Chaos At The Border

Title 42 was implemented by the Trump administration at the beginning of the Covid pandemic to provide stronger measures for border security personnel in order to swiftly expel migrants from other countries attempting to enter the United States.

It has been reported that the policy has been used to prevent 2.8 million illegal immigrants from entering the United States in the last three years.

The Title 42 provisions expired at 11;59 pm last night. There are fears that the expiration of the policy will result in a veritable flood of illegals at the border in coming days.

The Biden administration, which has refused to enforce immigration laws, is reaping what they have sowed and it may get much worse.

Despite this policy being in force, look at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection data on how many illegals have entered the country since Joe Biden became President.

Source:https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters

In fiscal 2020, Trump's last year in office, there were 646,000 border encounters with illegals that ultimately came into the country until they could get an immigration hearing.

In 2021, there were almost 2 million illegals that entered the country.

In 2022, there were 2.8 million.

At the current pace, we are looking at over 3 million this year.

8 million illegals in three years?

Remember this does not include the nearly 3 million that were reported to have been expelled under Title 42.

That takes us to 11 million who crossed the border illegally.

This number also does not include the number of illegals who were never encountered by Border Patrol agents and snuck in completely on their own.

For years we have been told that there were 11 million illegals in the United States. 

In fact, DHS was claiming that there were 11 million illegals in the country in February, 2022.

Th chart below is from 2016 that I cited in a previous blog post which claims that there were 11 million illegals in the country at that time.

It is also claimed that there were actually more illegals a decade earlier.

Who would believe that there were less illegal immigrants in the United States in 2022 than there were in 2006?

Invasion does not adequately describe what has happened on the southern border of the United States.

What is even more interesting is to look at the makeup of those entering the country illegally the last few years.

The overwhelming number of illegals are single adults. A large proportion are males.

The numbers within a family unit (FMUA below) pales in comparison, as are the number of single or unaccompanied minors, that get so much media attention.

Source: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters

Despite all of this factual evidence, the Biden administration has insisted the border is secure.

DHS Secretary Mayorkas has repeatedly testified before Congress that "the border is secure".

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/media/mayorkas-takes-heat-repeating-border-secure-claim-house-hearing

VP Kamala Harris has repeated the same claim a number of times.

Despite the fact she was named the "immigration czar" in 2021 to explore ways to better control illegal immigration, Harris has visited the border only once since she has been in office.

Biden Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeats the "border is secure" mantra routinely.

At one point she claimed that illegals are just not walking across the border.

Credit: https://nypost.com/2022/08/29/white-house-claims-migrants-not-walking-across-border/

That statement did not sit well with Border Patrol agents that actually witness what is happening at the border.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/border-patrol-agents-slam-karine-jean-pierres-ignorant-claim-illegal-immigrants-walking-across

Of course, Jean-Pierre and many Democrats like to repeat a narrative that "border walls don't work" as a reason the United States is in the middle of this mess right now.

You have to wonder where they got that talking point from?

Let's look at FACTS.

This is the number of border incursions Israel saw after it erected a wall along the West Bank.

Hungary also constructed a border wall to stem a flood of illegal migrants into its country.

 

Watch closely and see what transpires in the next week or so at the border.

The Biden administration has signaled they may replace Title 42 with a similar measure that would prohibit entry for large number of illegals trying to claim asylum in the United States.

If this is not done we may see an unprecedented flood of illegals coming over the border as news quickly gets out that there is nothing to stop anyone from coming. Reports are that there are tens of thousands of migrants waiting to come over the border.

The shelters and processing centers are already full and stretched to the limit.

Chaos like we have not seen before could quickly take hold if the rule of law and order at the border are not instituted.

Republicans in Congress passed H.R.2 yesterday which is a wide ranging border security and enforcement bill. Political analysts expect nothing will come of it in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Biden has also vowed he will veto it if necessary.

This is a report describing key elements of the bill.

The bill would codify some of the border programs implemented by former President Donald Trump, including the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which mandated that migrants stay in Mexico while going through the asylum process. It also would pour more resources into security at the southern border, restart border wall construction, add more border personnel and upgrade border technology, among other provisions.

If I were the Republicans in the House I would tell Biden that they would concede to his demands to drop their current proposal for budget reforms in the debt ceiling negotiations and accept his word that he would consider the House proposals in looking at next year's budget.

However, in return, the Republicans would require that H.R. 2  be attached to the debt ceiling extension.

Would Biden be willing to reject that proposal knowing that if the U.S. "defaults" it is solely due to the fact that he and the Democrats are unwilling to agree to the most basic border security provisions?

I believe that would put the Democrats in a tough place with voters.

Why do I say that?

Look at this Gallup poll from January, 2023.

American voters have less satisfaction with levels of immigration than almost any other major issue. This is particularly true for Republicans and Independents.

Source: https://www.voanews.com/a/americans-satisfaction-with-us-immigration-lowest-in-decade/6966951.html

Another poll from January found that 66% of American adults favored stronger border security. A plurality of 45% said they strongly favor it.

Source: https://thehill.com/latino/3831721-66-percent-in-new-survey-support-increased-border-security/

The Biden administration has made a bad illegal immigration situation many, many times worse over the last couple of years.

This is what happens when the law is blatantly ignored.

We may see it get even worse in the coming days.

The Democrats often say that you should never let a good crisis go to waste.

It is time that Republicans start playing the same game.

A debt ceiling limit and border chaos coming together at the same time provides a unique opportunity to get something done to fix the problem.

It is great to talk about pairing budget reforms with the debt ceiling but in the end my fear is that the Republicans will be blamed for being obstructionists.

I think it is harder to do that if border security is what the Republicans demand.

It is easier for voters to understand border security and there is a strong majority that support it.

The Democrats would find it difficult to defend their position in favor of an open border.

Let's hope the Republicans are smart enough to not fumble the opportunity away.