Border-ing On Lunacy
Despite Administration efforts, and those, under White House pressure, instituted by Mexico, to slow or cease (pipe-dream without that fence!) the flow of migrants seeking illegal entry across our southern border, and taken into custody (or slipping through), the numbers of arrivals seeking asylum, and the backlog of applicants, remains huge. Hoping to further stem the out-of-control migrant push at our border, the Trump Administration has issued an Order (effective July 16…now!) whereby (with some exceptions): “Asylum seekers who pass through another country first, will be ineligible for asylum at the U.S. southern border.” Hopefully that will discourage most of the migrants thinking about making the long trip, but who currently live beyond Mexico’s own southern border. Although, as always it seems, the unconcerned opposition party will take this Order to federal court, hoping for a ruling again that will blunt the President’s effectiveness.
As of March of this year, there were over 327,000 “affirmative” asylum applications pending with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with a current backlog of over 800,000 cases awaiting final determination by our immigration courts. Even for those who make it through the rigorous asylum process, assessment times are long and grant percentages are low. So far, during the 2018-2019 federal fiscal year, of the 162,060 asylum claims adjudicated, only 13,168 were granted (8%).
Of course the bigger, lingering, and damaging problem is that 90% of illegals allowed entry into the U.S., pending court hearings on their asylum applications, never do appear in court. That’s 90%! The system clearly isn’t working, as Congress refuses to do anything meaningful about revising & improving our immigration laws. Illegal families apprehended at our border must ultimately be admitted to our country, initially without asylum grants, because of the current restrictions on the length of time that family units may be held in custody (20-days). And, again for emphasis, ninety-percent of those illegals permitted temporary entry, fail to appear for their court dates, and then continue to live freely here as illegals! And then ICE agents run into all sorts of political road-blocks endeavoring to track them down for deportation.
Customs & Border Protection officers apprehended 144,000 illegals at our southern border in May, 2019 alone. And a huge part of the problem, as well, especially politically, is that 60,000 children attempted entry over just the last couple of months, and were put under Department of Homeland Security care. Another continuing, associated problem: Adult males often pretend to be a parent of unaccompanied children, since kids are considered to be free-passes for entry into our country. However, most are deemed not to be authentic parents. Children are separated from adults, when no family unit can be proven, and when young kids are deemed to be in danger from older children or adults. With two months remaining in our Federal 2018-2019 fiscal year, new apprehensions of illegals crossing our border from Mexico already number over 460,294 persons, which will go higher.
Although the social services tab (family financial assistance, medical care, etc.) is enormous, there are other problems associated with this seemingly endless influx of illegal migrants originating at our southern border. Local/national impact issues like crime (beyond illegally entering the U.S. itself), and drug and human smuggling/trafficking. Taking a look at crime, directly resulting from illegal entrants, it’s far worse than you might have imagined. In 2018, almost 43% of federal crimes committed in America were perpetrated by non-U.S. citizens, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Perhaps not surprising, given the origins of the vast majority of our current migrants, 54% of those non-citizen federal offenders were Hispanic (fact, not prejudice!). Their infractions included drug possession/trafficking, money-laundering, and other immigration-related crimes.
On the subject of crime, too often serious crime, committed by illegals, examples of such are frequently reported on conservative social media, and talk radio, as well as very likely local regular media in the areas directly impacted. Most recently appearing on a conservative site, was the story of an illegal male from Guatemala, previously deported twice (illegal re-entry is another serious problem), now charged with the murder of a woman in Iowa and her two young children! And of all things, it was an Hispanic family with whom he had been living !! Held on a $3-million bond, he will, one would hope, earn the death penalty.
And then there’s the problem of illegals from terror-prone nations being smuggled in, as well. At least one terrorist operation, which, thankfully, was thwarted by U.S. agents, intended to plant English-speaking “recruits” in banks to, then, work around and through internal IT security systems to create mayhem amidst interconnected financial sector data networks, with the overall objective being to “cripple the U.S. economy.”
Apart from the problem of the massive influx of illegal migrants wanting entry at our southern border now, there is the very real problem of illegals who were turned lose in America, who then never returned for their asylum court hearing, who thus have never received official permission to be here at all, and who, choosing to ignore all that bothersome, time-consuming legal stuff, have, instead, simply gone on to live here anyway. No doubt unknown to most of our legal citizens, according to a Pew Research Center study (get ready for this one), as of 2017, the average illegal adult immigrant had lived in the U.S. for 15-years! And that longevity raises another problem. After that length of time, it now becomes much harder to deport these people, given the opportunity they’ve had to produce children (born here=legal citizens), raising the politically-ugly issue of “separating families.” Far easier to round up and deport more recent entrants under deportation orders for failure to show for their asylum court date. Regrettably, long-term illegals may at some future point end up with citizenship by osmosis! Or, as progressives would term it: amnesty! A clear abuse of our immigration system, and an abuse, as well, for all those who await legal entry. Becoming eventual citizens, the right way.
It seems that there are about four primary solutions to America’s illegal immigration crisis, and none provide corrective impact short-term, let along immediately, which is what we all would like to see. The first solution, and one that should have been done years ago: Congressional legislation to plug the current loop-hole weaknesses in our federal immigration laws, policies, and procedures. The badly-needed overhaul clearly will not be initiated by this Democrat-Socialist-dominated House of Representatives, much to the shame and disgrace of those Members. The reason of course: the more under-educated, non-English-speaking minorities they can get in here, the more captive, future Socialist voters they will have, dependent from day-one on Government hand-outs. And with it, the more our country transitions to the extreme-left, and toward eventual bankruptcy, due to the drain caused by those millions of out-stretched hands.
One footnote should be made here, however. Blame to the Democrats currently is well deserved. But in fairness, not long ago, the Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate. There is absolutely no excuse on the part of Republican leadership at the time for not having thoroughly revised our immigration laws, when we clearly had the votes to do so. Failing comprehensive correction of our existing immigration laws by Congress (won’t happen until 2020 at the earliest, fingers-crossed), we must depend on Executive Orders from the President. Which he has been doing right alone. The problem has become the negative decisions rendered against his Orders by liberal-dominated Federal Courts. It’s been a start-stop process since his election.
The third suggested corrective option is pressuring Mexico to stop the migrants long before they get to our border. In fact, they should be stopped at Mexico’s southern border! And that is finally occurring to some extent, thanks to the threat of tariff imposition on Mexico-produced goods. Active preventive measures by Mexico, itself, should have been instituted well before the hundreds of thousands of migrants over the past 12-months+ began their unending “caravans,” all of which led to the out-of-control crisis that our southern border states have had to endure. The fact that so many migrants were allowed to travel all the way through Mexico without challenge, makes that country a great deal of the problem that has resulted for the U.S. A problem further illustrated by the actions of a gang of illegals just yesterday (7-20-19), when our courageous Border Patrol officers, while literally under assault, were forced to use tear gas to stop about 50 rampaging migrants at our border who, at about 4 AM, broke through overnight barriers on the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, attempting to illegally enter Texas. Arrests for assault, and other apprehensions were made.
And, speaking of which, the fourth suggested solution to unmanageable migrant control and entry at our border is to get that southern fence built! The fence would rank First among solutions, except for the reality that it’s going to take way too long to build and be completed, largely due to House Democrat stone-walling on funds-transfer, and challenges every step of the way from liberal-dominated Federal Courts. Courts seemingly intent on presenting adverse rulings which they hope will have, not just one Circuit decision strength, but rather national impact and impasse. The fence won’t solve all of our immigration problems, but it will certainly make it far more feasible for our Border Patrol forces to contain entry and apprehend those who persist in trying.
A central lingering concern regarding illegals in our country, besides the long-term economic and crime impact, is voter fraud. How many non-U.S. citizens have already voted in federal elections, and will be encouraged to continue voting illegally by Democrat operatives throughout the Southeast and elsewhere across the country. All made more difficult by cities, or even states, that make drivers’ licenses available to non-citizens, which end up being purposely used as voter rolls! It’s not just the illegals, of course, but also those rolls that haven’t been cleared of persons who have died or moved out of districts. But illegals do make such tempting targets for Democrat activists going door to door and on the street even helping “residents” fill-in and file absentee ballots, another huge problem area. Stopping widespread vote fraud is imperative, if we wish to maintain our Constitutional Republic. If we wish to stop this lunatic effort to “transform” our great nation toward fuller Socialism. And, of course all genuine, reasonable, responsible citizens do!
The alternative to unlimited southern illegal immigration, and with it the very real threat of rampant vote fraud, is the destruction of the America we’ve grown up with, hoped to grow old with, here in the nation we dearly love. Not immediate destruction, but inevitably, if elected Socialist-Communists, in Congress, and even the White House (again), are allowed to prevail. Make a firm commitment to vote next November. The time is now for America’s patriots, and all who genuinely love this nation, to stand tall and firm in the defense of our America, and of the wondrous freedoms we cherish so deeply.
(New asylum executive order, and application/grant figures via foxnews.com, Jennifer Earl, 7-14-19; Fail to appear via foxnews.com, Adam Shaw, 7-2019; Non-U.S. citizen/Hispanic crime/2018-2019-year apprehensions via judicialwatch.org, “Verdict,” 7-2019 issue; Illegal Guatemalan via dailycaller.com, Jake Dima, 7-18-2019; Terrorists via frontpagemagazine.com, Joseph Kline, 6-10-2019; long-term illegals via americanthinker.com, Monica Showalter, 7-15-2019; Texas border rampaging migrants via foxnews.com, Robert Gearty & Samuel Chamberlain, 7-21-2019).