Congress' amnesty-through-reconciliation is a gift for the booming smuggling industry. Immigration continues to be the achilles heel of President Biden's approval ratings, and public confidence in his handling of the border continues to decline, even as polls show that most voters underestimate the extent of the crisis. Joseph Chamie says the U.S. has "adopted a de facto policy of not repatriating settled unauthorized migrants" which, combined with periodic promises of amnesty, makes the smugglers' pitch much easier to sell. And now, Congress is considering another amnesty, which will further help the smuggling networks profit from a chaotic border. The Hill reports: "The most expansive version of the Democratic proposal would grant a path to citizenship to DACA recipients, other so-called Dreamers - undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors - beneficiaries of the Temporary Protected Status program, immigrant farmworkers, essential workers and their close relatives.
"In all, a broad immigration proposal in the reconciliation process could leave few, if any, undocumented immigrants without a shot at legalization."
Biden ran successfully on a promise to restore normalcy, but a majority of registered voters now want him to restore many of the previous administration's border policies that were ill-advisedly overturned, including cooperative asylum agreements with Central American countries and the "Remain In Mexico" program. The Washington Examiner editorial board says the "Remain In Mexico" program established a simple and effective rule: "If you show up at the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum, you will get your day in court -- but you must wait for it in Mexico. The effect: a huge drop in the number of families showing up at the southern border claiming asylum. Because most of those requesting asylum lacked meritorious claims, the number of people desiring to come and actually wait to get a trial was considerably smaller than the number who had been gaming the system when an asylum claim meant automatic entry to the U.S.
"Biden has switched the magnet back on."
The administration's prediction that the border surge would decline with the onset of summer has not yet come to pass, and the numbers of unaccompanied minors is once again on the rise, along with the number of migrant rescues and deaths. But while smuggling deaths are up, prosecutions of smugglers have declined. Some smugglers now openly mock the agents who arrest them, knowing they will likely not be prosecuted if it is their first or second offense. Other smugglers are taking reckless actions to avoid capture.
Todd Bensmen and Andrew R. Arthur report that "agents at the Southwest border are under orders not to arrest smugglers ferrying migrants entering the United States illegally. Stephen Dinan reports that the smuggling business is soaring, with one smuggler making $200,000 by "working" just two days a week over 10 months.
John Daniel Davidson tries to decipher what the Biden administration means when they say that they want to rebuild the immigration system: "What Biden wants is a return to the status quo, which means letting in almost anyone who claims asylum, however flimsy their case might be. The border crisis triggered in 2019 happened largely because Central American families were exploiting a loophole in US asylum law that allows asylum-seekers to be released into the US pending the outcome of their case. These cases take years to adjudicate, which means that anyone who crossed the border with a child could claim asylum and be released within a few days. It was a huge incentive, and it drew people from all over the world.
"Now the incentives are back, bringing near-record numbers of migrants to the border."
Rep. Cuellar says Biden and Harris "have to show that they can stop some of the flow coming in, because if we look at the root problems, corruption, crime and all that, that's going to take years. But we have to show a way that we can slow down the number of people coming in from Central America." In the last month, Vice President Harris travelled to Central America to say " Do not come." Yet simultaneously, the Biden administration granted ICE attorneys broader latitude to drop deportation cases than they had under the Obama administration (when the odds of a "run-of-the-mill" illegal alien being deported dropped to "close to zero"), converted a program established to assist victims of immigration crime to a program designed to help illegal aliens get work permits, and expanded asylum eligibility to include victims of domestic or gang violence. Former Congressman Tom Campbell looks critically at the Biden administration's decision to expand asylum eligibility and says "Congress should reassert its responsibility of deciding how many immigrants our country wants to admit overall, rather than allowing different administrations to twist the meaning of 'particular social group' so that immigrants can be made to fit into or be excluded from that limitless category." Meanwhile, Dinan reports that a "Homeland Security-backed study has found that it's unlikely Central American countries can boost their economies enough to stop people from trying to migrate to the U.S." Gary Wockner says the $4 billion Biden has promised Central America over four years is a "drop in the bucket" compared to the $84 billion migrants send back from the United States over the same period. "What pushes people out of Central America is poverty," Wockner says, "what pulls those people to the U.S. is the promise of jobs and money. Biden's $1 billion a year won't stop the push, and as long as Biden allows people to illegally immigrate and work in the U.S., he's not stopping the pull." Joe Guzzardi says the U.S. "should take every reasonable measure to help struggling Central Americans," but if Biden and Harris want to discover the root causes of the border crisis, they need only look in the mirror. "Is bigger always better?" Andrew Sullivan talks with Bryan Caplan, who wants a billion people to immigrate to America over the next century. A listener/reader writes: "I have one word for Caplan: WATER. As in, where are you going to get the water for a billion + people?"
Unsustainably Rigged Dr. Steven Camarota names pundits of the left and right who peddle Ponzi immigration schemes to keep America young and says they aren't crazy, they're just wrong. Actually, given that their scheme would fail "unless the level of immigration is truly enormous and ever-increasing," I'd say they are also delusional, at the very least. More from Camarota on the subject here and here. Mark Krikorian says there is simply no chance that mass immigration can address the challenges posed by an aging society. Douglas T. Kenrick suggests that the immigration Ponzi schemes continue to prevail because many wealthy and middle class Americans appreciate the cheap labor. Tom Broadwater says open borders are "a slap in the face" to all Americans who have experienced decades of tepid wage growth, but black workers are hit especially hard. The Realignment George Packer looks at what differentiates the "Four Americas," and immigration features prominently. Mickey Kaus says dissatisfaction with the "elite position" on immigration creates an opportunity for J.D. Vance's brand of populism. Chris Reed (channeling T.A. Frank) says Donald Trump "accelerated Democrats' emergence as the party of the 1 percenters -- supporters of immigration, globalization and strong trade relationships with other capitalist nations. IRS data released in April showed Democrats in Congress were far more likely than Republicans to represent households making $500,000 or more." Batya Ungar-Sargon says African-Americans and Hispanics are more supportive of limiting immigration, and more concerned about illegal immigration, respectively, than any other bloc of the Democratic coalition, but the progressive movement has shifted from immigration restrictionists to mass-immigration enthusiasts as it abandoned the working class. Spread the word. Elevate the debate.
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2 comments:
I read today that Biden is flying illegals in on military planes.We're being invaded by our own government!
--GRA
The border [with Mex] has been in crisis for DECADES.
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