Meta’s Human Smuggling Policies Contribute to Drug Crisis, GOP Lawmaker Says
Kat Cammack: Meta policy allows trafficking, exacerbates flood of drugs and weapons across border
Meta's policy decision to allow human smuggling solicitations on its platforms is enabling the criminal activity of drug cartels, according to Rep. Kat Cammack (R., Fla.).
In a letter obtained exclusively by the Washington Free Beacon that was sent to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Cammack alleges the Facebook parent company is exacerbating the migration crisis and contributing to the flood of drugs and weapons across the southern border by providing a forum where drug cartels can coordinate illegal border crossings and trafficking for transnational criminal organizations.
"I am confident Meta understands that social media companies are the primary methods of communication individuals use when organizing illicit border crossings and trafficking," Cammack wrote. "As a result, this company policy surely has a direct impact on the border crisis and is making it worse."
Cammack's letter comes after a Free Beacon report detailing an internal Meta memo announcing it would continue to allow the solicitation of human smuggling on its platforms, which include Facebook and Instagram. The company said it reached its decision after consulting with a variety of experts on the topic of migration and human smuggling.
"As you well know, the ongoing situation at the Southwest border is a humanitarian crisis. Cartels exploit
individuals seeking to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally," Cammack writes. "Due to the record volume of illegal crossings, Border Patrol agents are required to take care of children and process migrants, while their primary role of securing the border is secondary."
Cammack initially wrote to Meta in May 2021 expressing concern that the company was doing little to counter human trafficking efforts on Facebook. In her letter, she flagged a number of Facebook groups openly advertising human smuggling services with names such as "Travel to America," in Spanish.
Earlier this month, the Free Beacon reported on a letter sent by Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) to Zuckerberg alleging that Meta may be engaged in criminal conduct by allowing the solicitation of human smuggling.
Meta, which has seen its stock drop by more than 30 percent in a month, has been the subject of scrutiny from Republicans and Democrats alike over its business practices. Lawmakers have introduced legislation in the past year to regulate the content allowed on its platforms.
Published under: Border Crisis, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta
Biden Withholds December Border Crossing Numbers
Customs and Border Protection has circulated data internally for 10 days
The Biden administration has yet to release December border crossing numbers that Customs and Border Protection has circulated internally for at least 10 days, raising concerns on Capitol Hill that the White House is concealing damaging information about the severity of the border crisis.
On Jan. 14, CBP submitted the December data in a court filing. Those data revealed 178,840 migrant apprehensions in December, an increase from 173,620 in November. A spokeswoman for CBP told the Washington Free Beacon the December numbers are "scheduled to be released soon," although she did not answer why they were delayed.
Congressional Republicans have criticized the Biden administration's lack of transparency during one of the largest illegal immigration surges in recent history. They have alleged the delay is nothing more than an effort to conceal the severity of the crisis on the southern border.
"We don't have the December numbers, and it's certainly something [CBP] knows. They're just not releasing them," Rep. Chip Roy (R., Texas) told the Free Beacon. "We know it's going to be an absolutely staggering and embarrassing number, and they don't let the American people know it. If we get power back in 2023, we should have oversight hearings on Day One."
The failure to release data to the public follows a pattern set by the current White House, breaking with Democratic and Republican predecessors. Border crossing numbers are typically released in the first two weeks of the subsequent month, although November's were released on Dec. 17, 2021.
Aside from rising migrant encounters in December—a reversal of historical trends in winter months when there is typically less migration—the court documents reveal 55,626 migrants were released into the interior of the United States that month. More than 78,000 migrants apprehended by U.S. authorities were deported through Title 42, a federal provision that allows the quick removal of migrants during a public health crisis.
"Americans just want to know. If there's bad news, we as the American population can handle it, but we want to know what's going to be done about it," Rep. August Pfluger (R., Texas) told the Free Beacon. "There's just not a lot of transparent behavior when it comes to the Department of Homeland Security from the Biden administration."
President Joe Biden has overseen the largest influx of migrants at the southern border in recorded history. During the 2021 fiscal year, Border Patrol arrested more than 1.6 million migrants.
Despite those figures, Biden has failed to disclose a variety of reports that provide a fuller picture of how many illegal immigrants remain in the United States. The Free Beacon reported earlier this month the Department for Homeland Security has yet to release its annual report on the number of deportations conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2021.
Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed on Jan. 12, following outcry from Republican lawmakers, that his agency was unable to locate roughly half of all the migrants released into the United States from between March 21, 2021, and Aug. 31, 2021.
No comments:
Post a Comment