Tag: southern border

Pentagon Awards Nearly $1 Billion in Border Wall Spending Contracts

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by Jason Hopkins   The Department of Defense awarded two military contracts worth almost $1 billion for wall construction on the U.S-Mexico border, the first funds granted since President Donald Trump declared a national emergency. The Pentagon announced Tuesday it awarded a $789 million contract to Texas-based company, SLSCO Ltd. for “border replacement wall construction” in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, according to a news release from the Department of Defense. Additionally, Barnard Construction Co. Inc, a company based in Montana, was given a $187 million contract for a wall replacement project in Yuma, Arizona. The New Mexico wall will be 30 feet high and include a five-foot anti-climb plate at the top, and is expected to be completed by October 2020. The Arizona project, expected to be done by September 2020, will include 18-foot bollard fencing with the same five-foot anti-climb plate. The announcement marks the first contracts doled out to construction companies after Trump declared a national emergency in February, a move that allowed him to allocate billions more in funds for border wall spending. The Pentagon informed Congress in March that it had diverted funds to the Army Corps of Engineers for new border walls, upsetting lawmakers from…

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Trump Is Preparing to Implement His Toughest Immigration Plan Yet

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by Jason Hopkins   President Donald Trump is preparing to roll out new executive orders to help the government better manage the record influx of illegal immigration at the southern border. The White House is looking to make it more difficult for low-skilled migrants to gain entry into the U.S. while making it easier for high-skilled migrants who are more likely to be self-sufficient, according to sources who spoke with Axios. The administration also wants to make it harder for asylum seekers to claim fear of returning to their home country, and it wants the ability to detain migrant children longer than the current 20-day limit. The proposed changes come after Trump ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and pulled Ron Vitiello’s nomination to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The president was frustrated with Nielsen’s handling of the immigration crisis at the southern border, and he told reporters he nixed Vitiello’s nomination because he wants to go in a “tougher direction.” “[Vitiello is] a good man,” the president told reporters on Friday. “But we’re going in a tougher direction. We want to go in a tougher direction.” Other immigration overhauls are also under consideration. The president’s aides have reportedly…

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Truckers Face Gridlock at US-Mexico Frontier as Border Agents Moved

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Trucks delivering goods from Mexico to the United States are facing up to eight hours of gridlock, after a transfer of U.S. border agents to immigration duties slowed the flow of commercial traffic at several border crossings. President Donald Trump took a step back on Tuesday from his threat to close the U.S. southern border to fight illegal immigration, amid pressure from companies worried that a shutdown would inflict chaos on supply chains. He had threatened on Friday to close the border this week unless Mexico acted to curb a surge of asylum seekers from countries in Central America. But the reshuffling of border agents, announced last week to process the record number of migrant families entering the United States from Mexico, prompted delays of up to eight hours for trucks crossing from Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez to El Paso, Texas, truckers told Reuters. “Industry is most affected by this situation, due to the millions in fines they have to pay when deliveries arrive late to clients,” said Manuel Sotelo, head of the truckers union in Ciudad Juarez. He said the delays could even lead to the cancellation of contracts and layoffs. Senior U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials said on…

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Trump Compares Democrats to Central American Countries

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by Jason Hopkins   President Donald Trump compared Mexican and Central American governments to Democrats working in Washington, D.C., in a tweet Tuesday morning. “After many years (decades), Mexico is apprehending large numbers of people at their Southern Border, mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. They have ALL been taking U.S. money for years, and doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for us, just like the Democrats in Congress!” the president tweeted. After many years (decades), Mexico is apprehending large numbers of people at their Southern Border, mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. They have ALL been taking U.S. money for years, and doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for us, just like the Democrats in Congress! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2019 The statements come as a massive number of illegal migrants are arriving on the U.S.-Mexico border. A record amount of apprehensions took place in March, with Customs and Border Protection catching or stopping 3,974 illegal migrants on March 19, the highest number since Trump entered office. Nearly 100,000 apprehensions are estimated to have taken place in March, which would be the highest in over a decade. Most of these illegal migrants hail from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, making…

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The Trump Administration Is Expanding a Program That Boots Asylum Seekers Back to Mexico

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by Jason Hopkins   The Trump administration will be increasing the number of Central American asylum seekers who are sent back to Mexico to await their court case. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced Monday she will be expanding the “Migrant Protection Protocols” program, more popularly known as “Remain in Mexico.” Nielsen, in a memo sent to the federal border chief, ordered Customs and Border Protection agents deployed on the U.S.-Mexico border to begin reviewing hundreds of migrant cases a day to determine if they should be booted back to Mexico. “[The Department of Homeland Security] will require more migrants to wait in Mexico, with appropriate humanitarian protections, during their immigration proceedings to prevent fraud & ensure they don’t escape the law and disappear into the country,” Nielsen tweeted Monday. That is why @DHSgov will require more migrants to wait in Mexico, with appropriate humanitarian protections, during their immigration proceedings to prevent fraud & ensure they don’t escape the law and disappear into the country. — Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen (@SecNielsen) April 2, 2019 The “Remain in Mexico” program, which started in late 2018, bars non-Mexican immigrants from immediately entering the U.S. interior after claiming asylum at the U.S. southern…

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Trump Threatens Southern Border Closing ‘Next Week’

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by Evie Fordham   President Donald Trump threatened to close the U.S. southern border in a tweet Friday if Mexico “doesn’t immediately stop” illegal immigration into the U.S. “If Mexico doesn’t immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States throug[h] our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING … the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and ‘talk.’ Besides, we lose so much money with them, especially when you add in drug trafficking etc.), that the Border closing would be a good thing!” The DEMOCRATS have given us the weakest immigration laws anywhere in the World. Mexico has the strongest, & they make more than $100 Billion a year on the U.S. Therefore, CONGRESS MUST CHANGE OUR WEAK IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW, & Mexico must stop illegals from entering the U.S…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2019 ….through their country and our Southern Border. Mexico has for many years made a fortune off of the U.S., far greater than Border Costs. If Mexico doesn’t immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States throug our…

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Trump Administration Asking Congress to Make It Easier to Deport Migrant Children

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by Jason Hopkins   Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is requesting Congress pass a legislative measure that gives her department greater authority to address the growing migrant crisis at the U.S. southern border. Nielsen asked lawmakers to make it easier for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deport unaccompanied alien children (UAC), to allow migrants to file asylum requests within their home countries, and for the authority to keep families requesting asylum in detention facilities until their cases are complete, according to a letter first obtained by NBC News. The measures would help alleviate what Nielsen describes as an “emergency situation” at the U.S.-Mexico border. “We are grappling with a humanitarian and security catastrophe that is worsening by the day, and the Department has run out of capacity, despite extraordinary intra-Departmental and interagency efforts,” Nielsen’s letter to Congress read. “Accordingly, DHS requests immediate Congressional assistance to stabilize the situation.” The requests come as the country’s southern border is witnessing record levels of illegal border crossings. The DHS apprehended 50,000 to 60,000 illegal migrants a month in late 2018. More than 75,000 apprehensions and encounters were made in February — the highest volume in over 10 years. DHS forecasts March…

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Hundreds of Border Agents Reassigned as Illegal Crossings Reach Record Highs

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by Jason Hopkins   The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced on Wednesday that it is reassigning more than 700 officers to assist the Border Patrol as it faces an “unprecedented” security crisis. CBP’s Office of Field Operations will temporarily reassign up to 750 of its officers to Border Patrol sectors along the country’s southwest border, helping the agency manage the influx of illegal migrants in recent days. Redeployed officers will assist with various processing responsibilities, such as transportation and hospital watch of detained individuals. “Border Patrol processing facilities on the Southwest border have far exceeded capacity and the Border Patrol does not have the personnel to process, care for, and transport individuals in custody without help from its partners,” CBP said in a statement on Wednesday. CBP officers will be redirected from ports of entry in the Tucson, Laredo, El Paso and San Diego field offices — a move that CBP acknowledges will affect its capabilities to press travel and trade. News of the reassignments come as the southwest border has experienced a historic week in illegal border crossings. CBP reported 4,000 apprehensions and encounters on Monday, the highest volume in over a decade. However, the record-setting number…

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Trump Renews Threat to Close Southern Border With Mexico

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U.S. President Donald Trump is renewing his threat to close the country’s southern border, saying Mexico and three Central American countries are not doing anything to halt the surge of undocumented migrants heading north to try to enter the United States. Trump first threatened to close the border last November but did not follow through. However, as he ended a 35-day partial government shutdown in late January in a dispute with Congress over funding for a border wall, he declared a national emergency to build the barrier. While both houses of Congress rejected his declaration of a national emergency, the House of Representatives failed this week to override his veto of the measure, leaving the emergency declaration intact. Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country. They are all talk and no action. Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do Nothing. The Dems don’t care, such BAD laws. May close the Southern Border! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2019 Trump is moving ahead with plans to extend the barriers along the border with funding that had been earmarked for other projects. However, the fate…

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Alabama Has a Plan to Allow Tax Refunds to Help Pay for the Border Wall

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by Jason Hopkins   A bill that would allow taxpayers to donate a part of their refunds to a nonprofit collecting money to build more border wall has successfully passed the Alabama Senate. Alabama state senators voted 23-6 along party lines Thursday in favor of SB 22, the Montgomery Advertiser reported. The legislation would add We Build The Wall Inc. to a list of about 20 groups and programs on state income tax forms that residents can check off and donate with their tax refunds. “I think it’s a way for Alabamians to say to the president and to the nation that we think strong border security is important. We want to promote that. We want Washington to build that wall,” GOP Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, the bill’s sponsor, stated according to The Associated Press. “This bill is about sending a message to Washington that we support President Trump and his mission to secure our southern border,” Marsh said, who is mulling a 2020 U.S. Senate bid. We Build The Wall — which began in December as a viral GoFundMe campaign by Air Force veteran and triple amputee Brian Kolfage — is a nonprofit group that is raising…

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US Senate Rejects Trump’s National Emergency Declaration

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The U.S. Congress on Thursday formally rejected President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration to fund border wall construction, as the Senate voted 59 to 41 to disapprove the executive action, weeks after the House of Representatives did the same. Twelve Senate Republicans joined a unified Democratic caucus to pass the disapproval measure in the Republican-led chamber, defying the White House and ignoring a presidential veto threat. “This is not a normal vote — this is not a normal day,” said Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, noting Congress’ first-ever official rejection of a national emergency declaration. Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said she backed Trump’s goal of beefing up security along the U.S.-Mexico border, but not his bid to bypass Congress. “The president’s action comes into direct conflict with Congress’ authority to determine the appropriation of funds, a power vested in Congress by the framers of our Constitution,” Collins said. “This issue is not about strengthening our border security, a goal that I support.” At the White House, Trump promised to respond. “I’ll probably have to veto [the disapproval],” the president said at an Oval Office meeting with Ireland’s prime minister. “The legal scholars all say it [national…

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Ohio’s Republican Senator Rob Portman Joins Senate Democrats in Voting Against Trump’s National Emergency Declaration

Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and 11 of his Republican colleagues joined Senate Democrats Thursday in voting against President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration. In a 59-41 vote, the Senate passed a bill that would terminate Trump’s emergency declaration, though the president has already said he will veto the resolution. Portman announced his intention to vote in line with his Democratic colleagues during a Thursday morning speech on the Senate floor. “From the outset of this process I’ve had two objectives. One, to support the president on the crisis at the border. I believe his plan to address that crisis is a good one—we should support it. But second, to do it in the right way without setting a dangerous new precedent counter to a fundamental constitutional principle, without tying up the needed funds for the border in the courts, and without taking funds away from important military construction projects for our troops” Portman said. Portman later said of Ohio, which has “been devastated by the opioid epidemic,” that “over 90 percent of the heroin is coming across the southern border.” “Yesterday I learned from Customs and Border Protection that fentanyl seizures along the border between the ports of entry has…

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Josh Hawley Explains Why He’ll Defend Trump’s National Emergency on the Senate Floor

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by Nick Givas   Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said he will stand with President Donald Trump and vote “no” on the Senate’s resolution of disapproval of his national emergency. “Look, first of all, we have a crisis at the border. And it’s clear to anybody who’s looked at the situation,” Hawley said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends.” “Congress has heard testimony on this over and over,” he continued. “We have a smuggling crisis. We have a humanitarian crisis, we have a drug crisis. We have a law enforcement crisis, number one. Number two, Congress has given the president this authority. In 1976, Congress passed a law that gave the president the ability to declare a national emergency. So it’s a pretty simple question. Is this an emergency or not? Because Congress has said he can declare a national emergency. This clearly is an emergency. That’s why I’ll be voting no against the Democrats and yes with the president.” Host Brian Kilmeade said the GOP might have trouble rounding up enough votes to support the president and asked why Republicans are so divided. “You know, I can’t speak for other senators, but, you know, I know there are some…

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Commentary: Yes, The Southern Border Is at the Breaking Point

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by CHQ Staff   You know things are bad when the New York Times runs an article with the headline, “Border at ‘Breaking Point’ as More than 76,000 Unauthorized Migrants Cross in a Month.” We could quibble and point out they are illegal aliens, not “unauthorized migrants,” but why argue details when your enemies are finally helping you by telling the truth for a change? National immigration reporter Caitlin Dickerson wrote: The number of migrant families crossing the southwest border has once again broken records, with unauthorized entries nearly double what they were a year ago, suggesting that the Trump administration’s aggressive policies have not discouraged new migration to the United States. More than 76,000 migrants crossed the border without authorization in February, an 11-year high and a strong sign that stepped-up prosecution, new controls on asylum and harsher detention policies have not reversed what remains a powerful lure for thousands of families fleeing violence and poverty. “The system is well beyond capacity, and remains at the breaking point,” Kevin K. McAleenan, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, told reporters in announcing the new data on Tuesday. McAleenan said processing centers filled to capacity, border agents struggling to meet medical…

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Border Patrol Chief Agrees With Trump That There Is a Border Crisis

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by Jason Hopkins   U.S. Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost broke down in testimony to Congress why the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border qualifies as a national security crisis. “There is an ongoing debate as to whether this constitutes a border security crisis or a humanitarian crisis. Let me be clear, it is both,” Provost, President Donald Trump’s top border official, said Tuesday during a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee. Provost’s comments run counter to claims made by Democrats and other Trump critics who argue that, because border apprehensions are down considerably from 20 years ago, there is no actual crisis. While the 361,000 people the Border Patrol caught in fiscal year 2018 is less than half of the 1 million who were caught in the 1990s and 2000s, Provost says there is more to the numbers than meets the eye. “I’ve been asked many times how the current situation can be a crisis compared to years when we surpassed 1 million apprehensions,” the Border Patrol chief said to lawmakers. “To understand the numbers, you have to look at what’s happening on the ground.” In years past, the majority of those apprehended at the border were Mexican nationals who,…

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Tennessee Star Report EXCLUSIVE: Vet Brian Kolfage Says WeBuildtheWall.US Will Build 10 Miles of Border Wall on Private Land in Arizona

Julie Carr

On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked to Veteran and the Trump Wall point man, Brian Kolfage about he and his teams new position on how to get the wall built. The men when into detail and touched upon how the funds would be transferred via a 501 (c) (4) non-profit initiative, who’s involved, and the price it would cost to get it done and the new position to build it instead of fund it. Kolfage also described how he was impressed by those conservatives billionaires who have donated their money and want to support and help push through this goal of a border wall. “None of us are being paid. We’re knocking this out and doing it for the American people,” confessed Kolfage. Gill: A guy who’s not willing to be patient and wait for the government to move things ahead on securing America’s borders, Brian Kolfage. He started a GoFundMe account to do the private sector construction of some wall and he’s joined us on the phone lines this morning. Brian…

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McConnell: President Donald Trump Will Sign Funding Bill, Announce National Emergency for Border Wall

Zachery Schmidt

President Donald Trump is set to declare a national emergency Thursday evening to deal with the southern border crisis, a move that will come as he signs the bi-partisans border security legislation passed by the Senate earlier in the day and expected to be passed later in the day by the House, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday afternoon from the floor of the Senate. “He has indicated he is prepared to sign the bill. He will also be issuing a national emergency declaration at the same time,” Senator Mitch McConnell said. “I’ve indicated to him that I’m going to support the national emergency declaration. So for all of my colleagues, the President will sign the bill. We will be voting on it shortly.” The Senate voted 83-16 to pass the border security legislation today and the House will vote on the measure tonight. By declaring a national emergency, President Trump will move forward on the construction of a physical barrier along the country’s porous southern border to the extent that is lacking in Thursday’s bipartisan measure. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement on Trump’s plan. Statement on Government Funding Bill: pic.twitter.com/DrNv9D4rEi — Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45)…

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Republicans and Democrats Are Divided Over Wall Funding as Government Shutdown Is Just Days Away

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by Henry Rodgers   Democrats and Republicans in Congress are split on an “agreement in principle” regarding President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall funding after meeting Monday night as the government is days away from a potential shutdown. The agreement reportedly includes $1.375 billion for physical barriers, which would be bollard, or basically a concrete-filled barrier that protects office buildings and shopping malls across the U.S. It would also limit the number of beds in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers for violent criminal aliens, which Democrats have been using as a bargaining chip. “This is not a CR, this is funding for the seven bills … We hope [the president will] sign it. He talked to me about it, gave us some latitude. I think we’re — overall — we’ve got a pretty good deal considering who we’re dealing with,” Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby told The Daily Caller News Foundation in the Capitol Tuesday. Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham had a different message, telling TheDCNF it is likely the president will have to declare a national emergency, as he believes lawmakers will not be able to reach an agreement. “My whole construct was — open up the government…

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Likely Deal Would Give Trump Fraction of Desired Wall Money

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Congressional bargainers are working toward a border security deal amid indications that the White House is preparing to accept a bipartisan agreement that would give President Donald Trump a fraction of the money he’s demanded for his proposed southern border wall. Participants said they expect money for physical barriers to end up well below the $5.7 billion that Trump has sought to begin construction of the wall, which has attained iconic significance for him and his conservative supporters. Underscoring the clout he’s lost during a battle that’s dominated the opening weeks of divided government, the amount seems sure to fall much closer to $1.6 billion, the participants said, a figure that was in a bipartisan Senate bill last year. “That’s what we’re working toward,” said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., one bargainer. An agreement would also avert a new partial federal shutdown next weekend. Trump has warned he might trigger a new closure of agencies if he doesn’t get his way, but that threat has become toothless because of solid opposition from GOP lawmakers burned by the record 35-day closure that he initiated in December. One White House aide said Trump was expected to back whatever compromise emerges and acknowledged there…

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FAKE NEWS: Washington Post Repeatedly Botches Fact Check of Trump’s State of the Union Address

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Donald Trump

by James D. Agresti   Two days after airing a Super Bowl commercial that depicts journalists as people of great importance and integrity, the Washington Post published an error-ridden fact check of President Trump’s State of the Union address. Written by Glenn Kessler, Salvador Rizzo, and Meg Kelly, it contains an array of half-truths, straw men, and outright falsehoods. The State of the Southern Border During his address, Trump said: “The lawless state of our southern border is a threat to the safety, security, and financial wellbeing of all America.” In retort, the Post writes: “By any available measure, there is no new security crisis at the border.” That is a straw man argument, or a rebuttal to a point that wasn’t made. Trump did not say this is a “new” crisis. In fact, he portrayed it as a longstanding problem by saying, “Year after year, countless Americans are murdered by criminal illegal aliens.” Trump’s claim is correct. A 2011 Government Accountability Office study of 249,000 non-citizens in U.S. prisons and jails during 2003 to 2009 found that they had been arrested for 25,064 homicide-related crimes committed in the U.S. throughout their criminal careers. This isn’t even a full count…

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Commentary: Trump’s Wall and a Plan to Stop Cartels at the Border

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Zero Tolerance Border Security

by Bill Thomas   If you’ve been thinking Trump Derangement Syndrome couldn’t get any worse, consider the Democratic Party’s position on border security. Sitting behind President Trump during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spent much of the evening making faces at the back of his head. And when he asked members of Congress to “reject the politics of revenge and resistance” and embrace “compromise and the common good,” she flashed a look that said: “Not while I’m in charge.” Pelosi opposes a wall or anything else that discourages illegal aliens from getting into the country and staying here (preferably in red states, where they can do her party the most political good). By itself, this would be bad enough. But the same dangerously inadequate approach she and most Democrats favor for human traffic is also responsible for the record amount of illicit drugs pouring across the border, not to mention the epidemic of crime and drug-related deaths that comes with them. Follow the well-traveled routes of illegal immigration from the southern border northward and invariably you come to cities and states with the worst drug problems. If Pelosi has her way, that’s…

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Trump to Hold First Rally of 2019 in Border City of El Paso

Anthony Gockowski

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign announced Wednesday that it will be holding its first rally of 2019 in El Paso, Texas on February 11. According to the Trump campaign, the rally will mark the president’s first in El Paso and seventh in the state of Texas. “We are please to announced the Make America Great Again rally on Monday, February 11 in El Paso, Texas, featuring President Donald Trump,” said Michael Glassner, chief operating officer of Donald J. Trump for President Inc. “As the president continues his fight to secure our border, there’s no better place to demonstrate that walls work than in El Paso. President Trump looks forward to visiting with the patriots of Texas who are on the front lines of the struggle against open-border Democrats who allow drugs, crime, and sex trafficking all along our border every day,” Glassner added. During his Tuesday night State of the Union address, Trump pointed to El Paso as shining proof that his border wall would work. “The border city of El Paso, Texas, used to have extremely high rates of violent crime—one of the highest in the country, and was considered one of our nation’s most dangerous cities. Now, with…

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Trump Unloads on Pelosi: ‘Very Bad for Our Country’

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The president of the United States has lambasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling her “very bad for our country” and saying that “she doesn’t mind human trafficking” because she opposes designating money for a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico. In an interview Friday with CBS News, Donald Trump said Pelosi is “very rigid” and that she is attempting “to win a political point” by refusing to give him money for the wall that was a major component of his successful presidential campaign. During the campaign, however, Trump promised that Mexico would pay for the wall. Mexico has refused. Now Trump wants Congress to give him money for the border wall, and the Democrats who are in control of the House of Representatives have refused. “Democrats have put forward strong, smart and effective border security solutions in the bipartisan conference committee,” said Drew Hammill, a Pelosi spokesman, adding that the president “still refuses to take a second shutdown off the table.” Trump recently ended a 35-day partial government shutdown without getting the $5.7 billion he wanted for the wall. National emergency option The president said Friday he will consider calling for a “national emergency” as the path forward to…

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Trump Calls Border Wall Negotiations ‘A Waste of Time’

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by Carla Babb   President Donald Trump is calling bipartisan congressional talks over border wall funding a “waste of time.” In a White House interview with The New York Times Thursday, Trump again hinted he may declare a national emergency in order to bypass Congress and build the wall without its approval. “I’ll continue to build the wall and we’ll get the wall finished. Now whether or not I declare a national emergency, that you’ll see … I’ve set the table, I’ve set the stage for doing what I’m going to do.” Shutdown? National emergency? If there is no deal on border security in less than three weeks that Trump would sign, there could be another government shutdown. If Trump does declare a national emergency, Democrats who don’t want any money for a border wall will probably immediately challenge Trump in court. The president had strong words for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who has said many times that she will not agree to give Trump the $5.7 billion he wants for a wall. “I think Nancy Pelosi is hurting our country very badly by doing what she’s doing,” Trump said, adding that while he has always gotten along with her,…

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Pentagon Is Sending Thousands of More Troops to the Southern Border

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by Jason Hopkins   The Pentagon is sending several thousand more troops to the southwestern border, fulfilling a request made by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Currently, there are about 2,300 troops stationed at the southwestern border. Pentagon officials revealed Tuesday that they will be deploying an additional 2,000 troops as part of the DHS’ request for the military to extend its mission there. Originally intended to last until Dec. 15, the military’s mission will now be extended to Sept. 30. The entire operation is estimated to cost $132 million by the end of January, and over $600 million by the close of the fiscal year in September. “We are supporting our federal partners on the border, and that mission has been extended until September,” stated Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jamie Davis. “We are currently sourcing the units involved and there will be an increase of a few thousand troops.” Beyond maintaining a troop presence, the Pentagon will also aid DHS officials with infrastructure development. Military troops will help set up more concertina wire and expand surveillance capabilities along the border. “Most recently DHS has asked us to support them in additional concertina wire and then expanded surveillance capability,…

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U.S. Rep. Mark Green Discusses First Two Weeks in Congress, Chides Democrats for Shutdown and Failure to Protect Border

Jason M. Reynolds

Freshman U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) provided an update on his first two weeks in Congress in a Facebook video Saturday. The video is available here on Facebook. The transcript follows. “It has been emotional to say the least,” Green said. “I raised my hand and I took the oath – the same oath that I took at West Point when I was 17 years old. I just thank the people of the Seventh Congressional District who gave me the opportunity to once again serve our great nation. “It’s been a challenging two weeks. The government is still shut down. We have federal employees that aren’t getting paid because the Democrats won’t give us 5.7 billion dollars to protect our southern border. Money that they voted on before in the past. Money that they’ve all been quoted saying was needed in the past. And they’re just ignoring the human suffering in our country from things like heroin addiction and overdose and death, the murders. Lindsey Graham  said it the other day – at least our federal employees will get back pay, but the wife of Officer Singh will not get her husband back. “It’s a national crisis. We’ve got…

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President Trump Shares An Image Of ‘Strong And Beautiful’ Wall Design

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by Evie Fordham   President Donald Trump shared an image of a “very high, strong and beautiful” portion of wall on the U.S. border with Mexico via Twitter Friday. “The Fake News Media keeps saying we haven’t built any NEW WALL,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Below is a section just completed on the Border. Anti-climbing feature included. Very high, strong and beautiful! Also, many miles already renovated and in service!” The Fake News Media keeps saying we haven’t built any NEW WALL. Below is a section just completed on the Border. Anti-climbing feature included. Very high, strong and beautiful! Also, many miles already renovated and in service! pic.twitter.com/UAAGXl5Byr — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2019 He included an image labeled “30-foot Bollard wall constructed and installed” that appeared to be dated Oct. 1. The tweet did not make clear where the portion of wall was located. Trump shared the photo just a day after visiting the nation’s southern border Thursday. The president is asking for $5.7 billion in funding for a southern border wall and is trying to negotiate his way out of a partial government shutdown that began Dec. 22 when Democrats refused to fund it. Trump’s jab…

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Tennessee Star Report EXCLUSIVE: Congressman Mark Green Discusses the National and Humanitarian Crisis at the Border

Julie Carr
Steve Gill, Mark Green

On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked to recently elected Congressman from Tennessee, Mark Green about his recent rise to fame of Congress’s Freshman class, the transition, and how he’s leading the way in declining a paycheck while the government is in a shutdown. During the course of the interview, Green gave his thoughts and opinions about the border wall’s national security and humanitarian crisis and his strategy to create a cultural change within the House. Gill: Congressman Mark Green has kicked things off with a flurry of activity.  He’s on what, CBS, Fox News every time you turn on the TV he’s making headlines and leading the way. He was one of the first, if not the first to say I’m not going to take my paycheck while the government is shutdown. So he’s the pro bono Congressman from Tennessee at this point. I’ve worked free for clients a lot of times.  I didn’t intend to, they just didn’t pay.  But in this case, Mark Green has continued to show up for…

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Commentary: Battle Over Border Is About More Than A Wall

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by Rick Manning   The battle over securing the southern border is bigger than any wall. It is about whether our nation will actually defend its borders against an unconventional invasion — one designed to play on our heartstrings through the inclusion of women and children — but also fundamentally transform our nation from a constitutional republic to a permanent socialist majority. This isn’t just about a wall or fence line, it is about the basic right of the United States to have borders. It has already been established that those who enter our nation illegally our costing the country approximately $338 billion annually according to a just released study by the Center for Immigration Studies. These costs will only increase as Medicare, Social Security, welfare, health care, housing, food stamp and education budgets get further strained by the thousands who flow across the border illegally each month. That is the backdrop for the current fight in Washington, D.C. over whether funding should be provided to build a wall and provide for other key security measures along the border. And the funding fight is relatively isolated with the Department of Defense already fully funded, along with the Veteran’s Administration, Labor…

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Commentary: Our Globalist Congress Cares More About Securing Syria Than Securing Our Own Southern Border

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by Robert Romano   Congress apparently cares more about securing Syria than securing the U.S. southern border by building the wall. That’s about all that can be taken away from some of the Congressional outcry against President Donald Trump who has announced the U.S. will be withdrawing troops from Syria — something Congress never authorized in the first place. Trump in a tweet stated that U.S. objectives in Syria have been met: “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.” In another tweet, Trump warned that if Islamic State returned, they’ll get hit: “I am building by far the most powerful military in the world. ISIS hits us they are doomed!” We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018 ….Russia, Iran, Syria & many others are not happy about the U.S. leaving, despite what the Fake News says, because now they will have to fight ISIS and others, who they hate, without us. I am building by far the most powerful military in the world. ISIS hits us they are doomed! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)…

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The House of Representatives Approves $5.7 Billion in Spending for ‘The Wall’

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Late Thursday following weeks of political invective and shutdown threats, the House of Representatives passed – by a final vote of 217-185 – a measure that will fund the government through February 8 that included an allocation of over five billion dollars for the construction of a physical barrier along the United States’ southern border. Commonly referred to as “The Wall,” the massive construction project is a key campaign promise President Trump is one step closer in fulfilling. In remarks Thursday afternoon during the signing ceremony for the Farm Bill (the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018), President Trump reiterated his demand to Congress: At this moment, there is a debate over funding border security and the wall, also called — so that I give them a little bit of an out — “steel slats.”  We don’t use the word “wall” necessarily, but it has to be something special to do the job — steel slats. I’ve made my position very clear: Any measure that funds the government must include border security.  It has to.  Not for political purposes but for our country, for the safety of our community. Breitbart News reported: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) cheered the bill’s…

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Donations Pouring In for Florida Vet’s Fundraiser to Build the Wall

Anthony Gockowski

A Florida veteran and triple amputee launched a GoFundMe Sunday to fund President Donald Trump’s border wall, and he’s already raised more than $200,000 and counting. The fundraiser has been public for just over two days and donations are already pouring in. According to Brian Kolfage, an Iraq war veteran and public figure, if the 63 million people who voted for Trump each donate $80, then there would be enough money to pay for the wall. “Democrats are going to stall this project by every means possible and play political games to ensure President Trump doesn’t get his victory. They’d rather see President Trump fail than see America succeed,” Kolfage says on the fundraiser’s page. “However, if we can fund a large portion of this wall, it will jumpstart things and will be less money Trump has to secure from our politicians.” Kolfage provided extensive information about himself to assure supporters that the fundraiser is not a scam, and notes that his team has already “contacted the Trump administration to secure a point of contact where all funds will go upon completion.” “We are working with a law firm on a legal document that will bind the government to using…

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Commentary: Seriously, Just Order The Pentagon To Build The Wall

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by Brandon Weichert   The estimated price tag on President Trump’s “big, beautiful” southern border wall is $25 billion—a paltry sum compared with the ways government otherwise fritters away taxpayers’ dollars. Yet a government shutdown looms—and Democrats can’t have that. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) paid a visit to the White House on Tuesday to make a deal with the president to pass a continuing budget resolution that would keep the government running through March. Trump said he would be more than happy to deal—as long as Congress gives him his wall. Democrats can’t have that, either. Pelosi, who will almost certainly be the new speaker of the House when the new Congress convenes in January, told reporters on Thursday that Trump won’t get his wall and vowed to keep the government “closed forever” if that’s what it takes. For his part, Trump has insisted that if negotiations with Congress fail, he will simply direct the Pentagon to build the wall. It’s strange that the president already hasn’t ordered the Pentagon to build the wall. After all, border security is a basic and vital function of the military. The military, however, has been reluctant to engage in this…

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Commentary: Go Big Mr. President: Close the Southern Border

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By Conservative HQ Staff   Yesterday, our friend independent investigative journalist Sara Carter passed along a tweet from President Trump saying, “Mexico should move the flag waving Migrants, many of whom are stone cold criminals, back to their countries. Do it by plane, do it by bus, do it anyway you want, but they are NOT coming into the U.S.A. We will close the Border permanently if need be. Congress, fund the WALL!” Mexico should move the flag waving Migrants, many of whom are stone cold criminals, back to their countries. Do it by plane, do it by bus, do it anyway you want, but they are NOT coming into the U.S.A. We will close the Border permanently if need be. Congress, fund the WALL! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 26, 2018 The President’s comment came in response to an assault on our border at the San Ysidro port of entry where U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said it suspended northbound and southbound crossings for both pedestrians and vehicles for more than four hours on Sunday. The vehicle lanes re-opened at approximately 5 p.m. local time, five-and-a-half hours after they were closed. Fox News reported that CBP said…

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Commentary: The Truth About the Invasion Heading Toward the Southern Border

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  While the Leftist establishment media has been trying to brainwash Americans into believing that the “caravan” of aliens who are threatening to cross our southern border illegally are doing so without organization or logistical support from traitors inside America, our friends independent investigative journalist Sara Carter, Nolan Peterson of the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal and independent film maker Ami Horowitz have documented a starkly different story. Peterson reported on a large group of aliens camped in Mexico City, the first and largest of five migrant “caravans” traversing through Mexico and headed north. Altogether, says Peterson, they comprise roughly 12,000 people, mainly from the three Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. In a scene not unlike when a coach rallies his players before a big game, Peterson reports organizers pressed the encircling migrants on the night of Nov. 7 not to give up on their “mission” to achieve the U.S. border. “It’s your right to go to the U.S.,” Milton Benitez, a political analyst and sociologist who hosts the Honduran TV show “El Perro Amarillo,” implored the impassioned crowd. ‘These caravans are very well orchestrated,” one Mexican official who asked not to be named told Peterson. “We’ve…

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DHS to Waive Environmental Laws for Border Wall Construction

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it would waive environmental laws so it could build gates between sections of border barriers in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. The waiver posted online lists 11 locations where the government plans to install gates in existing fencing. DHS has in recent months issued similar waivers of environmental laws for projects elsewhere on the southwest border. The U.S. government already has around 700 miles (1,126 kilometers) of fencing on the southwest border. In far South Texas, segments of fencing stop and start along the levee built next to the Rio Grande, the river separating the U.S. and Mexico. Many parts of the fencing are built a significant distance from the river, in some cases bisecting private property. The proposed gates would seal some of those gaps in Cameron County. U.S. Customs and Border Protection typically grants affected residents access to the gates so they can get to the other side of their land. The government also separately plans to begin building new barriers to fulfill President Donald Trump’s signature campaign pledge to build a border wall. Congress earlier this year approved $1.6 billion for new border wall spending, which included funding…

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President Trump on Illegal Immigration: ‘The United States Will Not Be a Migrant Camp’

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Donald Trump, Mike Pence

During the announcement of the new Pentagon ‘Space Force’ directive, President Trump took a moment at the beginning of his remarks to address the media’s outrage at his administration’s enforcement of laws regarding the arrest and prosecution of illegal aliens and the disposition of any minor children that may accompany them. After a brief recap of the recent economic numbers that show the lowest unemployment rates in recent memory – with historic lows in the minority sectors of Black, Hispanic, and women – Mr. Trump said, “If I might, I just wanted to make a brief statement on immigration and what’s happening.  And I’ll say it very honestly and I’ll say it very straight: Immigration is the fault, and all of the problems that we’re having — because we cannot get them to sign legislation; we cannot get them even to the negotiating table.  And I say it’s, very strongly, the Democrats’ fault.  They’re obstructing.  They’re really obstructionists.  And they are obstructing.” Democrats have, in fact, steadfastly refused to support any legislation that fully implements his four-part immigration and border security agenda of a physical barrier to entry to the United States (The Wall), and end to the practice of…

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