Rep. Henry Cuellar: NYC May Get 2 Buses of Migrants a Day, But We’re Sending 21 to 25 Buses a Day Out of Laredo
(CNSNews.com) – While Democrat-run cities like New York City, D.C., and Chicago complain about getting two busloads a day of migrants in their cities, Rep. Henry Cuellar’s (D-Texas) said his hometown of Laredo has had to send out 21 to 26 buses a day to other cities.
When asked whether he and his constituents support busing migrants up and down the East Coast, Cuellar told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, “Look, first of all, we need solutions, and not theater. By sending off -- folks off to New York and Chicago, it does bring attention, but I -- we want to focus more on solutions on the border.
“We got to give Border Patrol, we got to give ICE, Homeland Security the equipment, making sure they have everything where they can enforce the law, because, if we don't have repercussions at the border, we're going to continue getting 8,000 people a day, and let me mention one more thing, Margaret,” he said.
“They might get two buses a day in some of those cities. Just for my hometown in Laredo, we're sending out 21 to 26 buses a day out of Laredo, just to give you an idea of what's happening here,” the congressman said.
“Yes. Right. Understood, the volume, but, of course, in some of these places like Martha's Vineyard, there aren't even migration centers, and there was no
coordination. Is that the part you're objecting to?” host Margaret Brennan asked.
CUELLAR: Yes, look, after all, the migrants are human beings, and we've got to treat them like human beings. They are being used as political pawns to get publicity, but, at the same time, I represent some of the poorest counties along the border in the nation.
BRENNAN: Right. Well, I know you have shared with us some video of what's happening in your district, that law enforcement officers have shared with you some pictures, some video that our viewers are seeing right now. Is law enforcement getting the resources that they need?
CUELLAR: No. Look, the men and women in green, the men and women from Homeland, they need to get the support. They are good men and women, and what they need to do is have two things. One, they need to get more personnel, and we're adding more personnel in the appropriations bill. They need to get the equipment. They need to get -- but -- they need to get help, but the most important thing, is they got to be able to enforce the repercussions, because if you don't enforce the repercussions...
BRENNAN: What does that mean? What does that mean, repercussions? Are you talking about the fact that many of these migrants that are being bused are from countries like Venezuela, where the U.S. cannot deport them because of diplomatic relations being so strained?
CUELLAR: Look, right now, we're getting people from Saudi Arabia, China, India, Bangladesh, and, of course, Cuba and Venezuela.
There are certain folks, the countries that might not accept some of the people, you got to look at asylum. But most of the people coming in don't apply for asylum. We've got to do -- as your next guest is going to say, Secretary Jeh Johnson, he treated the people with respect, but at the end of the day, he enforced the law, and he returned people. And one of the things that this administration is not doing is, they're showing people -- he showed people going and landing in the countries in Honduras and El Salvador to show that there's repercussions.
Margaret, when was the last time you saw -- you saw a picture or video of people going back? You only see people coming in. And you've got to have words, along with action to enforce it.
BRENNAN: Right. I mean, it's pretty complicated, bBut Title 42 still is in place. There is expelling of migrants happening. It sounds like what I hear you saying is, you want the White House or higher-level officials to go and make these public statements.
Vice President Harris, when she was asked about this, pointed right back to people with your job, lawmakers, to go rewrite the laws and pass immigration reform. What actually needs to be done, and how do you respond to that?
CUELLAR: Look, there are enough -- and with all respect to the V.P., there are enough laws on the book right now that can return people back.
Secretary Johnson, your next guest, did it the right way. He treated people with dignity, but he returned people, and he showed images of people being returned, because, right now, the cartels are using people because they make, let's say, $8,000 a person.
In two years, with all the people that have come in, the get-aways included, that's about four million individuals. You multiply that by $8,000, and that shows you how much these bad guys are being enriched at the sake of these human beings.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes. Well, on that point, the homeland security secretary was on this program back in July after those 53 migrants died in the most tragic smuggling incident in this country. And he said it is possible, because of how sophisticated these smugglers have gotten, to bypass U.S. checkpoint sometimes. Is it that the framing of this conversation is completely wrong, that it's not just people walking across, that it is very sophisticated criminal enterprises?
CUELLAR: Look, everybody that comes across is somehow controlled by the bad guys. I mean, people just don't happen to walk across a river or across the border. It's all controlled by the migrants. Every sector, for example, along the border is controlled by some sort of cartel across.
Yes, they're very sophisticated. Yes, they have got the money. Yes, they do counterintelligence.
What happened to those 53 migrants, we don't have a checkpoint that's big enough to handle what we're seeing, so the bad guys were able to use that checkpoint, because we haven't put the resources on that checkpoint like we need to do.
BRENNAN: And I know you've shared images with us of some of the coyotes, some of the smugglers who have gotten these trailers filled with people across, but there is interdiction taking place. I know you know that. What are you saying is needed?
CUELLAR: Oh, yes, but I -- but -- well, what I'm saying is, if you look at the Border Patrol sectors in my area, 60 percent of the Border Patrol agents are in border processing centers, that is, they're taking care of migrants; 10 percent of them are doing administrative work.
That leaves only 30 percent of the Border Patrol doing the work, 30 percent. Therefore, large numbers coming in will be crossing, and then you also have more deaths out there, because there's less Border Patrol agents saving' Border Patrol needs help. Men and women in green need help, no ifs, no buts about that.
BRENNAN: Congressman, lastly, one of the bigger problems in this country right now is the economy and the worker shortage that we have.
I wonder if this is part of that. If you have people who are desperate for economic opportunity coming here and America needs workers, isn't there some way to make this work for America?
CUELLAR: Absolutely. I support a guest-worker plan. I support a way that you can -- and we passed that from the House. And we're waiting for our Senate to get that done, and I will tell you that, if we have people under a guest-worker plan, then Border Patrol's job will be done easier, because the people looking for a job will come in the legal way, and then Border Patrol can focus on the bad people.
So, it would help us on security. So, we need to make our legal system work better.
Law Professor Jonathan Turley: If Transporting Migrants Is Illegal, ‘Biden Would Be the Biggest Coyote Ever’
(CNSNews.com) – The Biden administration cannot charge the governors of Texas or Florida with a federal crime because the migrants that were sent to Democrat-run cities gave their consent for transport, George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley said Monday.
“I don't see a case, unless they can establish some systemic coercion or fraud, there’s really not a federal crime here. They can find individual cases that might be somehow actionable, but what the state has said is that they have express consent for these flights,” he told Fox News’ “America Reports.”
“There are rational reasons why someone would want to leave the border area, which has been, it just has this influx of undocumented migrants and go to areas that might have better employment possibilities or better levels of support, and you know, what they are arguing here is that this is an illegal transport of migrants,” Turley said.
“If that was the case, then Joe Biden would be the biggest coyote ever. Right? I mean he's transferring thousands of people across the country, also public interest organizations transfer migrants. All of them are saying, as they need to, and need to establish, that this is done with their consent, but there are rational reasons why migrants would want to go to New York or Chicago and away from these border areas,” he said.
What’s more, there’s no case for human trafficking, because no one was exploited for sex or labor, Turley said.
“Human trafficking is usually transferring or transporting someone for the purposes of exploiting them for sex or labor. That's not thankfully being alleged here with Governor DeSantis. Transportation of individuals occur all the time in the federal government. Governor Newsom has himself when he was mayor, I believe, transferred homeless people to other states,” he said.
“Was he kidnapping them? Was that human trafficking? The answer is no. They were vulnerable, but they're allowed to make the consensual choice. Once the migrants are released by the federal government into the country, they have the right to go anywhere they want, and therefore, groups like public interest groups or states can assist them with their consent,” Turley added.
“What's really concerning for me is that this is not literally human trafficking. That is literally nonsense, and we do have some obligation to tell the public what the law is. This was a political -- some people can call it political stunt, but the federal code does not make political irony a crime. You’re going to have to deal with it as a political matter, not as a criminal matter,” he said.
Sen. Tuberville: More Terrorist Watchlist Encounters Because ‘We Have an Open Border’ With Mexico
(CNS News) – When asked why so many people on the terrorist watchlist are being encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border compared to previous years – 78 so far this fiscal year – Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said it was because “we have an open border,” and that “it’s going to get worse.”
At the Capitol on Sept. 20, CNS News asked Senator Tuberville, “According to Customs and Border Protection, in fiscal year 2020 it encountered three people on the terrorist watchlist trying to cross the Southwest border between the ports of entry. Last year, it encountered 15. In the first 11 months of this fiscal year it had encountered 78. Why do you think there has been an increase?”
Tuberville replied, “Because we have an open border. They know to come and, you know, they all make plans all over the world -- ‘hey, we can get in’ -- no matter who you are. So, they’re coming by the droves and it’s going to get worse.”
As CNS News has reported, “The 78 Border Patrol encounters with people on the terrorist watchlist reported in the first eleven months of this fiscal year is 5.2 times the 15 encounters that occurred through all of fiscal 2021.
“In fiscal 2017, according to the CBP data, the Border Patrol only had 2 encounters with individuals on the terrorist watchlist between the ports of entry on the Southwest border. In fiscal 2018, it was 6. In fiscal 2019, it was zero. In fiscal 2020, it was 3. In fiscal 2021, it was 15. Then, in October through August of this fiscal year, it was 78.”
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS) holds sensitive information on terrorist identities. Although TSDS originally contained information on only known or suspected terrorists (KSTs), it now includes individuals that pose a potential threat to the U.S.
Sen. Rubio: Terrorists Aren't Turning Themselves in to Border Agents
(CNSNews.com) - In the first eleven months of fiscal 2022 (October through August), the Border Patrol encountered 78 people on the terrorist watchlist trying to come into this country between the Southwest border ports of entry.
As CNSNews.com reported, that's a more than five-fold increase from the 15 people on terrorist watchlist apprehended by Border Patrol agents in FY 2021.
"But the problem is that those are the ones we know about," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told Fox News Wednesday morning.
"Okay, so most people crossing the border -- they've all been coached. This is an industry. They coach you up. These are the magic words you have to say, you turn yourself in to a border agent, you say these magic words and you'll be released, by the way, with a fake address. No one's talking about that. DHS is now giving people, migrants, if they don't have an address, they give them a fake address in the United States.
"But people are turning themselves in. If you know you're a terrorist, you're not turning yourself in. So the 78 is but a small sliver of what we suspect is a much broader group of people linked to groups in the Middle East -- the terrorism; but also terrorist groups in our hemisphere, the ELN and the FARC. Two communist, terrorist, narco-trafficking organizations in Columbia and the Venezuela region. There are people linked to that. In fact, I think that's the single largest group of terrorists that have been apprehended that have been sent here.
"And what we don't even know --and I think we need to be looking into it, there's been reports on this. Is there a strategy here? Is Venezuela deliberately, or are other countries deliberately sending people here that they believe will cause harm within the United States? We also don't know the answer to that, but there's some suspicion that might be the case.
"None of this is going to be answered by this administration because they don't care. They really literally do not care."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says a record 2,150,639 foreigners have showed up at the southwest border so far this fiscal year -- 1,997,769 of them crossing illegally between southwest ports of entry, and the rest (152,870) either requested asylum or were deemed inadmissible by CBP's Office of Field Operations, which includes Customs/ports of entry.
"Failing communist regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba are driving a new wave of migration across the Western Hemisphere, including the recent increase in encounters at the southwest U.S. border," said Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus in a news release announcing the latest statistics (see chart below).
"But it's not just from those three countries," Sen. Rubio said on Wednesday.
"It's from all over the world. I mean, there are literally people from over 100 different countries entering the border, crossing the border. It's an industry.
"Okay, there are flights from Turkey that are bringing people from Turkey and the Middle East into Mexico into Cancun and then from there crossing the border. It's from everywhere, it's uncontrolled, it's out of control.
“And the hypocrisy of all these communities that say, oh we welcome these immigrants, we want them here. But within 24 hours Martha's vineyard had deported the immigrants to Cape Cod."
The chart below shows how illegal immigration has skyrocketed under President Joe Biden who has never been to the overrun border:
Border Patrol Encounters With Individuals on Terrorist Watchlist Illegally Crossing Southwest Border Up 5-Fold Since Last Year
(CNSNews.com) - The number of times the U.S. Border Patrol has encountered an individual on the terrorist watchlist attempting to illegally cross the southwest border between the legal ports of entry in fiscal 2022 is already up more than five-fold from fiscal 2021.
In fiscal 2021, according to data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Border Patrol had 15 encounters between the Southwest border ports of entry with individuals on the terrorist watchlist.
In the first eleven months of fiscal 2022 (October through August), the Border Patrol had 78 encounters between the Southwest border ports of entry with individuals on the terrorist watchlist.
The 78 Border Patrol encounters with people on the terrorist watchlist reported in the first eleven months of this fiscal year is 5.2 times the 15 encounters that occurred through all of fiscal 2021.
In fiscal 2017, according to the CBP data, the Border Patrol only had 2 encounters with individuals on the terrorist watchlist between the ports of entry on the Southwest border. In fiscal 2018, it was 6. In fiscal 2019, it was zero. In fiscal 2020, it was 3. In fiscal 2021, it was 15. Then, in October through August of this fiscal year, it was 78.
At the same time that the number of encounters with individuals on the terrorist watchlist between the ports of entry on the Southwest border has increased, the number at the ports of entry themselves has decreased.
In fiscal 2021, CBP had 103 encounters at the Southwest border ports of entry with individuals on the watchlist. In the first eleven months of fiscal 2022, that has dropped to 63.
CBP also reports that so far this year it has had no encounters with individuals on the terrorist watchlist trying to enter the country between the ports of entry on the Northern border. However, in the first eleven months of this fiscal year, CBP has had 279 encounters with individuals on the terrorist watchlist trying to cross at the ports of entry along the Northern border.
That is up from 54 encounters with watchlisted individuals at Northern border ports of entry in fiscal 2021.
“The Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS)–also known as the ‘watchlist’–is the U.S. government’s database that contains sensitive information on terrorist identities,” says CBP. “The TSDS originated as the consolidated terrorist watchlist to house information on known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) but has evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals.”
The smuggling is managed by Biden’s pro-migration border chief, Alejandro Mayorkas, who runs the Department of Homeland Security. Much of Mayorkas’ smuggling — including the nighttime flights — has been funded by taxpayer money transferred from various federal programs to contractor-run buses and non-profit shelters. Catholic Charities is one of the leading groups, and it operates bus services from the border to New York.
Texas Governor Orders ‘Dismantling’ of Mexican Cartel ‘Terrorist’ Organizations
Texas Governor Greg Abbott designated specific Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations and ordered the Department of Public Safety to begin dismantling their infrastructure. The move comes as record levels of the deadly drug fentanyl are being pushed across the border.
“Fentanyl is a clandestine killer, and Texans are falling victim to the Mexican cartels that are producing it,” Governor Abbott said during a border security round table in Midland, Texas, on Wednesday. “Cartels are terrorists, and it’s time we treated them that way. In fact, more Americans died from fentanyl poisoning in the past year than all terrorist attacks across the globe in the past 100 years. In order to save our country, particularly our next generation, we must do more to get fentanyl off our streets.”
Specifically, the governor identified the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels (CJNG) as terrorist organizations. He requested President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris create federal terrorist designations for these cartels and others producing and distributing fentanyl.
Abbott also directed the Texas Department of Public Safety and other law enforcement agencies to identify Texas gangs that support Mexican drug cartels. He directed that the funds of these gangs and other criminal enterprises that are supporting the cartels.
In the letter to Washington, D.C., Abbott wrote:
Mexican drug cartels terrorize the United States and its citizens every day, leaving thousands of dead bodies in their wake. Their latest weapons of choice are the millions of tiny pills laced with fentanyl that they pour across our southern border. As a result, it is necessary, now more than ever, for you to designate the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and any similarly situated Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This move would help us fight back against these terrorists and disrupt their deadly attacks on America.
…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 75,000 Americans died from drug overdoses that involved fentanyl between February 2021 and February 2022. To put that in context, the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism reports there were 3,905 deaths of Americans in terrorist attacks worldwide between 1995 and 2019, most of them occurring on September 11, 2001. In this light, the magnitude of the terrorism related to the introduction of fentanyl by Mexican drug cartels is astonishing.
…
The reason for the explosion of fentanyl deaths in America is that the Mexican drug cartels are trafficking fentanyl across our southern border at a greater rate than ever, thanks to your openborder policies.
“In an April 2021 letter to you both, I made this request for designation. There was no action, no response,” Abbott concluded. “But if you are ready to make Americans safer, it will be better late than never. As the number of American deaths continues to rise due to the cartels’ terrorist behavior, now is the time to act. We do not have more time to waste.”
Officials in the governor’s office added, “With Mexican drug cartels disguising fentanyl as counterfeit pills and targeting children with ‘rainbow fentanyl’ pills, the Governor emphasizes in his letter that immediate decisive action is needed from the Biden Administration to combat this deadly crisis impacting the nation.”
The governor met in Midland for a border security round table attended by DPS Director Steve McCraw, DPS Regional Director West Texas Region Jose Sanchez, Midland County Judge Terry Johnson, Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis, Midland County Sheriff Chief Deputy Benny Matlock, Odessa Police Chief Mike Gerke, Midland Police Chief Seth Herman, and Midland Memorial Hospital District Police Chief Steve McNeill.
The governor also directed state agencies on Tuesday to begin preparations for the next session of the Texas Legislature. The governor ordered the agencies to “outline statutory changes, budget priorities, and other initiatives that will enhance the state’s ability to interdict the synthetic opioid, provide emergency overdose treatment, and expand substance abuse treatment programs.”
“We must take all appropriate actions to inform Texans of this danger and prevent additional deaths,” Abbott said to the agency leaders. “Together we can help bring awareness to the threat posed by fentanyl and do our part to address this crisis.”
Under Operation Lone Star, the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas National Guard seized more than 335 million lethal doses of fentanyl, the governor’s office reported.
Instead, under pressure from GOP donors, the GOP legislators treat Biden’s migration as a non-pocketbook issue of border chaos, migrant crime, and drug smuggling.
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