the Biden administration’s Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan, the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, announced that it had launched a project to construct new facilities for a Border Guard Detachment in Ayvoj, along the Tajik-Afghan-Uzbek border.
Read the full storyArizona Attorney General Brnovich Leads 16 States to Stop Biden’s Lack of Immigration Enforcement Related to Crime
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich led 15 other attorneys general to file an amicus curiae brief on August 30 in a lawsuit requesting to halt the Biden administration’s “Interim Guidance” policy of not enforcing laws against illegal immigration when it comes to crime. The lawsuit was filed against the Biden administration on April 6 by the attorneys general of Texas and Louisiana accusing Biden of endangering Americans by no longer arresting or deporting nearly all illegal immigrants involved in crime. Brnovich and the coalition asked the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to deny Biden’s request for a stay of his policy while his administration appeals a trial court’s ruling halting the policy.
“The Biden Administration continues to intentionally violate federal immigration laws and endanger all Americans,” said Brnovich in a statement. “We continue to see the release of convicted felons, COVID-19 positive migrants, and record levels of dangerous drugs into cities across our country. These reckless policies are illegal, unconscionable and disgraceful. The Biden Administration must be held accountable.”
Read the full storyNearly 8,700 Criminals Arrested at Southern Border in Past 10 Months, Including Repeat Sex Offenders
Over the past 10 months, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents have arrested 8,691 known criminals who have entered the U.S. illegally through the southern border. Combined, they have committed 12,685 crimes in the U.S., according to federal data.
Because Border Patrol agents do not have access to criminal records from other countries, they rely on information reported in the National Crime Information Center database. Many individuals arrested by Border Patrol are registered sex offenders who were previously convicted and served time in U.S. prisons. They were released and deported only to reenter the U.S. again illegally this year.
Read the full storyU.S. Vetting Afghan Refugees with Biometrics but Uncertain of Some Identities, Memos Show
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency is processing airlifted Afghan refugees in locations like Germany, Bahrain and Qatar before sending them to the Washington D.C.-area Dulles International airport, using biometrics when possible to identify those without official travel papers, according to internal memos obtained by Just the News.
The memos acknowledge all refugees are being screened for COVID-19 after they arrive in the United States, and some may be arriving without their identities ascertained.
Read the full storyArizona Gov. Doug Ducey Calls on Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas to Resign Following Explosive Leaked Comments
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey on Friday called on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign after reports of leaked comments made by the top security official.
In the comments obtained by Fox News, Mayorkas said, “A couple of days ago I was down in Mexico, and I said look, you know, if, if our borders are the first line of defense, we’re going to lose and this is unsustainable.”
Read the full storyFormer U.S. Senate Aide Tanya Wheeless Launches Arizona Congressional Campaign
Tanya Wheeless, the former deputy chief of staff to Senator Martha McSally, announced on Tuesday that she will run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In an approximately two minute campaign launch video, Wheeless highlighted her family background, including that her grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico.
Read the full storyBiden Admin Is Reportedly Flying Migrants to a West Texas Town Before Releasing Them
The Biden administration is reportedly flying migrants to Abilene, Texas, before releasing them to board other flights with destinations around the U.S., KTAB News reported Thursday.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reportedly flown migrants to the Abilene Regional Airport in unmarked planes before loading them onto buses on at least two occasions this month, according to KTAB. Migrants were later recorded disembarking the same buses and boarding flights to several U.S. cities.
Read the full storyBorder Patrol Captures Convicted Child Sex Offender Crossing the Border in Arizona
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers on Saturday apprehended a convicted sex offender in Yuma, after he illegally entered the United States from Mexico.
The 45-year-old from El Salvador, Jorge Ramirez-Rivera, was traveling with a group of seven other migrants.
Read the full storyCommentary: Biden’s Open Borders Drain America’s Resources
Rarely is the sequence of cause and effect so clear. The current surge of migrants at our southern border is the direct result of the Biden administration eliminating the Trump rules that had once tamed the flow. Gone are the “safe third country” agreements that helped migrants apply for asylum in countries through which they had already traveled. Gone is the “remain in Mexico” policy that ensured a mere application for asylum would not be a free ticket into the United States. At the same time, Obama-era “catch and release” for minors and family units has made a comeback. As word has spread of this lax enforcement, more and more migrants throughout the world are attempting the journey.
Read the full storyArizona Rep. Biggs Will File Articles of Impeachment Against Department of Homeland Security Secretary
An Arizona congressman said that he will file articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “in the coming weeks.”
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) said the following in a statement on his website:
Read the full storyReport: Border Officials Encountered 21-Year Record High Number of Migrants in July
Border officials encountered an estimated 210,000 migrants at the southern border in July, the highest monthly total since 2000, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
Preliminary government data reportedly shows border officials encountered some 19,000 unaccompanied migrant minors, a record high from previous months including just over 18,800 in March, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy David Shahoulian said, the AP reported.
Read the full storyCDC Extends Trump-Era Public Health Order Allowing Border Officials to Expel Most Migrants
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the Trump-era public health order allowing border officials to expel most migrants back to Mexico or Canada, the agency announced Monday.
The regulation, known as Title 42, temporarily prohibits noncitizens from entering the U.S. through Canada or Mexico regardless of their port of origin in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 into the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Unaccompanied migrants minors were exempt from the order.
Read the full storyGov. Abbott, Attorney General Merrick Face off over Feds Handling of COVID-Positive Migrants
A legal battle and war of words between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the federal government over COVID-positive migrants being released into Texas communities escalated over the weekend.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state of Texas Friday over an executive order Abbott issued restricting the transport of infected immigrants who entered the country illegally being released into the general population.
Read the full storyIllegal Border Crossings Continue to Spike, as Do COVID Cases
Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Patrol Agent Brian Hastings reported that his sector at the Texas-Mexico border alone took into custody more than 15,000 illegal immigrants in one week, the most so far this year.
In the same sector, agents saw a 900% increase in those being detained who tested positive for the coronavirus.
Read the full storySenate Democrats Attempt to Add Funding for Dreamers, Border Security to Budget Bill
Senate Democrats are attempting to add funding for “Dreamers” and border security to their budget bill, Axios reported Friday.
The Democrats are looking at adding $10 billion to their $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package towards border security infrastructure at legal points of entry, according to Axios. The Democrats previously planned to allocate around $120 billion for citizenship for undocumented essential workers, immigrants with Temporary Protected Status and Dreamers.
Read the full storyBiden Administration Pays $3 Million Every Day to Not Build the Border Wall
The Biden administration is spending around $3 million daily to not finish construction on the southern border wall, Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford said Wednesday.
Around $2 billion in taxpayer dollars have been wasted on paying Department of Defense (DOD) contractors to not build the border wall since Jan. 20, increasing by at least $3 million daily, according to Lankford. Former President Donald Trump allocated $10 billion to the DOD for border wall construction and the Biden administration had spent about $2 billion on suspension and termination costs paid to contractors.
Read the full storyReport: Biden Admin Will Keep Restrictions Allowing Border Officials to Expel Migrants for Another Month
The Biden administration will reportedly keep restrictions allowing border officials to expel most migrants for another month, The Monitor reported Wednesday.
The Trump administration implemented public health order Title 42 prohibiting some individuals from entering the U.S. in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Border officials encountered nearly 190,000 migrants at the southern border in June and over 100,000 of those were rapidly expelled under Title 42, according to CBP.
Read the full storyArizona Gov. Ducey Urges Continuation of Title 42 Border Restrictions
Gov. Doug Ducey has called on Arizona’s congressional delegation to urge the Biden administration to maintain Title 42 restrictions, which allow federal officials to prohibit entry into the U.S. for those posing a potential health risk.
“I am writing to you today to share details of the impact this dangerous and misguided idea would have on Arizona and to request your assistance on behalf of the people of Arizona in urging the Biden administration to maintain these critical protections,” Ducey wrote last week in a letter to Arizona’s 11 members of Congress.
Read the full storyIllegal Immigration Continues to Rise, Border Patrol Announces over 188,000 Encounters in June
Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced on Friday that officers with the agency encountered 188,829 persons attempting entry along the U.S. southern border in June alone.
The staggering June numbers demonstrate a continued rise in attempted illegal border crossings — June’s total represented a five percent increase over May.
Read the full storyBlackburn and Hagerty Introduce Bill to Leave Border Restrictions in Place
Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced a bill on Tuesday that would limit President Joe Biden’s ability to roll back current border restrictions put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The legislation, known as the SHIELD Act, strengthens Title 42 , which was put into place by former President Donald Trump in an effort to limit the coronavirus over the course of the pandemic
Read the full storyArizona Gov. Ducey Urges Biden Administration to Keep Health Restrictions in Place at Border
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey sent a letter on Tuesday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging the leader to not reverse specific health restrictions that are currently in place at the U.S. Southern border.
The current rule, Title 42, was put into place by President Donald Trump in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus over the course of the pandemic.
Read the full storyGovernor Lee Visits Border, Calls Situation a ‘National Security Crisis’
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee visited the Southern border over the weekend and toured various sections of the area. Upon examining the situation, Lee called the state of affairs a “national security crisis.”
“What I saw at the border is unsustainable for our country and should be number one priority for national security. Tennessee will always step up and serve, but we need immediate reinforcements, like a finished border wall, to ensure our men and women in uniform have the tools they need to do their job,” Lee said.
Read the full storyThiel Ally Blake Masters Launches Arizona Senate Campaign
Blake Masters, the COO of Thiel Capital and the President of the Thiel Foundation, announced on Monday that he will seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
“This country used to work. Now it doesn’t. The Biden Administration is a train wreck, and Mark Kelly is nowhere to be found. We have to take this seat — and the United States Senate — back,” the Tucson native said in a video announcing his candidacy.
Read the full storyGovernor Bill Lee to Visit Tennessee National Guard at Southern Border
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced on Thursday that he will travel to the southern border to visit the members of the state’s National Guard that have been deployed there since October.
The members of the National Guard are assisting in attempts to reduce the large surge of illegal immigration and drug trafficking, which has increased in recent months.
Read the full storyCenter for Immigration Studies’ Director of Policy Studies Jessica Vaughan Predicts Porous Border Will Be a Political Loss for Biden Administration
Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Law, Jessica Vaughan to weigh in on the ramifications of a broken immigration system.
Read the full storyRep. Diana Harshbarger Introduces Bill to Increase Transparency Within the Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) introduced a bill on Tuesday that is aimed to increase the level of transparency associated with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The legislation, known as the DHS Contract Reporting Act of 2021, would instruct DHS to publish a public, daily report of all headquarters and component contracts related to the agency that exceeds $4 million.
Read the full storyNearly 200 Migrants Detained Near Tucson
In a span of two days, close to 200 migrants were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in San Miguel and Three Points, a town just 15 miles from Tucson.
The majority of individuals traveling in the groups were unaccompanied minors trekking to the United States from countries such as Guatemala.
Read the full storyIn Addition to the National Guard, DeWine Sending Ohio State Troopers to the Border
Governor Mike DeWine announced on Monday that he will send Ohio State Troopers to the southern border, fulfilling the request of Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
The law enforcement officers will spend two weeks in the border state in an attempt to assist with curbing the current increase in illegal immigration.
Read the full storyOhio Gov. Mike DeWine to Send National Guard to Help with Border Crisis
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine will send 185 National Guard troops to the U.S. Southern border in an attempt to curb the dramatic increase in illegal immigration.
The members of the National Guard will assist border patrol agents in a non-law enforcement capacity during their time there.
Read the full storyTrump to Tour Border with Texas Governor Abbott
Former President Donald Trump has accepted an invitation from Texas Governor Gregg Abbott to tour the ongoing crisis at the Southern border.
“The Biden Administration inherited from me the strongest, safest, and most secure border in U.S history and in mere weeks they turned it into the single worst border crisis in U.S history. It’s an unmitigated disaster zone,” Trump argued when announcing his upcoming visit.
Read the full story‘This is What Open Borders Agenda Looks Like,’ Trump’s ICE Chief Says
Tom Homan, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said Monday that President Joe Biden sacrificed the U.S.’ safety at the southern border in order to win the 2020 election.
“This is open borders agenda, Joe Biden sold out this country and our border security to win the election, he wanted to win over the progressive left, have an open borders agenda, Homan said on “Fox and Friends First.” Biden called the border situation on Saturday a “crisis” for the first time while discussing the refugee cap.
“We’re going to increase the number [of refugees allowed into the country]. The problem was that the refugee part was working on the crisis that ended up on the border with young people,” Biden said. “We couldn’t do two things at once. But now we are going to increase the number.”
Read the full storyBiden Ends Trump-Era Deals with Central American Countries to Reduce Asylum Claims at US Border
Arrangements made between the U.S. and three Central American countries to curb the number of asylum claims at the U.S. border were suspended Saturday, the Biden administration announced.
The Asylum Cooperative Agreements that limited some asylum seekers from making claims in the U.S. and required them to instead seek asylum in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras were suspended and scheduled to be terminated with an executive order signed Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.
Read the full storyPresident Trump to Mark Completion of Border Wall’s 200th Mile
President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Yuma on Tuesday to mark the completion of the 200th mile of the border wall system between the U.S. and Mexico.
Read the full storyDemocrats Across the Country Are Fighting to Give Coronavirus Aid to Illegal Aliens
by Jason Hopkins Democratic lawmakers in Congress are calling on the federal government to make illegal aliens eligible for federal relief amid the coronavirus pandemic, while local and state Democratic leaders have already made their coffers available for those living unlawfully in the country. President Donald Trump signed the CARES Act on March 27, making $2.2 trillion in stimulus funds available for families and U.S. businesses hurting under the coronavirus-induced lockdown. The relief package not only provides up to $10 million in forgivable loans for each small business, but also $1,200 to single Americans who make $75,000 or less a year. While the stimulus package was by a wide margin in both chambers of Congress and was considered essential in the fight against COVID-19, not everyone was completely satisfied with the bill. “I was appalled to learn hardworking, taxpaying immigrants were left out of the $2 trillion CARES Act,” California Rep. Lou Correa said in a statement released on April 3. Correa, along with 49 other House Democrats, supports the Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act which, if passed into law, would allow illegal aliens to tap into the funds provided by the CARES Act. “By casting out immigrants, we are placing some of…
Read the full storyICE Officers Arrest Illegal Alien Gang Member Wanted for Murder
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested a gang member living in the United States unlawfully shortly after an arrest warrant was issued on him for capital murder.
ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers on Thursday apprehended Jonathan Alexander Gonzalez-Rosales, a 25-year-old Salvadoran national and illegal alien, according to a press release from the agency. A member of the 18th Street Gang — a transnational criminal organization — Gonzalez-Rosales had been on the run from U.S. authorities for nearly two years.
Read the full storySmugglers Posed as Border Wall Construction Workers, Shootout Ensued: Report
Migrant smugglers reportedly posed as border wall construction employees, and one of them shot at a Border Patrol agent following a high-speed chase.
Smugglers on Wednesday entered the U.S. with vehicles, designed to look like pickup trucks involved with border wall construction, carrying numerous illegal aliens, according to a report from the Washington Times. A dangerous encounter took place after Border Patrol agents became suspicious of the pickup trucks and began to follow them.
Read the full storyBorder Patrol Catches Child Sex Offender Attempting to Illegally Enter the US
Border Patrol agents on Thursday apprehended a 29-year-old Honduran national after he unlawfully entered United States territory via the Arizona-Mexico border.
Rudy Chirinos-Hernandez was arrested by agents patrolling the desert near Sells, Arizona, according to a press release by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Following his apprehension, agents conducted a records check and discovered that Hernandez had been convicted of sexual assault against a minor — a felony offense — in 2012 in Dallas, Texas.
Read the full storyDems Ask That Public Charge Rule Not Apply to Immigrant Coronavirus Treatment, Which It Already Doesn’t
A group of House Democrats is asking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) not to penalize green card applicants for seeking medical care for coronavirus, but the government already made clear it wouldn’t.
Thirty-eight House Democrats signed a letter delivered to acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on Tuesday, asking him to remove any assistance for COVID-19 care as part of the recently-enacted public charge rule. The rule takes into account a migrant’s past use of government-funded assistance when they apply for permanent status.
Read the full storyDHS Chief Rips Nancy Pelosi’s Claims on Travel Ban Expansion as ‘Grossly Inaccurate’
Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, accused Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of “grossly inaccurate and irresponsible” rhetoric for claiming that the administration’s updated travel ban affects 350 million people.
“Facts are stubborn. The new travel restrictions do not apply to 350 million people — as some of our critics would lead you to believe. Such statements are grossly inaccurate and irresponsible,” Wolf tweeted out on Sunday, linking to an official statement from Pelosi regarding the administration’s new travel ban rules.
Read the full storyDHS Chief Calls Out Double Standard From Border Wall Opponents
Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), accused many border wall critics in Congress of having a double standard, noting how many of them became opponents during the Trump administration.
Read the full storyFisher Industries Awarded $268 Million Contract to Build 31 Miles of Southern Border Wall
There has been a lot of political furor, of late, over North Dakota-based Fisher Industries receiving a very large federal contract to build a portion of the controversial border wall between the United States and Mexico.
The company is set to be paid $268 million to build 31 miles of border wall in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. The contract has another $132 million in options that could be exercised.
Read the full storyDHS Reports Border Apprehensions Drop for Sixth Consecutive Month: ‘Catch and Release Is Over’
Enforcement actions at the U.S.-Mexico border fell again in November, marking six consecutive months of declining apprehensions.
Read the full storyIn Telemundo Interview, Joe Biden Says 3 Million Deportations Is ‘Nothing’ to Apologize For
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said he had “nothing” to apologize for when asked about the millions of illegal aliens deported under the Obama administration.
Biden, who served as vice president for eight years under the Obama administration, was again confronted about the high number of deportations that took place during his time in office. He was explicitly asked if he should apologize for the roughly 3 million people who removed from the U.S. under his tenure, in a Noticias Telemundo exclusive interview.
Read the full storyIf a Butterfly Flaps its Wings in Court, a Judge May Block Construction of the Border Wall
A judge in Hidalgo County, Texas, granted a temporary restraining order that allegedly prevents We Build the Wall Inc. from working on a section of border wall, Jurist reports, and you’ll never guess the excuse — it’s butterflies.
Read the full storyAt Least 20 People Killed After Cartel Shootout Near Southern Border
A caravan of gunmen in pickup trucks launched a military-style attack on Saturday in the northern Mexican town of Villa Unión, less than 50 miles away from Eagle Pass, Texas, Mexican government officials said. The gunmen shot at government municipal offices and other buildings, and footage from the attack showed smoke rising from the city amid the hour-long firefight.
Read the full storyIllegal Border Apprehensions Drop 73 Percent in Five Months
The number of migrants arrested for illegally crossing the southern border from Mexico significantly dropped 73 percent in October for a fifth consecutive month, down from nearly 133,000 arrests in May to just over 35,000 in October.
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