Displaying posts categorized under

IMMIGRATION

The Many Ways A Porous Border Means Crime Without Boundaries: James Varney and Abigail Degnan

https://thefederalist.com/2024/04/01/the-many-ways-a-porous-border-means-crime-without-boundaries/

It’s undeniable that the massive surge in immigration since the Biden administration relaxed border policies has been accompanied by much more crime, however unquantifiable.

When President Biden’s supporters attacked him for describing the man who allegedly murdered Georgia co-ed Laken Riley as an “illegal,” they shined a light on one of the most contested words in American politics.

The progressive push to describe border crossers as undocumented or unauthorized can also serve to downplay and obscure the massive issue of crime perpetrated and spawned by the influx of millions of migrants since Biden was elected — often in ways that leave the migrants themselves as victims.

While migrant advocates argue that illegal arrivals commit crimes at lower rates than Americans, the claim is unverifiable because the federal government and most states do not break down crimes by immigration status.

Criminologists also note that it ignores the vast web of statutory crimes concurrent with illegal immigration — drug smuggling, human trafficking, child labor violations, prostitution, the black market in employment, and so on.

What remains undeniable by the law of averages is that the massive surge in immigration since the Biden administration relaxed border policies — a surge it puts at more than 4 million people, but other sources put at millions more — has been accompanied by much more crime, however unquantifiable.

Millions of migrants, though not all, run afoul of laws by their situation more than by overtly malign criminal intent. But their first step across the border is a lawbreaking one, and it is often followed by life on the law’s margins: living in the U.S. without insurance or proper work papers, providing illicit labor for unscrupulous or blasé employers, turning to black markets for counterfeit Social Security cards, and often becoming targets for robbers or extortionists. Their desire to come to America creates a vast pool of criminality involving them or those illegally profiting from them.

“On some criminal matters, like homicides, we’ve got a good sense of the scale there whether we solve them all or not,” said Alex Nowrasteh, a vice president at the Cato Institute who studies the economic impact of immigration. “But some of this other stuff is like all black markets in that it is opaque behavior. We don’t know how much crime there might be and in a sense I think it’s sort of unknowable.”

The Great Replacement? As Americans Flee Blue Counties, Immigrants Move In

https://issuesinsights.com/2024/03/29/the-great-replacement-as-americans-flee-biden-counties-immigrants-move-in/

Earlier this week we reported on our findings about net domestic migration trends in the U.S. based on voting patterns in the 2020 elections. (See: “The Great Divorce: 3.7 Million Have Fled Counties That Voted For Biden.”)

But we realized there was a discrepancy in the numbers. For example, while more than 483,000 people have moved out of Los Angeles County since 2020, the county’s population only declined by 351,000. Over the past three years, more than 88,000 Americans left Harris County, Texas, yet its population actually increased by 104,000.

And, while we found that, overall, 3.7 million people moved out of Biden-voting counties since the 2020 elections, the population of these counties went down by less than 1.5 million.

Why the difference?

Were those who stayed behind particularly fertile and long-lived?

No. The difference is almost entirely from what the Census Bureau calls “net international migration.”

Moscow Massacre: Could it Happen Here? A troubling reflection on our open southern border – and on those who wish us harm. by Cal Thomas

https://www.frontpagemag.com/moscow-massacre-could-it-happen-here/

A mass shooting at a concert hall in Moscow killed more than 130 people. With many others seriously or gravely wounded the number of dead is likely to rise.

The Islamic state released a statement claiming “credit” for the incident. Eleven suspects have been arrested. Early reports suggested the U.S. Embassy in Moscow had advance warning of the attack. The Daily Mail reported White House Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said: “Right now we don’t know to what extent this warning [from the US Embassy in early March] and this attack are related. But we had some concerns about the possibility of a terrorist attack in and around Moscow earlier this month.”

The question that must be asked, as it has been suggested for some time, due to our open southern border, is this: Could it happen here? The answer must be an unequivocal yes. In fact, it has already happened here on Sept. 11, 2001.

Does anyone seriously think America’s enemies would not be encouraged by that previous attack and the Moscow atrocity to conduct a repeat operation in America? With such easy access to the country and with so many fanatical beliefs floating around the world, what would deter them?

The Cato Institute has noted that since 2017,”US Border Patrol has apprehended 342 border crossers who were on the Terrorist Screening Dataset, also known as the terror watchlist. Those numbers have shot up in recent years to 169 in FY2023 and 49 to date this fiscal year. Last month, The Daily Caller reported that Border Patrol apprehended an al Shabaab terrorist and released him into the United States in March 2023 after a mismatch on the watchlist. Later, the government discovered that he was on the watchlist, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested him within 48 hours. The Daily Caller’s headline was “ICE Confirms It Finally Nabbed Terrorist Allowed To Roam Free For Almost A Year.”

Record High 10 Million Immigration Cases Completed in 2023 By Eric Lendrum

https://amgreatness.com/2024/03/27/record-high-10-million-immigration-cases-completed-in-2023/

A new report reveals that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) completed a record-breaking 10 million immigration cases in fiscal year 2023, showcasing the staggering amount of illegal aliens flooding into the country on Joe Biden’s watch.

According to Just The News, the stunning amount of cases completed led to the USCIS reducing its backlog for the first time in over 10 years. The agency received 10.9 million filings overall in 2023, completing about 10 million pending cases and reducing its backlog by roughly 15%. As a result, the median processing time for naturalization applications decreased significantly, from 10.5 months to about 6.1 months.

“We’ve completed a record number of cases, responded to emerging crises around the globe with essential humanitarian relief, and applied innovative solutions to improve customer experience and reduce backlogs,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou.

The agency also administered the Oath of Allegiance to over 878,500 immigrants for their naturalization ceremonies, including about 12,000 members of the military, in fiscal year 2023.

USCIS also “continued to support Biden-Harris Administration efforts to establish lawful pathways that allow for the safe and orderly processing of individuals into the United States,” according to the report.

“USCIS is also a key partner in the Safe Mobility Office initiative, one of the many ways the United States is facilitating access to safe and lawful pathways in partner countries in Central and South America,” the report continues, detailing the numerous ways that illegal aliens can gain access to citizenship.

The numbers reveal the true extent of the mass migration crisis, and the Biden Administration’s desperation to naturalize as many illegals as possible ahead of the 2024 election, as most immigrants overwhelmingly vote Democratic in return for amnesty.

The Coming Terrorist Attack on U.S. Soil, Part III Peter Kirsanow

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-coming-terrorist-attack-on-u-s-soil-part-iii/

The disaster at the southern border continues to grow. Border Patrol recorded an astonishing 250,000 encounters with illegal immigrants in December. This figure includes thousands of single, military-age men from China, Russia, and Iran.

The number of individuals on the terror watch list crossing the border has increased 2,500 percent during the Biden administration. In fiscal year 2023 more than 35,000 individuals with criminal records were arrested at the southern border, a tenfold increase since the beginning of Biden’s term (the actual figures are likely far larger since the reported numbers don’t include “gotaways,” conventionally estimated to constitute 50 percent of the total number of individuals entering the country illegally).

NORAD recently reported detecting more than a thousand unmanned-aerial-vehicle incursions along the border per month.

These alarming figures seem to have little impact on DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who regularly appears bored or distracted at congressional hearings concerning the border. His nonchalance is shared by many open-borders advocates, some of whom casually note that none of the individuals on the terror watch list who’ve crossed the border have committed a terrorist act on U.S. soil. Yet. This is what passes for reasoned analysis from open-borders elites.

Perhaps they calculate (or hope) that a terrorist attack won’t occur in their city; terrorists, after all, traditionally prefer high-profile targets. But not always. The terror might be magnified if the attack occurred in a place where people feel relatively safe — a minor-league baseball game in Wichita, a parade in Dubuque, a fair in Salem.

Or perhaps the elites calculate that terrorists entering the country today won’t execute their plans until the next administration. Democrats and the media (but I repeat myself) would exclusively blame a Trump administration for anything that occurs on or after 12:01 p.m. on January 20, 2025, even if the attack were planned and executed solely by individuals who crossed the border during the Biden administration.

New York Doomed to Be Migrant Central Who wouldn’t come? by Betsy McCaughey

https://www.frontpagemag.com/new-york-doomed-to-be-migrant-central/

Mayor Eric Adams’ agreement to limit the time migrants can stay in shelters at taxpayers’ expense, is smoke and mirrors. It’s designed to fool you into thinking he’s solving a problem when he’s actually caving to the migrant industrial complex.

Adams claims the agreement, with the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless, will allow the city to evict adult migrants from city-run shelters after 30 days, saving taxpayers money and limiting the need for more shelters. Not true.

The fine print says migrants have a shot at staying longer if they obtain a driver’s license, follow shelter rules and show good behavior, or — get this one — apply for public benefits. And this is a “non-exhaustive” list of reasons making migrants eligible to stay longer.

The agreement also applies only to single adults. A staggering 78% come with children and get priority placement in hotels. The city currently spends a whopping $387 a night for food and a roof alone for each family, and shells out more money for free medical care, education and legal services. This agreement does zero to alleviate those staggering costs.

The deal dooms New York City to fiscal disaster, because it will continue to be the No. 1 destination for migrants seeking a free roof over their heads. The Big Apple is now Migrant Central.

Worst of all, nothing in the agreement empowers the mayor to evict troublemakers who have repeat run-ins with police. The migrants who beat up cops in Time Square were living in shelters, courtesy of taxpayers, and already had long rap sheets.

When troublemakers are arrested and give a shelter address, the shelter should be contacted and told they no longer qualify. Why should taxpayers be footing the bill to house criminals?

America, look at Sweden and beware the chaos of uncontrolled immigration Douglas Murray

https://nypost.com/2024/03/21/opinion/american-reps-will-speak-up-for-illegal-immigrants-while-not-bothering-to-help-the-law-abiding/

I don’t think many Americans realize how difficult it is to come to America legally. 

Among my own friends, I know an academic who has spent the past year in legal limbo, not allowed to work between teaching positions and constantly waiting to learn whether he can stay in America. 

In Georgia, I know a couple — the husband is American, the wife British — who can still not legalize as a couple, despite years of marriage and years of being together, who want to get themselves to America. 

The only reason I mention the plight of the law-abiding is because it stands in such stark contrast to the situation of the law-breaking. 

Our pro-immigration politicians in America are loudly on the side of anyone who comes to America illegally. 

But it is rare to find representatives who are on the side of people who are trying to do everything by the book. 

While lots of representatives speak up for the law-breaking, few speak up for or help the law-abiding. 

That is because it is perfectly clear that the immigration situation in this country has run away from its representatives. 

Human cost 

The human scale of this is devastating

Biden’s Border Blowup Victor Davis Hanson

https://victorhanson.com/bidens-border-blowup/

Some 8 to 10 million illegal aliens from all over the world, as expected, have flooded across the border since Joe Biden took office.

A demagogic candidate Biden, remember, in 2019 invited those massing at the southern border to “surge” into the United States without specifying they first needed legal sanction: “We immediately surge to the border all those seeking asylum.”

In contrast, we know legal immigration is America’s great strength, but it has always depended on a few key prerequisites.

Immigration must be legal and measured.

Why? Because only the host nation can adjudicate how many immigrants it can successfully accept and assimilate. It has no desire to encourage Balkanized tribalism so common in nations abroad torn apart by ethnic conflict.

America must have some knowledge of the background of immigrants, especially whether they have criminal records, belong to gangs, are importing drugs, carry infectious diseases, or can be self-supporting.

Biden’s Border Crisis Is Also a Crime Crisis Rep. Mark Green, M.D. (R-Tennesee-District 7)

https://www.nationalreview.com/author/mark-green/

Mark Edward Green is an American politician, physician, and retired U.S. Army major who has served as the U.S. representative for Tennessee’s 7th congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Green has chaired the Committee on Homeland Security since 2023.

Secretary Mayorkas and Joe Biden opened the border — and helped unleash a national crime wave.

Under the failed leadership of President Joe Biden and his now-impeached Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a new crime wave is sweeping the nation — one that can be traced back to the historic influx of illegal aliens. The tragic death of 22-year-old Laken Riley, allegedly at the hands of a Venezuelan illegal alien paroled into the country in 2022, has shocked the national conscience and driven home this reality.

Though President Biden failed to acknowledge it during his recent State of the Union address, the unprecedented, self-inflicted crisis at our borders is increasingly putting our communities at risk.

Criminal aliens are increasingly seeking to exploit the wide-open Southwest border. Since the start of fiscal year (FY) 2021, the Border Patrol has recorded 43,674 arrests of illegal aliens with criminal backgrounds, a 99 percent increase from FY2017–20 combined. According to Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, “hardened criminals often hide in smuggled migrant groups,” trying to take advantage of overwhelmed Border Patrol agents. By October 2023, agents were apprehending around 47 illegal aliens with “serious criminal histories” per day.

There are now more than 617,000 criminal illegal aliens on the Non-Detained Docket who have been released into our communities to await the outcome of their cases, up from 407,983 in January 2023.

And these are just the ones being caught. With thousands of agents pulled off the border to process and release illegal aliens in the United States, roughly 2 million aliens have entered the country uncaught, and are now at large in our communities — and we know nothing about their backgrounds or intentions.

Another Democrat Scheme To Establish Absolute Political Power

https://issuesinsights.com/2024/03/15/another-democratic-scheme-to-establish-absolute-political-power/

Democrats don’t support open borders for humanitarian reasons. They want the lines erased because they see every illegal alien as a likely Democratic voter crucial to their political power grab. But there’s another reason: They want to increase the populations of Democratic states to boost their representation in Congress and the Electoral College.

Apparently it’s not enough for Democrats to have become authoritarians, they have to be corrupt, too.

Of course this is no surprise. Only the corrupt become authoritarians. Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek showed in chapter 10 of “The Road to Serfdom” why socialist systems never have decent people in charge.

“Bad men,” Hayek explained in Why the Worst Get on Top, have no inhibitions about running other peoples’ lives. It is “the unscrupulous and uninhibited,” he wrote in 1944, who “are likely to be more successful in a society tending toward totalitarianism.”

Put another way, by Dune author Frank Herbert, “​​Absolute power does not corrupt absolutely, absolute power attracts the corruptible.”

And thus we understand why the Democratic Party is overflowing with the most wretched people imaginable. It’s a party that draws in the worst among us in much the same way communism attracted the Lenins, Stalins, Maos and Castros.