Tag: southern border

Commentary: Kamala Harris Continues to Fail at the Border

Admin

By now it is notorious that President Joe Biden’s choice as vice president and possible successor, Kamala Harris, has dismally failed in her first assignment: to do something about the flow across the American border of Central Americans. She is the latest in a series of Throttlebottoms of both parties who have been nominated for the vice-presidency: Who can forget William Miller, Thomas Eagleton, John Sparkman, Estes Kefauver, Spiro Agnew, Geraldine Ferraro, and Sarah Palin? Yet even to a person of her limited education and intelligence, there are a number of measures that should have suggested themselves.

Read the full story

Illegal Immigration at Southern Border Hits New September Record

Admin

Border Patrol saw a new surge in illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border in September that marked a new record for the agency, according to internal agency data exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Border Patrol recorded 218,777 encounters across the southern border in September, the highest on record for the month going back to at least the year 2000, according to the data. September marks the end of fiscal year 2023, meaning Border Patrol apprehensions surpassed 2 million.

Read the full story

U.S. House Committee Report Says ‘Human Tragedies on Mayorkas’ Hands’

The Center Square

The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security has released additional findings from its ongoing oversight investigation into the consequences of border policies implemented by President Joe Biden and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

In its third interim report, it addresses the impact of these policies on American citizens, communities, and law enforcement officers, citing numerous reports and investigations laid out in 82 pages with nearly 500 footnotes.

Read the full story

Commentary: Democrats Are Finally Changing Their Tune on Biden’s Border Disaster

Admin

“Close the border.” That was the demand Sunday evening. It came not from former President Donald Trump, or any of his Republican allies, but from Ingrid Lewis-Martin, chief advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

“The federal government needs to do its job,” she said in a TV interview when asked about New York City’s right-to-shelter policy. “We need the federal government, the Congress members, the Senate, and the president to do its job: Close the borders.”

Read the full story

More than 255,000 Apprehended at Southern Border in September

The Center Square

At least 255,212 foreign nationals were apprehended or reported evading capture after illegally entering the southwest border in September, according to preliminary Border Patrol data obtained by The Center Square.

This includes at least 222,009 apprehensions and 33,203 gotaways. “Gotaways” is the official U.S. Customs and Border Protection term that refers to the number of people known and reported to illegally enter the U.S. between ports of entry who intentionally try to evade capture and don’t return to Mexico.

Read the full story

Biden Reverses Course, Allows Border Wall Construction to Resume

The Center Square

In a stunning reversal on border security policy, the Biden administration plans to build about 20 miles of border wall in south Texas as the surge in illegal migration into the U.S. continued in September.

President Joe Biden, when he first took office in January 2021, ended all border wall construction initiated by the administration for former President Donald Trump.

Read the full story

Mayor Eric Adams to Travel to Latin America to Discourage Migrants from Coming to New York City

Admin

Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams will visit Latin America to warn migrants not to come to the city, he said during a press conference on Tuesday.

Adams will visit Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico and the Darien Gap in Panama, he told reporters. The trip will last four days and is scheduled to take place this week, the Associated Press reported.

Read the full story

Commentary: Illegal Immigration Emerges as Democrats’ Achilles Heel

RealClearWire

Immigration has emerged as a key wedge issue that may cost the Democrats the White House and their U.S. Senate Majority next fall.

According to a Harvard-Harris poll published earlier this month, 71% of registered voters think illegal immigration is getting worse. Democrats made up 37% of respondents to that poll, which means that a critical mass of President Biden’s base is dissatisfied with how his administration has handled the issue. Republicans comprised 36% of poll respondents, and 23% identified as independents. Of those who think illegal immigration is getting worse,12% did not identify as Republicans or independents. Even more damning, however, is the number of Democrats who said illegal immigration is getting worse, which was over half at 53%. 

Read the full story

August Border Encounters of More than 322,000 Highest Monthly Total in U.S. History

The Center Square

Total encounters reported at both the northern and southwest land borders in August was 304,162, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. It is the greatest total number of illegal entries of any month in recorded U.S. history, according to CBP data.

Total encounter data excludes nearly 30,000 gotaways at the southwest border reported by Border Patrol agents last month. It excludes gotaways reported by Office of Field Operations agents at the southwest border and all gotaway data from the northern border.

Read the full story

Number of Illegal Migrants in Border Patrol Custody Surges to New High

Admin

The number of illegal migrants in Border Patrol custody nationwide surpassed 22,000 on Tuesday evening, according to internal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Border Patrol across all sectors had almost 17,000 illegal migrants in custody on the evening of August 10 compared to 7,696 on the evening of June 8, according to internal CBP data previously obtained by the DCNF. Additionally, there were 8,923 migrant encounters by CBP on Monday and 7,730 illegal migrants released into the country, according to the new data.

Read the full story

Number of Migrant Encounters at Southern Border on Pace to Surpass Previous Record Year

Admin

Migrant encounters for fiscal year 2023 so far are on pace to surpass the record of more than 2.3 million that were recorded crossing in fiscal year 2022, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data updated Friday.

Encounters of migrants between October 2022 and August hit 2,206,039, compared to 2,378,944 in all of fiscal year 2022, according to the data, which includes illegal crossings between ports of entry and legal crossings at ports. In August alone, Border Patrol encountered roughly 181,000 migrants that crossed illegally.

Read the full story

Commentary: Our Self-Induced Catastrophe at the Border

Admin

Since early 2021 we have witnessed somewhere between 7 and 8 million illegal entries across the now nonexistent U.S. southern border.

The more the border vanished, the more federal immigration law was rendered inert, and the more Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas spun fantasies that the “border is secure.” He is now written off as a veritable “Baghdad Bob” propagandist.

Read the full story

Media Fumed over Trump’s Detention of Illegal Immigrants, Now Issue Has Boomeranged on Biden

Just the News
Border surge

Former President Donald Trump attracted intense media scrutiny and criticism over the detention of illegal immigrants. But now the issue has boomeranged on the Biden administration and his party, which is being cited by government watchdogs for poor conditions at  Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities during the surge at the southern border.

More than six million immigrants have illegally entered the United States during Joe Biden’s presidency. The influx appears to have placed considerable strain on facilities intended to accommodate fresh arrivals. Federal agencies are seemingly unable to provide adequate service in the face of the sheer volume.

Read the full story

Arizona Officials Share Outcry in Mass Release of Migrants

The Center Square

Counties in Southern Arizona have seen a sudden influx of busloads filled with processed asylum-seeking immigrants released into towns, and local officials are calling for answers.

County sheriffs began alerting the public this week to the increased number of migrant releases, which indicate a surge of immigrants seeking entry into the U.S. larger than federal facilities and local nonprofits can contain.

Read the full story

Commentary: Biden’s Border Chaos Damages America’s Schools

Admin

By now almost every American child starts a new school year. Many challenges confront families seeking solid formations for their children — from school violence, to radical secular humanist indoctrination, to the ongoing severe harm inflicted by the 2020-2021 lockdowns.

But Biden’s created border crisis now adds to that list of hurdles, as schools across the country – not just in border areas – grapple to deal with an illegal influx that prioritizes foreign migrants above our own American children.

Read the full story

366 Illegal Foreign Nationals Targeted for Removal Arrested in ICE Operation

The Center Square

A national operation led to 366 criminal illegal foreign nationals being arrested and targeted for removal by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) agents. The operation targeted criminals who were determined “to be a threat to national security, public safety or border security.”

The operation took place from August 4 to August 25 during which agents prioritized finding and arresting fugitive criminal aliens, including those who’d been previously removed from the U.S. and illegally reentered. Arrests occurred nationwide.

Read the full story

Feds Flagged Nearly 75,000 Illegal Migrants as Potential National Security Risks

Admin

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities flagged 74,904 illegal migrants nationwide for potentially posing risks to national security between October 2022 and August, according to CBP data obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Certain illegal migrants are deemed to be “special interest aliens” because they may have travel patterns that “possibly have a nexus to terrorism” or may come from countries with such ties, according to a 2019 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fact sheet. Border Patrol agents encountered 25,627 “special interest” illegal migrants in fiscal year 2022, compared to 3,675 encounters in fiscal year 2021, according to internal agency data previously obtained by the DCNF; however, this data doesn’t account for all CBP encounters of special interest aliens.

Read the full story

Illegal Immigration Surges Once Again as Biden Admin Says It’s ‘Stopping the Flow at the Border’

Admin

Illegal migrant encounters at the southern border increased in August, despite the Biden administration’s claims that it is controlling the situation, according to The Washington Post.

Illegal migrant encounters increased to more than 177,000 in August at the southern border after surging to roughly 132,000 in July, the Post reported. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has repeatedly asserted that the situation is improving, and that the flow of migrants into the country is being stopped.

Read the full story

Biden Admin Deported Fewer than 100 Illegal Migrants in Key Program After Promising to Increase Removals at Border

Admin

The Biden administration deported fewer than 100 illegal migrant family members after promising to increase penalties at the southern border, CBS News reported Thursday.

The Biden administration announced the program, which is known as Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM), the day before the Trump-era public health order used to expel migrants expired on May 11, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). More than 2,600 migrants have been enrolled in the program, including 1,500 heads of household, while only 80 parents and children have been removed as of last week, according to CBS News, which cited DHS data and a U.S. official who requested anonymity.

Read the full story

Feds to Drop Shipping Container Border Wall Lawsuit After $2.1 Million Payment from Arizona Taxpayers

Tom Pappert

A lawsuit launched by the Department of Justice against Arizona over a makeshift border wall made of shipping containers is set to be dismissed following a final payment of $2.1 million from the state to the U.S. Forest Service, even after Governor Katie Hobbs (D) dismantled the barrier and put the containers up for sale.

The shipping container wall was constructed under former Governor Doug Ducey (R), whose administration argued the hastily constructed barrier was necessary until the Biden administration resumed construction on the southern border wall started by former President Donald Trump. A lawsuit was launched by the federal government just weeks before Hobbs took office.

Read the full story

DHS Hides Monthly Number of Illegal Migrants Released into U.S., Former Immigration Judge Says

Just the News

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is deliberately not releasing the monthly totals of all illegal migrants who wind up getting released into the U.S. after they are encountered by U.S. authorities at the border, a former U.S. immigration judge says.

Andrew Arthur, who served for eight years as an immigration judge at the now-closed immigration court in York, Pennsylvania, told Just the News that DHS does track the total number of migrants released after an encounter with border agents, but making that data available to the public would paint the Biden Administration in a negative light.

Read the full story

Report from the Southern Border: Interview with Todd Bensman

Admin

Working as a reporter and now as a Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, you have done a lot of “shoe leather” reporting at the U.S. southern border — covering the Mexican drug wars and, in the last years, immigration. Unlike so many immigration reporters who rely on second hand reports, you have personally interviewed at least 1,000 immigrants. Why do you do this and how does what you learn differ from the prevailing narrative?

Read the full story

Senators Kelly, Sinema Want Answers After Arizona Gets Three Percent of Federal Migrant Funding They Helped Pass

Tom Pappert

Arizona Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Kristen Sinema (I-AZ) have asked for answers from three federal agencies after the state received just $23.9 million of more than $800 million in funding they helped secure to fund private organizations that house illegal immigrants released into the United States after being encountered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during their transit across the border.

In a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the heads of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the senators warned that Pima County may be unable to support the influx of migrants in April 2024. They noted that New York City received over four times more funding than Arizona.

Read the full story

Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Concerned About Situation at Border

The Center Square

The vast majority of Americans are concerned about the situation at the U.S. border, according to new polling.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights, asked 2,500 registered voters, including 1,000 registered Democrats, 1,000 registered Republicans, and 500 independents: “How concerned are you about the situation at the border?”

Read the full story

Federal Authorities See Massive 33 Percent Spike in Illegal Immigration at Southern Border

Admin

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered a surge in migrants at the southern border in July after the Biden administration claimed success in the implementation of new policies and programs, according to federal data released Friday.

CBP recorded 183,503 migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border in July, according to the data. The Biden administration has touted the creation of new legal pathways for migrants to get to the U.S. following the expiration of the Title 42 expulsion order in May as the reason CBP migrant encounters dropped from 206,701 in May to 144,566 in June.

Read the full story

Commentary: Drug and Crime Issues at Border Could Make Immigration a Central Issue in 2024

Admin

Despite voters being focused on economic issues like lowering inflation and raising wages, the public’s concern over immigration could make border security as big of an issue in 2024 as it was just before Former President Trump was first elected.     

New Gallup polling from July shows the share of Americans who say immigration is a “good thing” is at its lowest point since 2014. The last time enthusiasm for immigration was this low, the public elected a staunchly law and order president who spent much of his campaign illuminating the drug and crime crisis in the United States due to unchecked immigration.

Read the full story

Biden Wants Another $24 Billion for Ukraine, Just $4 Billion for the Border

Just the News

The White House on Thursday outlined a $40.1 billion funding request in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that includes $24 billion for Ukraine-related expenses but just $4 billion to bolster security at the southern border.

Specifically, the White House wants $13.1 billion for the Pentagon to send military aid directly to Kyiv and replenish its own stocks. It further seeks $8.5 billion for the State Department to provide humanitarian and economic support. Lastly, it seeks $2.3 billion for the Treasury to provide financial programs for the country in place of Chinese or other adversarial sources.

Read the full story

U.S. Reps. Grothman and Biggs to Hold Joint Committee Field Hearing on Humanitarian Crisis at Southern Border

M.D. Kittle

U.S. Representative Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06) will hear from real Americans impacted by President Joe Biden’s border policies at a congressional field hearing on Tuesday in Arizona.

Grothman, chairman of the House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, is teaming up with U.S. Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, in holding the joint-committee hearing in Sierra Vista, AZ.

Read the full story

Nearly 165,000 Apprehended at Southern Border in July

The Center Square

At least 164,753 foreign nationals were apprehended or reported evading capture after illegally entering the southwest border in July, according to preliminary Border Patrol data obtained by The Center Square.

This includes 137,593 apprehensions and 27,160 gotaways. “Gotaways” is the official U.S. Customs and Border Protection term that refers to the number of people who are known and reported to illegally enter the U.S. between ports of entry who intentionally try to evade capture and don’t return to Mexico. In July, the most gotaways were reported in El Paso and Tucson sectors, as they have been nearly every month this year.

Read the full story

Heinous Crimes Committed by Illegal Migrants Under Scrutiny Ahead of 2024 Election

Just the News

Recent heinous crimes — from rape to murder — committed by illegal aliens are under scrutiny as more migrants enter the United States, making it a hot topic ahead of the 2024 election.

“We need borders. We have to stop the invasion of people into our country. And you know who’s coming in? Prisoners, people from mental institutions, terrorists are coming into our country and millions and millions and millions of people,” former President Donald Trump said Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Read the full story

Gov. Abbott: Texas Has the Sovereign Authority to Defend Its Borders

The Center Square

Texas has a right to defend its own border, Gov. Greg Abbott said on Friday in response to the U.S. Department of Justice demanding the state remove marine barriers placed in the Rio Grande River in the Eagle Pass area of Texas.

“The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties,” the DOJ wrote to Abbott in a letter on Thursday. The DOJ gave Abbott until Monday to agree to remove the barriers. If he didn’t agree or reply, the DOJ said it would sue.

Read the full story

Virginia National Guard Units Being Sent to the Border Announced

The Center Square

Three of Virginia’s National Guard units will lead Joint Task Force Cardinal as part of Operation Lone Star to help secure the southern border. 

Troops will be deployed from the Guard’s Portsmouth-based 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment and the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, with assistance from Army and Air National Guard units from Lynchburg, Winchester, Fredericksburg, Danville, Staunton and Hampton.

Read the full story

Illegal Border Crossers Since 2021 Total More than Individual Populations of 38 States

The Center Square

The number of illegal border crossings at the northern and southern borders and all ports of entry since January 2021 totals more than 8 million people, greater than the individual populations of 38 U.S. states.

Put another way, the number of foreign nationals from all over the world believed to be primarily illegally entering the U.S. is comparable to the populations of eight Delawares, four New Mexicos, two Oklahomas or more than 13 Wyomings.

Read the full story

Feds Catch More than 450 Known, Suspected Terrorists in Nine Months, Most at Northern Border

Admin

There have been hundreds of known or suspected terrorists apprehended at the northern and southern borders in the current fiscal year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. 

As foreign nationals illegally enter the U.S. and are apprehended, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) agents screen them against a federal Terrorist Screening Dataset, which includes sensitive information about terrorist identities. It originated as a consolidated terrorist watch list “to house information on known or suspected terrorists, or KSTs, but has evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watch-listed individuals,” CBP states.

Read the full story

Illegal Border Crossers So Far This Year Outnumber the Population of Eight States

The Center Square

At least 1.2 million people have been apprehended or reported evading capture at the southern border in the first five months of this year, according to data obtained and analyzed by The Center Square.

The estimate is based on official apprehension data reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as well as gotaway data. A Border Patrol agent provides this data exclusively to The Center Square on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. Gotaways are those who illegally enter the U.S. and intentionally seek to evade capture. Border Patrol agents report those who have illegally entered and evaded capture based on several factors. CBP doesn’t publicly report gotaway data.

Read the full story

Tennessee U.S. Rep Mark Green Says He Has Evidence That Some Chinese Migrants Are Tied To CCP, PLA

Admin

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green possesses evidence that some Chinese migrants that crossed the southern border illegally and were released into the U.S. under the Biden administration are connected to the Chinese Communist Party and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), he told the Daily Caller News Foundation during a press conference Wednesday.

The intelligence came directly from a Border Patrol sector chief, Green told the DCNF. Border Patrol has seen a roughly 393 percent increase in illegal Chinese migrants at the southern border, with 9,711 Chinese migrant encounters recorded between October 2022 and April.

Read the full story

DeSantis to Visit Southern Border

Admin

Republican Florida Gov. and 2024 presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis will travel to the southern border Wednesday, his office said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

DeSantis will meet with border sheriffs in Cochise County, Arizona, during the trip amid a surge in illegal immigration, according to DeSantis’ office. The trip follows the governor sending two planes of migrants to Sacramento, California, in recent days, the DCNF first reported Tuesday.

Read the full story

14 GOP Governors Sending National Guard Troops and Resources to Texas to Secure Southern Border

Admin

Republican governors are sending National Guard troops to the southern border.  

Governors of Arkansas, Iowa, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, and West Virginia announced this week they will send troops and resources to Texas to support the work of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Operation Lone Star to secure the southern border.  

Read the full story

Arizonan Sentenced After Being Caught Attempting to Deal Fentanyl

Neil Jones

Steve Lugo Leon, 24, of Phoenix, Arizona, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison after pleading guilty to intending to distribute an illicit substance containing fentanyl, according to a Thursday release from the Arizona District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office (District).

The incident occurred back in 2021 at the Arizona Mills Mall in Tempe. Leon had arranged to sell fentanyl pills and methamphetamine with a client, but when police showed up, the dealer attempted to flee in his vehicle. He also had an accomplice in the car, Rafael Ivan Valenzuela Chairez, 20, of Phoenix; however, in the ensuing chase, Leon hit another vehicle, causing his truck to flip on its side. Chairez attempted to flee on foot, but both dealers were apprehended by police. Officers then found 946 grams of fentanyl, around 9,000 pills, and 12.83 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Read the full story

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to Deploy National Guard Troops to Southern Border

Admin

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will deploy National Guard troops to the southern border, his office announced Wednesday.

The Virginia governor will send 100 troops to the Texas-Mexico border to address the surge in illegal immigration and drug smuggling that he says is killing five Virginians each day, according to the announcement. Youngkin joins Florida, Tennessee and Nebraska in helping Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott secure the southern border.

Read the full story

Agents Applaud Retirement of Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz with End of Title 42 Immigration Restrictions: ‘He’s a Joke’

Admin

Rank-and-file Border Patrol agents welcomed the news that agency Chief Raul Ortiz is retiring, telling the Daily Caller News Foundation that his exit was long overdue.

Ortiz announced Tuesday that he will retire from the federal government, effective June 30, according to an internal email first obtained by the DCNF. Border agents believe Ortiz is leaving because of record illegal immigration that has occurred under his watch, as well as his unpopularity among the force and disagreements with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Read the full story