Biden's Border War on America
Open Borders are Biden's policy
For over fifty years, America's southern border has been under the constant pressure of illegal immigration. Past presidents have made various excuses for illegal immigration such as a lack of resources, unstoppable migration patterns due to instability in various countries, the need for cheap labor as jobs are going unfilled, Americans are unwilling to perform certain jobs, America is a country of immigration and even conflating legal immigration with illegal immigration. While it is fair to say that illegal immigration has plagued both Republican and Democrat administrations, the first President to actually obtain control of the border was former President Trump. The President responsible for the worse illegal migration crisis in American history is President Joe Biden based on his open borders policy. Numbers don't lie.
The current crisis has its roots in a change to immigration law. In 1965, Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act which abolished the national Origins Quota system which limited the number of foreign nationals admitted into the United States and from which countries. The prior immigration system actually reflected the diversity as a percentage of the US population. The change eliminated caps and granted the world unfettered access to immigrate to the United States which increased legal immigration to record numbers and helped facilitate an excess of illegal immigration. In an effort to address illegal immigration, President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) into law which granted amnesty to almost 3 million illegal aliens in exchange for penalties for hiring illegal aliens and increased interior enforcement. President Reagan and Congress promised that this would be the first and last amnesty in exchange for enforcement. In 1996, President Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA). The law added penalties for visa overstays, required sponsors to agree to provide financial support for their family members seeking admission into the US, adding additional aggravated felonies that bar admission into the US, expedited removal, required detention of illegal aliens and created the 287(g) program which authorized local law enforcement agencies to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Due to the government's failure to keep their word on the promise of enforcement, congress has been unable to pass any further so called immigration reforms.
In the last two and a half years, the policy of open borders has brought a crisis of irregular migration without any foreseeable end. The crisis was willfully created by the Biden administration which has rolled back multiple policies put in place by the prior administration. Once the crisis met critical mass, Biden's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented a scheme to abuse their discretionary power of parole by granting entry to all who have come illegally thus "breaking the system". This has further accelerated illegal immigration by migrants from more than 160 countries from around the world. Estimates vary on the number of illegal aliens admitted into the US since Biden entered office, however a conservative estimate is 2.3 million not including 1.6 million known got aways, the latter reported by US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). In terms of legal immigration, the United States admits 1 million immigrants every year as well as tens of thousands of refugees (130,000 in Fiscal Year 2023) with refugees becoming immediately eligible for federal assistance programs. No other country in the world even comes close to that number.
Border Wall Construction
Border Emergency Proclamation
On February 15, 2019, the Trump Administration issued a Presidential proclamation declaring a national emergency at the US Southern border granting additional authority to the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to take all appropriate action to secure the border. This proclamation was issued in light of the unchecked mass migration at the southern border which included large caravans of illegal aliens passing through south America, Central America and through Mexico. That included a significant influx of so called "family units" that arrived at the southern border. This proclamation authorized a coordinated strategy to gain operation control over the southern border, limit the flow of illegal narcotics (fentanyl) and detain illegal aliens encountered at the southern border. Unfortunately, one of the first acts of President Biden was to rescind this order.
Catch and Release
One of the most significant limitations in controlling illegal immigration is the ability of the federal government to detain illegal aliens caught at the border. For the majority of history, single males made up the bulk of those attempting to cross the border illegally. Two factors have changed that dynamic, passage of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Action Act in 2008 which requires court hearings for children from countries other than Mexico and Canada and a consent degree arising from the lawsuit, Reno v. Flores in 1997 which required that minors be held in the least restrictive setting possible mandating they be released from immigration detention as promptly as possible. In 2015, U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee found that the Flores settlement equally applied to both family units and unaccompanied minors. She further ordered that the government is limited to holding parents and children for up to 20 days. This resulted in the prompt release of minors to relatives or family members within the United States many who were also in the U.S. illegally. Once word got out among migrant communities, the number of family units and unaccompanied children (UAC) began to skyrocket by 2019. The Trump administration increased detention of family units and began expedited immigration hearings at the border. This tactic along with the implementation of Title 42 (expulsion based on the Covid emergency) resulted in an end to catch and release.
Title 42
Under the 1944
Public health Service Act, President Trump declared
a public health emergency and enacted a rule in
March 2020 that authorized the immediate
expulsion of those entering the United States
illegally. The basis of the rule was the Covid 19
pandemic. The rule which the Biden administration
kept in place until May 2023, was used 2.8 millions
times to expel illegal aliens who entered the United
States. In preparation for the elimination of the
rule, the Biden administration's Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) created a phone
application that allows aliens to request an
appointment at ports of entry in order to enter the US to
claim asylum. DHS has claimed that the number of
encounters at the borders have decreased, however the
appointments resulting from the application are not
counted toward the total number of border encounters. Currently as of
July, CBP has authorized 1450 appointments per day.
Since January, 133,000 migrants have been admitted
to the US via the CBP application.
Bilateral and multilateral Asylum Cooperative
Agreements
In order for our
immigration system to properly function, DHS must
have the ability to repatriate illegal aliens to
their home countries when they are deemed ineligible
for admission. In 2016, their were 23 recalcitrant
counties that refused to take their citizens back.
The Department of State and Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) worked together to
reduce that number to 12 by May of 2017. The three
triangle countries, Guatemala, El Salvador and
Honduras which were part of that total accounted for 71% of all
migrants apprehended at the southern border in
Fiscal year 2019. Many of these migrants began to
game the system by claiming asylum in record
numbers. The Trump administration negotiated
agreements with each of the three countries to accept the
repatriation of their citizens and allow migrants
who first pass through their country who later claim
asylum at the US Southern border be allowed asylum
in those countries. The rational was simple, if an
alien has a legitimate asylum claim, the first
country they pass through is where they will need to
seek asylum there by sharing the load and adhering
to international asylum practices. The Biden
administration rescinded this policy.
Migrant Protection Protocols
Due the ongoing increase in requests for asylum, the
Trump administration reached an agreement
with Mexico to house aliens in Mexico that arrived
at the southern land border illegally or without documentation
pending an immigration hearing. While their hearing
was pending, the alien had the option to seek asylum in Mexico.
The aliens were only allowed to enter the US for their
hearing. If their asylum claim was meritorious, the
alien was allowed to stay in the US and if not, they
were returned to their country of nationality or
citizenship. This change eliminated a significant
amount of fraudulent asylum claims and was one of the
most effective Trump policies. The Mexican
government also contributed over 25,000 soldiers and
immigration officers to control their side of the
border. The Biden administration unilaterally ended
the policy.
Zero Tolerance
In April of
2018, the Trump administration announced a zero
tolerance policy which involved the criminal
prosecution of those who entered the US illegally (a
misdemeanor) and for re-entering the US after being
removed and or deported (a felony). While not a
direct component of the policy, anyone who was
illegally in the US was subject to removal. Upon
entering office, the Biden administration enacted a
freeze on all enforcement action. After significant
litigation ending with the Supreme court in June, the
Biden administration's deportation policy removed the
majority of illegal aliens from exposure to
deportation including those who commit crimes. The
new policy which was previously blocked by the court,
targets only those illegal aliens which are believed
to pose a threat to national security, public safety
or border security. If there was any doubt as to
what that means, the following policy statement from
DHS Secretary Mayorkas makes it clear, "We are
guided by the knowledge that there are individuals
in our country who have been here for generations
and contributed to our country's well-being,
including those who have been on the frontline in
the battle against COVID, lead congregations of
faith and teach our children.
As we strive to provide them with a path to status,
we will not work in conflict by spending resources
seeking to remove those who do not pose a threat
and, in fact, make out nation stronger."
Refugees
The United States
has accepted 3 million people from all over the work
as refugees since 1975. The process involves
significant vetting and can take upward of 1-2 years
before a refugee is admitted to the US. The refugee
is also entitled to benefits such as housing,
medical coverage, food stamps, job training and
other benefits. In the last year of the Trump
administration, the number of refugees admitted were
15,000. As of July 2023, the Biden administration
unilaterally allowed 541,000 migrants to be paroled
into the United States in a two year period without
the same vetting process and made no effort to
obtain congressional authority to raise the annual
limit for the admission of legal immigrants. In
particular, 168,403 from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and
Venezuela (360,000 annual cap), 141,200 from
Ukraine, 133,000 under the CBP One app process
(529,250 annual cap), 77,000 from Afghanistan
(without proper vetting) and another 22,000 from the
Ukrainian border process.
Worksite Enforcement
One of
the most significant problems involving illegal
immigration is employers who hire aliens for cheap
labor. Often illegal aliens use stolen identifies
which adversely impact tens of thousands of
Americans. Their employment also undercuts wages for
citizens and those who are here legally. Under the
Trump Administration, work site inspections
dramatically increased as verified in a statement by
then US ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan,
"from
October 1, 2017 to May 4, 2018, HSI opened 3,510
worksite investigations; initiated 2,282 I-9 audits;
and made 594 criminal and 610 administrative
worksite-related arrests, respectively. In
comparison, for fiscal year 2017 (running October
2016 to September 2017), [Homeland Security
Investigations] HSI opened 1,716 worksite
investigations; initiated 1,360 I-9 audits; and made
139 criminal arrests and 172 administrative arrests
related to worksite enforcement." I9 Audits
continued to rise until President Biden assumed
office. In October 2021, DHS Secretary Mayorkas
announced an end to worksite enforcement and
directed DHS
to focus on the exploitation of illegal alien
employees by their employers but not any violation
of US immigration law.
Asylum Rules
Under the
1951 Refuge Convention and 1967 Protocol, the
International community has established what defines
a "refugee" under international law. The United
States was not a signatory to the initial agreement
which was limited to Europe after the 2nd World War
and time limited to events prior to January 1, 1951,
however the United States is a signatory to the 1967
Protocol which removed the geographical and time
limitations. As such, the agreement
applies to any person fleeing persecution anywhere
in the world. Under Article 1 of the 1951
Convention, a refugee is defined as a person "who
owing to [a] well-founded fear of being persecuted
for reasons of race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular social group or
political opinion, is outside the country of
[their] nationality and is unable or, owing to such
fear, is unwilling to avail [them self] of the
protection of that country; or who, not having a
nationality and being outside the country of [their]
former habitual residence, is unable or, owing to
such feat, is unwilling to return to it." Those
seeking asylum have to show a credible fear of
returning to their country based on the criteria as
agreed under international law. If their initial
claims were found to be credible, they were allowed
inside the United States and issued work permits.
During the Obama administration, the definition
related to asylum changed. As a result, a
significant number of asylum seekers passed the
initial screening under questionable reasons such as claims
of domestic and gang violence and threats against
other family members. Those with criminal histories
were not barred from claiming asylum. After
realizing they could game the system, the number of
aliens claiming asylum broke records. A large
majority of those given hearings never showed up and
those who did failed to prove their claim for
asylum.
The Trump administration realizing the scope of the problem reinstated the definition of a refugee and the basis for asylum consistent with international law and the UN treaty. Work permits were no longer automatically issued, those with criminal histories were barred from seeking asylum, asylum seekers were limited to only ports of entry (versus entering through any border area to claim asylum), and had daily limits (metering) on the number who could enter. Asylum seekers were either detained at the border pending their judicial hearing which was also conducted at the border or subject to the MPP where they had to wait in Mexico until their hearing date. Those who failed to enter at Ports of Entry or those who were found not to have a credible fear of return to their host country were subject to expedited removal. The Biden Administration returned to a more fluid definition of refugee and eliminated the rules put in place by the Trump Administration. DHS under Biden attempted to enact a new rule to crack down on fraudulent asylum seekers, however it has only encouraged more irregular immigration by allowing more to legally come. The scheme works through a CBP phone application where any alien can apply of asylum, they then receive a date to appear at a Port of Entry and receive a brief screening. The result is almost all of those claiming asylum pass the initial screening, are immediately processed for a work permit and are allowed entry to their choice of destination courtesy of US taxpayers. They are then given a future hearing date as long as 10 years later. Previously, the Biden administration was issuing notices to appear at ICE offices or issued no notices at all. Those allowed into the US with pending claims of asylum are not part of CBP's total number of listed encounters with illegal aliens, therefore the actual numbers are skewed. Currently, the number of pending cases involving asylum rose from 105,919 in FY 2012 to 787,882 at the beginning of FY 23 (November 2022).
Temporary Protected Status
(TPS)
Visa Overstays
The program was established by congress in 1990 and
allows individuals from any country deemed unsafe to
reside in the United States for a period of 18
months. The timeframe can be renewed indefinitely. A
country can be deemed unsafe due to a civil war, an
earthquake or other natural catastrophe. Those
granted the designation receive work permits
allowing them to work in the US and travel abroad.
The designation is made by the Secretary of DHS.
While present, they can also file to adjust their
status and become permanent residents of the US. As
many designations continued to be extended
indefinitely and some for more
than 20 years, the Trump administration revoked TPS
for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua.
Under the Biden administration, those terminations
were rescinded and TPS for those countries were
extended again for 18 months. In total, the Biden
administration has allowed 670,00 immigrants to
either remain in the US or be eligible to do so from
the following countries: Afghanistan, Burma,
Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras,
Myanmar Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, Somalia, South
Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen. Many of
these countries are hostile to the United States and
do not share background information on their
nationals. When considering other programs to shield
certain immigrants from deportation or departure such
as Deferred Enforced Departure, humanitarian visas and
Deferred Action, the number stands at almost 1
million foreign nationals based on the actions of
the Biden administration.
Public Charge Rule
The
Immigration Act of 1882 first established the term
"public charge" in which a alien was unable to care
for themselves without being a public charge such as
those without financial means, mental illness and
felons or those convicted of certain other misdemeanors. The
Immigration Act of 1952 and amended in 1965 allowed
the deportation of any alien who became a public
charge which was defined as receiving public
benefits in the first five years. The Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
of 1996 held sponsors of immigrants more accountable
and required a sponsor to reimburse the government
for certain forms of governmental assistance
provided to immigrants. In August 2019, the Trump
administration enacted a rule consistent with the
Public Charge standard that would deny a green card
to any immigrant found to have used certain
governmental assistance for more than 12 months in a
36 month period. After significant litigation, the
rule was allowed to go into effect in November 2020.
In March 2021, the Biden administration repealed the
rule.
H2B visa
This specific visa is an nonimmigrant work visa that allows employers to bring in workers in specialty occupations which require specialized knowledge, a bachelor degree or equivalent work experience. The visa is good for 3 years and can be renewed for 6 years. The number of visas are capped each year. During the Trump administration, the number of visas rose from 66,000 in 2017 to 96,000 in 2019. In 2020, President Trump issued a proclamation freezing all work visas (excluding farm workers) in light of the Covid 19 pandemic in order to protect American workers. President Biden allowed the ban to expire on April 1, 2021 and has since increased work visas to 130,716 for FY 2023. The Biden administration also expanded the eligibility for the J-1 & 0-1A nonimmigrant visas for Science, technology, engineering and mathematic STEM professionals which are also good for 3 years.
E-Verify
The main driver of illegal immigration is economics
related to employers looking for cheap labor and
illegal aliens looking for work in order to send
money back to their native countries to support
their families. The return of dollars to their
country of origin is referred to as a remittance and
often is extremely beneficial to that country's
economic survival. Total remittances in 2022 were
estimated to be 831 billion and are expected to grow
to 840 billion by 2023. If the ability of illegal
aliens to work is eliminated, some may try to adjust
their status and the majority will self deport.
This is why no President has supported the
nationwide implementation of E-Verify which is a
web-based application that checks an employees I9
against information in the data base to confirm the
employee's eligibility to work in the US. E-Verify
was authorized by the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA). Currently
nine states require employers use E-Verify for most
or all employees.
Got Aways
DHS estimates the number of illegal aliens who were
able to enter the United States without being
detected and are referred to as got aways. The
number is based on CBP observations, interviews with
other illegal aliens, cameras, human tracks and other
field assessments. In FY 2020 at the end of the
Trump administration, the number was 69,000 with
646,822 total encounters. As of FY 2022, under the
Biden administration, the number has grown to more
than 599,000 with 2,766,582 encounters. From January
2021-January 2023, CBP reported 1.2 million got
aways. In FY 2023 during the first 9 months, total
encounters were 2,310,987 and known got aways for
the first 6 months of 2023 were 400,000.
Communicable Diseases
Unknown to the American people, the United States
has waived the ban on several medical conditions which
previously bared an alien's admission into the
United States. HIV and three venereal diseases were
removed, Granuloma inguinale, charcroid and
lymphogranuloma Venereum. Obviously there may be
differences of opinion on this issue, however,
illegal aliens do not undergo any significant
medical screening by the Biden administration.
During the Covid crisis, many aliens with Covid were
released into the US. Several serious communicable
diseases have made a come back inside the US,
syphilis, gonorrhea, tuberculosis and even leprosy.
The number of criminals who have been caught entering the United States has dramatically risen. In Fiscal Year 2020, the total was 2,438. Beginning in FY 2021, the total shot up to 10, 763 and in FY 2022, 12,028. What is concerning is these are the numbers for the individuals who were caught and does not include the break down for the 1.6 million got aways. Mexico's cartels are making billions by smuggling aliens into the US, engaging in human trafficking and fentanyl. Criminal gangs such as MS-13 and others are sneaking across the border either returning to the US after being deported or arriving to reinvigorate criminal gangs operating inside the US. Furthermore, the Biden administration issued a policy shielding illegal aliens who have committed crimes unless they were "aggravated felonies". Therefore drunk driving, assault, domestic violence and other crimes that involving plea deals are ignored. Even when there was a basis for ICE to issue a detainer for those illegal aliens who were in the custody of state prisons, the enforcement guidelines discourage their use.
911 Commission Report
The 911 Commission released
its final report on July 22, 2005. The report contained various recommendations
to address the lack of border security and weak immigration controls. The
commission noted that the al Qaeda hijackers violated immigration laws, obtained
identity documents (licenses) by submitting fraudulent source documents and made
false statements on visa applications and passports. Some of the commission’s
recommendations include a biometric entry-exit screening system for border and
transportation, no fly lists for aviation, standards for identification
documents and an integrated intelligence infrastructure with a single director.
Congress passed the Real ID Act requiring all states
to have uniform identify verification standards when
issuing driver licenses and legislation creating a
Director of National Intelligence what coordinates
with all US intelligence agencies. Many states have
resisted the new standards since the law's passage
in 2005 and currently after multiple extensions, the
law is expected to go into effect nationwide on May
7, 2025. In order to board a plane, a passenger will
need a driver's license that is compliant with the
Real ID Act. Oddly, the Biden administration has
allowed illegal aliens to board
airplanes with only immigration hearing notices.
Furthermore, 16 states grant driver licenses to
illegal aliens. This has the potential to allow those
in the US illegally to establish identification
by building on the initial driver license or other
licenses in order to establish a legal identify for
nefarious purposes. The Biden administration
discontinued the Trump administration's effort to
obtain biometric data from "every applicant,
petitioner, sponsor, beneficiary, or other
individual
filing for or associated with any immigration or
naturalization benefit or other request, unless
waived or exempted."
Immigration Reform, A Trojan Horse
Back in 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA). The law made it illegal for companies to knowingly hire illegal aliens, created penalties for companies that did so, created the E-Verify system and granted legal residency to 2.7 million illegal aliens. Both the President and congress promised that the law and amnesty would bring the border under control, however several Presidents used administrative procedures to circumvent US Immigration law and failed to adequately fund border enforcement. In 2007, President George W Bush proposed a massive amnesty for illegal aliens under the label of immigration reform which was rejected by congress. President Obama used executive action to enact unlawful programs such as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and Deferred Action for Children (DACA) that sought to grant lawful residency to tens of millions of illegal aliens. DAPA was blocked by the courts, however DACA has continued to remain even after President Trump moved to eliminate the program. President Biden proposed an amnesty in 2021 called the US Citizenship Act. The bill would provided "lawful prospective immigrant" status to millions of illegal aliens, issue work permits and social security numbers. DACA recipients and those under TPS would receive green cards. The total number of illegal's projected to be granted amnesty under the bill is 11 million.
Solutions
Current immigration law provides the tools for DHS to manage and reduce illegal immigration to manageable levels. With the current crisis, the shear numbers make that impossible. It has been shown that when the international asylum standard is applied to asylum claims, the majority of claims are found to be without merit as most un lawful migration is economically based. When employers are sanctioned for unlawfully hiring illegal aliens, American wages rise. When E-Verify was implemented by the various states, the majority of illegal aliens were unable to work and left those states to work illegally in other states that did not require the use of E-Verify. If it is implemented nationwide, the majority of illegal aliens will self deport as they will be unable to work. DHS must detain all illegal aliens as required by law with minor exceptions for parole on a case by case basis, hire more immigration judges to expedite immigration hearings, prosecute the majority who enter/re-enter the US illegally and remove limitations on the removal of certain aliens unlawfully present. This will send a resounding message that America's open borders are now closed.
It is patently obvious why the nations of the world
feel free to send the least of their best and
brightest to America. The Biden administration is
actively encouraging the flow. Even our known
enemies are sending migrants such as China and Iran.
Numerous known terrorists have been caught at the
border. The message must go our through a robust
foreign policy of holding countries accountable for
encouraging residents to come to the US illegally.
By enacting new agreements on migration,
repatriation, foreign assistance and cooperation
between governments, the US can end of flow of
unchecked migration to our borders. The prior
administration's track record is ample proof.
A significant majority of Americans do not support
government benefits for illegal aliens as is
patently unfair to those who work hard and obey the
law. It does nothing to benefit our country,
encourages more illegal immigration and places a
significant burden on our social safety net.
Therefore it is imperative that illegal aliens be
ineligible for governmental benefits such as health
care, housing, driver/professional licenses, in
state college tuition and granting work permits
while aliens are unlawfully present. While those who
are lawfully present may have a need for some
limited benefits due to unforeseen circumstances or
illness, the public charge rule should be reinstated
for those who apply for citizenship.
The United States currently has a chaotic
immigration policy that admits almost anyone that
seeks to come to the US. Many are uneducated, poor,
have existing medical conditions and do not speak
English. Countries like the United Kingdom,
Australia, New Zealand and Canada use a point
based merit system. Those
who have certain skil sets, education and experience
would receive higher total points and would qualify
to immigrate over those who have less points. This
would ensure that America takes the best and
brighest from around the world who would bring value
to our country. There would be some exceptions for
refugees or for humanitarian purposes, however that
number must be tighly controlled. As to the number
of lawful immigrants admitted anually, America must
reduce the total number until a cost/benefit
analysis supports increasing the annual cap. With a
more managable number admitted each year, DHS will
be better prepared to implement a more comprehensive
screening process.
The truth behind the current immigration crisis at
America's southern border is a totally man-made
crisis and that man is President Joe Biden. It's
ample time for congress to use the power of the
purse to force the Biden administration to enforce
our nation's immigration laws and bring order back
to the nation's borders. The survival of our
Republic depends on it.