IG Blasts Biden’s Handling of Border Crisis as Surge Overwhelms Del Rio
The Democratic mayor of a Texas border town is pleading with the Biden administration to do more to stop the flood of migrants at the southern border at the same time the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General found that the federal government's failure to test migrants for COVID-19 puts the health of Americans at great risk.
Bruno Lozano, who serves as mayor of Del Rio, Texas, put out a video on Twitter Friday morning warning about the "real time threats" of COVID-19 and "other communicable diseases."
"This is something that really needs to be brought to light," the mayor said. "We need quick action from the administration. We need quick attention to this. We need a response in real-time."
Those health threats were underscored in a government watchdog report on the Biden administration's handling of the migrant crisis. The IG report called out Customs and Border Protection's failure to "conduct COVID-19 testing for migrants who enter…custody" and noted that the White House has not required it to do so. That policy, the IG wrote, puts federal employers' "support staff, communities, and migrants at greater risk of contracting the virus."
Lozano says nearly 11,000 migrants currently sit under the Del Rio International Bridge, with thousands more crossing in every few hours. At the current rate, the number of migrants waiting for processing at the Del Rio International Bridge could soon surpass the entire population of the city, which sits at just under 36,000.
Texas governor Greg Abbott (R.) attacked the federal government's response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Del Rio, noting the lack of proper shelter, health care, and safety precautions for the thousands of migrants in the city.
"The Biden administration is in complete disarray and is handling the border crisis as badly as the evacuation from Afghanistan," Abbott said.
A COVID-19 outbreak among the migrants could prove disastrous for the town of Del Rio. The regional hospital in the area, Val Verde, only hosts seven ICU beds.
According to the IG, the Biden administration never "documented" a "formal policy" for COVID-19 testing of migrants. The sheer volume of migrants crossing the border makes "proper physical distancing in holding facilities" impossible. The crisis grew so dire in the Del Rio sector that the Department of Homeland Security deployed agents from its Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office from March until May.
Despite Lozano's appeals to the White House, DHS leadership told watchdogs the agency's chief medical officer will not finish its "active monitoring and impact analysis of mitigation efforts" against the spread of COVID-19 until Sept. 30, 2022.
"The Department will prioritize efforts related to the DHS Chief Medical Officer to enhance the level of coordinated oversight and resource support for the DHS public health and medical enterprise," the agency wrote in the report. "The estimated completion date is September 30, 2022."
More than 1.5 million migrants have crossed the southern border in 2021. The month of July saw the most migrants encounters at the southern border in 21 years. The 212,000 apprehensions eclipsed the previous record high set in June. August saw 208,887 encounters—a 317 percent increase from August 2020.
Local Democratic officials are beginning to push back against the White House. The city of Laredo, Texas, filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on July 16, alleging that DHS's practice of releasing migrants into the town spread COVID-19 and contributed to overcrowding in hospitals.
"Unfortunately, the federal government has left this public health concern to be tackled by our local government with no consideration of the city's little to no resources nor regard for the deadly ramifications it could have on the country," the lawsuit says.
The IG report placed the spread of COVID-19 among migrants in part on the Biden administration's "erosion of Title 42 authority," a federal law that empowers the federal government to turn away migrants at the border out of concern they may spread disease. On Jan. 30, President Joe Biden fulfilled a campaign promise of exempting children from Title 42. He has since broadened that exemption to many migrant families and others facing purported humanitarian concerns in their home countries.
TX AG Paxton: Border Crisis ‘Exactly’ What Biden Admin Wants
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday’s broadcast of FNC’s “Fox & Friends” sounded off on the Biden administration stopping the group of 15,000 Haitian immigrants that were camping under a bridge at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Paxton said the message illegal immigrants have gotten “from day one” of President Joe Biden’s presidency was they were welcome to come to the border.
“We just heard from the secretary, who said we sent a very clear message the border is not open. And, yet, that’s not the message they are getting, is it?” host Steve Doocy asked.
“No,” Paxton replied. “And that is not the message they have sent. From day one, President Biden said you’re welcome to come here. We will not deport you. And that message was sent loud and clear, and Haitians have been given special protection. They are not being deported, the ones that are already here. So, the administration has even told them, you know, the ones that are here we are not deporting, so that message has gotten through. And that’s why you see that picture on the border with thousands of people waiting to get in.”
He added, “I mean, there is a reason that the Haitians are here. He invited them by giving them that special protection, and that message got sent through their community, and that’s why you saw so many show up so quickly. That’s the type of message he has been sending since day one of his administration.”
Paxton argued that the border crisis is “exactly” what the administration wants.
“They are not blocking the Haitians anymore than blocking everyone else,” he argued. “They want illegal immigration. They want what that brings, and it’s clear from what their actions are that that’s true.”
“My guess is this is exactly what the Biden administration wants,” Paxton concluded.
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
Haitian Camp Crisis Brings Chaos to Two Small Cities on Texas-Mexico Border
DEL RIO, Texas — The crisis unfolding at a makeshift camp of nearly 15,000 mostly Haitian migrants under the Del Rio International Bridge has a devastating impact on the local community of Del Rio, Texas. Although mostly out of the public eye due to the remote location of the camp, residents are feeling the impact in the small Texas town. The closure of ports of entry leading to Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico, forced many local businesses in Del Rio to operate with fewer employees.
As in other cities along the border, Del Rio and Acuna have a symbiotic relationship based on legitimate cross-border trade and travel. The back-and-forth daily crossings between the border cities keep both economies working in harmony. Hundreds of United States citizens and legal permanent residents live in Mexico and commute daily to work and shop in Del Rio. Many Del Rio residents cross into their sister city in Mexico for doctor visits or to shop and dine.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials closed two ports of entry in Del Rio, Texas, in response to the migrant camp crisis. (Photo: Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
Breitbart Texas spoke to a restaurant manager in Del Rio on Saturday who explained he lost half of his staff due to the closure of Del Rio’s ports of entry.
“My workers are not going to drive to Piedras Negras, nearly 60 miles away, to cross the border and drive an additional hour just to come to work. The money for gas and the time spent in line at a bridge there doesn’t work for them,” the restauranteur explained.
Within hours of our conversation, the restaurant closed to the public as did several others in Del Rio. The restaurants closed to prepare meals for the nearly 15,000 migrants held in the camp along the banks of the Rio Grande.
Breitbart Texas spoke to residents that live along the banks of the Rio Grande near the camp who say they are on their own when it comes to security. The Border Patrol and many state and local law enforcement authorities have dedicated most of their resources to providing security and humanitarian aid to the camp’s population of migrants.
This leaves more than 200 miles of border completely open and unguarded by the Border Patrol. Breitbart Texas witnessed multiple illegal border crossings on Saturday that met no resistance from authorities. The residents in the Vega Verde neighborhood of Del Rio say the Border Patrol is no longer patrolling the area and cannot respond to the illegal entries in their community due to the crisis unfolding at the camp.
Residents in the area also rely on Texas Highway Patrol troopers and the Texas National Guard to help when they can. That help is now gone having been redirected to the camp to augment the Border Patrol.
On Saturday, dozens of residents rallied near the shuttered Del Rio International Bridge holding signs critical of the Biden administration’s handling of the humanitarian crisis. Other signs held by the demonstrators expressed support for the Border Patrol and local law enforcement officers dealing with the crisis unfolding at the camp. For several hours the protesters waved flags as passers-by honked car horns in support of the messaging.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
Joe Biden is in way over his head
The number, variety, magnitude, and speed of recent national and global crises have all clearly and without any doubt demonstrated that Joe Biden and his administration are simply in way over their heads and way beyond their abilities to understand and to respond to these events appropriately and intelligently. And, if that’s not bad enough, the more damning truth is that they obviously have no ability to foresee events in advance and prevent them from happening and turning into crises in the first place! And, if that’s not bad enough, reflect on the fact that no one in his administration has suffered any consequences as a result of these abject failures. I’m not any kind of expert, but I’m not blind. So let’s examine what has happened just within the last few weeks.
- The withdrawal from Afghanistan has been an example of chaos and incompetence in military leadership not seen in generations. Liberal apologists loudly proclaim that it was well past time to leave Afghanistan. That’s not the point. The point is the breathtakingly awful execution of the withdrawal. If nothing else, the failure to preserve and use a well-defended airbase at Bagram until evacuation was complete is unforgiveable.
- The drone strike that was characterized as “righteous” by General Mark Milley turned out in reality to have killed 10 innocent civilians, including seven children. How a drone strike can be authorized on no more evidence than a man making a few stops in the course of his daily work and picking up some water bottles for his family and neighbors is beyond reason.
- Our southern border is, in reality, no longer a border. Many thousands of migrants are camped under a bridge in U.S. territory. And the administration seems surprised about it and scrambling to come up with any sort of plan to deal with it! How can well over 10,000 people from Haiti and other countries make their way to a border bridge without our government collecting intelligence about the migration and being prepared for the event -- and even taking measures to avoid and prevent the crisis?
- Inflation is raging, and no one in the administration seems to have an idea of how to deal with it. And in the midst of this exploding inflation, the Biden administration’s answer is to spend additional trillions of dollars.
- France has withdrawn its ambassador in anger over an Australian submarine contract in which France was snubbed. How hard would it have been to simply include France in some reasonable manner in the deal? Can you imagine the response if this had happened under Trump? Can you imagine the demand for heads to roll?
- The COVID pandemic continues unabated, and Biden’s response is to enact a forced mandate. Forcing behavior is not a mark of effective leadership. By very definition, it is the mark of a tyrant.
- And, as icing on the cake, we have learned that General Milley made phone calls to his Chinese counterpart in the last days of the Trump administration. Apologists reassure us that phone calls between military leaders are commonplace. That’s not the point. The point is that promises were made that the Chinese would be alerted in advance if an attack was planned, and that any planned attack would be thwarted by Milley himself. And all this subterfuge was somehow deemed necessary to control a President who had avoided starting or expanding any war or military action during his entire term -- for the first time in decades.
So the only possible conclusion is that the Biden administration is in way over its head, and that there is no accountability. Sadly, the coaches of college football teams face more accountability than the upper echelon of the Biden presidency.
Image: LBJ Library
Leftists Rage After Senate Parliamentarian Blocks Pathway to Citizenship
Leftists erupted with outrage on Twitter Sunday after news broke that the Senate parliamentarian said the reconciliation bill will not include a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, including DREAMers, torpedoing President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda.
As the Associated Press noted, the Senate parliamentarian said, “Democrats can’t use their $3.5 trillion package bolstering social and climate programs to give millions of immigrants a chance to become citizens, a crushing blow to what was the party’s clearest pathway in years to attaining that long-sought goal.”
People attend a protest supporting DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, at Foley Square in New York, on August 17, 2021. (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
“The decision by Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate’s nonpartisan interpreter of its often enigmatic rules, is a damaging and disheartening setback for President Joe Biden, congressional Democrats and their allies in the pro-immigration and progressive communities,” noted the Associated Press (AP).
“It badly damages Democrats’ hopes of unilaterally enacting — over Republican opposition — changes letting several categories of immigrants gain permanent residence and possibly citizenship,” it added.
As news of the setback poured out over social media, leftists and their allies were unanimous in their frustration, with many urging Senate Democrats to simply ignore MacDonough and ram the initiatives through anyway.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement that his colleagues will be preparing “alternate proposals” over the next few days:
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