Investigation reveals Border Patrol never 'whipped' Haitian illegal migrants -- but they're being punished anyway
Back in September 2021, the migrant crisis had turned the Texas borderlands into a flood with tens of thousands of illegal border crossers flowing into the U.S.
Social media was inundated with images of Haitian migrants wading across the Rio Grande River to enter Texas.
A few independent news outlets filmed scenes of more than fifteen thousand mostly Haitian migrants living in a makeshift migrant camp shantytown under the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas.
Back then, the mainstream media's devotion to Joe Biden was still undivided and absolute. The dedication still prevails, even though Biden has done so poorly that they can no longer defend him unconditionally. It was around this time, just after Biden's disastous Afghanistan pullout, that Biden's poll numbers began to decisively turned downward, and the media knew it.
Desperate for a distraction, that came in the form of a news photograph that went viral on social media appearing to show a Border Patrol agent on horseback whipping a fleeing Haitian immigrant of color.
Squad members Reps Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-NY, and Ilhan Omar, D-MN were outraged, as they always are. They slammed the actions of the Border Patrol agents as cruel, racist, and a violation of human rights.
Then White House press secretary Jen Psaki jumped in. She claimed Biden found footage of Border Patrol agents on horseback whipping at Haitian migrants at the border "horrific" and "horrible."
Vice President Kamala Harris had the worst overreaction, claiming it reminded her of tactics applied “against African-Americans during times of slavery.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas originally defended the agents when the outrage narrative became apparent and he too climbed onboard. The migrant crisis, after all, was a failure at his doorstep and he was glad to feign outrage because it changed the subject.
Biden personally condemned the U.S. Border Patrol calling the behavior of agents on horseback “outrageous” and vowed that the agents would "pay" for their actions.
The media was relieved that they no longer had to focus on another of Biden’s failures and dedicated all their air time talking about ‘systemic’ racism and ‘institutionalized’ xenophobia.
The Customs and Border Protection announced a ‘full-scale’ investigation into the matter. The agents were suspended and horse mounted patrols in the dangerous road-free badlands where only horses can get through was discontinued.
Finally, the photographer of the image set the record straight. He clarified that what appeared to be the cracker of a whip were actually the long reins that are used to give directions or cues to horses in rugged terrain. Since the photo was capturing the horse in motion, the rein was aerial, causing it to appear like a whip directed at the fleeing Haitian migrant.
The NY Post reported that the morale of the Border Patrol agents hit an all-time low after the relentless attacks and the media trial that followed. The supposed "swift" investigation that was to follow wasn't so swift, though, and it wasn't until yesterday that Customs and Border Protection revealed the results of their investigation. The Border Patrol agents falsely accused of "whipping" illegal Haitian immigrants, were cleared of any wrongdoing.
It is amazing that the agency took over nine-month to investigate a matter that was perfectly obvious to a naked human eye.
But the Bidenites were wedded to their phony "narrative" and determined that the agents be punished for something, anything... So, the investigation also stated that the agents had used “unnecessary” force against the migrants. One agent was also found to have used “denigrating and inappropriate language and to have maneuvered his horse unsafely” during the incident. Hence, disciplinary action was recommended against the agents.
As expected, the media did not carry this story of the clearing with the same intensity that they carried the smear.
Consequently, the perception that Border Patrol agents were whipping helpless Haitian migrants will remain in the minds of many.
NPR carried an article headlined “Border Patrol agents used 'unnecessary' force at Del Rio, report finds,” and the details of the agents being cleared of whipping the migrants were buried in the text. USA Today focused on proposed disciplinary action against the agents, the headline of their report read “Border Patrol proposes disciplinary action for horse-mounted agents who clashed with Haitians.”
This is why the late great Rush Limbaugh referred to them as drive-by media. They arrive to cover major breaking news by stirring up emotions to a frenzied fever pitch. They spread falsehoods, ruin reputations and inflame the situation. By the time real facts emerge, they have either moved on to the next story or selectively present facts to hide their mendacity. They do not have the decency or the concern to issue corrections or retractions to repair damaged reputations.
Beyond the media assassins, the likes of AOC, Ilhan Omar, Kamala Harris, and Joe Biden who viciously smeared and attacked the agents issued no statement of retraction or apology. What a drastic fall this has been for standards for public office holders.
Sadly the lie has already travelled around the world and the truth doesn’t even have a chance.
After the outrage, the Border Patrol agents were no longer permitted to use horses to guard the border in Del Rio. The use of horses was essential because of the roadless, uneven terrain that is impossible to access on foot or even with vehicles.
The impact of the smear and prolonged ‘investigation’ can never be determined or gauged. Perhaps the overworked Border Patrol agents under a cloud of doubt were reluctant to do their job uncompromisingly for the fear of being branded as racist. This concern is likely to remain in the future.
The result is even more illegal and unvetted migrants cross the border. Perhaps that was one of the motives behind the smear.
Image: Screen shot from AJ+ video, via shareable YouTube
Latest Symptoms of a Disintegrating Nation
By Patrick J. Buchanan | July 8, 2022 | 4:33am EDT
In Stephen Vincent Benet's "The Devil and Daniel Webster," the tale is told that if you approached Webster's grave and called out his name, a voice would boom in reply, "Neighbor, how stands the Union?"
"Then you better answer the Union stands as she stood, rock-bottomed and copper-sheathed, one and indivisible, or he's liable to rear right out of the ground."
Today, it would be untruthful to answer to the soul of Webster that our Union is "rock-bottomed and copper-sheathed, one and indivisible."
For the divisions among us replicate those Webster witnessed in his last years before the War Between the States.
A Gallup survey reports the lowest figure ever recorded, 38%, for that share of our population that proclaims itself to be "extremely proud" to be Americans. Another 27% say they are "very proud."
But the share of our people who say they are only "moderately proud" or a "little proud" or "not at all proud" to be Americans adds up to a third of the nation.
In the past, those "extremely" or "very proud" to be Americans used to average 80% of the country. Now it is down to 65%.
To love one's country, Edmund Burke said, one's country ought to be lovely. It would appear that 1 in 3 Americans, more than 100 million of us, no longer see our country as truly lovely.
While patriotism and pride in U.S. citizenship and in being part of this national community are eroding, other problems are being revealed by public surveys.
In a new AP-NORC poll, 85% of all Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, with 92% of Republicans believing this to be true and 78% of Democrats agreeing.
On July 5, a Monmouth poll reported that President Joe Biden's approval rating had sunk to 36%, with 59% disapproving of his presidency.
As for our Democratic-led Congress, 15% of all Americans approved of its performance, with 85% disapproving.
Another Gallup survey from July 5 reported that this last year has seen a fall in public confidence in every one of 16 major U.S. institutions.
The institutions in which Americans now place the least confidence are the presidency, newspapers, the criminal justice system, big business, television news and, at rock bottom, Congress. Only 7% of Americans have great confidence or quite a bit of confidence in Capitol Hill.
The institutions that enjoy the greatest measures of confidence — though here, too, the levels are receding like Lake Mead — are small business, the military, the police, the medical system and religious institutions.
That small business is the most trusted of American institutions suggests that Biden's attack on the alleged greed of gas station owners may not be politically wise.
American institutions that tend to be conservative — small business, the military, cops — are where the American people repose the greatest confidence. Journalistic institutions — newspapers and TV news — both largely liberal, appear to be ones in which the nation reposes the lowest levels of confidence and the greatest deposits of distrust.
Why are Americans so down on their country and disapproving of its direction, and of their president who is leading them?
Surely, the pandemic, which has taken a million lives in 30 months and infects 10 times as many of us today as it did a year ago, with the death toll roughly the same now as then, is a primary cause.
The crisis at the Mexican border where a quarter of a million illegal migrants enter our country, uninvited, every month, with cartel mules ferrying the fentanyl and other narcotics that kill tens of thousands of young Americans every year is surely another.
Then there is the worst inflation in 40 years and the record rise in the price of food and fuel for America's families.
Also, since the first of the year, there have been an average of 10 "mass shootings" a week, where a criminal gunman wounds or kills four or more victims. Major atrocities like Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; and Highland Park, Illinois, dominate the news for days.
And each weekend seems to bring a new casualty report of the dead and wounded from Chicago's streets that reminds us of the early days of Vietnam.
Then there is the poisonous character of American politics.
In the 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton famously described half of the supporters of Donald Trump as a "basket of deplorables."
They are, said Hillary, "racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic ... irredeemable ... bigots" all.
Following the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade and sending the issue of abortion back to the states for decision, the term "fascist" has been applied by the left to its right-to-life opponents.
Which makes one wonder.
If Republicans capture two or three dozen House seats in this fall's midterm elections, would that constitute a triumph of American fascism?
And how does the left argue that we should come together and stand on "common ground" with folks such as those Clinton describes?
(Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of "Nixon's White House Wars: The Battles That Made and Broke a President and Divided America Forever.")
IMPEACH THE BRIBES SUCKING FUKER!
Stop The Border Invasion Now
Will the border states assert their constitutional right to protect their lawful residents?
The United States is being invaded by criminal Mexican cartels smuggling hordes of illegal immigrants into the country. The United States is also being invaded indirectly by China, which supplies lethal fentanyl to the Mexican cartels who smuggle the drug across the border, killing many thousands of Americans. Think of it as an undeclared war by the Chinese regime against the American people, aided and abetted by the Mexican cartels.
Several Texas counties declared a border invasion on July 5th in the hope of goading Texas Governor Greg Abbott to end his foot-dragging and make an official declaration of invasion under the Texas and United States Constitutions.
“We’re being invaded. The facts are there,” said Kinney County Judge Tully Shahan at a press conference. His Texas county is located at the U.S.-Mexico border. “This is real.” Judge Shahan blamed the Biden administration for not doing a thing about it. “We’re in over our head," he added. "We need help and we need for Attorney General Ken Paxton and our governor to adopt an invasion under its definition in the constitution. Adopt that invasion and let’s move forward.”
The Biden administration has released more than a million immigrants who were apprehended after managing to enter the United States illegally and has allowed them to stay in the country. This is not counting the so-called “got-aways” who managed to elude apprehension as well as unaccompanied minors still in the U.S.
Mexican cartels who are engaged in smuggling desperate immigrants into the United States are raking in billions of dollars from their criminal human trafficking enterprises. Shadowy figures have organized huge caravans of immigrants, intent on crossing into the U.S. in large groups. Many of the U.S.-bound migrants end up in the hands of the Mexican cartels, who transport their human cargo by the thousands every day into the United States.
In addition to profiting from human trafficking, the Mexican cartels are making money from drug smuggling on the backs of the American people.
“Fentanyl is killing Americans at an unprecedented rate,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram earlier this year. “Drug traffickers are driving addiction, and increasing their profits, by mixing fentanyl with other illicit drugs. Tragically, many overdose victims have no idea they are ingesting deadly fentanyl, until it’s too late.”
The Biden administration’s efforts to stop the flow of fentanyl smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico have failed. Its open border policies have caused border agents to focus overwhelmingly on the apprehension, processing, and release of record numbers of illegal immigrants, diverting valuable resources needed to interdict the smuggling of fentanyl before it is too late.
“Instead of admitting error and moving to keep out illegal migrants, Biden has instead moved to process and admit them more quickly,” a Washington Examiner editorial explained last year. “As a result, more keep coming — breaking new records for border apprehensions every month and further burdening border agents. Drug cartels not only know the border patrol is overwhelmed from processing migrants, but they also know how to use it to their advantage. They drop off hundreds of children at the border in the dead of night. When border patrol agents are forced to deploy resources to process them, they race across the border with fentanyl.”
The Washington Examiner editorial pointed to the increasing financial integration of the Mexican drug cartels and Chinese companies who often have ties to the Chinese Communist government. “What better way to weaken and destabilize America than killing its citizens with deadly drugs and degrading its border security?” the Washington Examiner editors asked rhetorically.
Mexican cartel violence has spilled over into the United States. As Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez noted last November, “These criminal organizations come across from Mexico to the US side and they kill individuals. They carry out these killings, these horrendous acts of violence and then go back to Mexico.”
Article IV, Section 4 of the United States Constitution provides, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature or the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.” (Emphasis added)
The Biden administration has knowingly violated these guarantees with its open border policies. Conditions will only get worse with the abandonment of the “Remain in Mexico” program and the likely termination of Title 42 expulsions in the near future.
The legislatures or governors of Texas, Arizona, and other states most affected by the invasive and sometimes violent actions of the human and fentanyl drug smugglers should take advantage of the constitutional guarantee of federal government protection. They should call upon the U.S. government to protect them “against Invasion” and “domestic Violence,” which have been exacerbated by the Biden administration’s refusal to fully enforce the nation’s immigration laws.
But what happens if the Biden administration, as expected, tells these states to pound sand? The Biden administration will insist that the power to regulate immigration lies exclusively in the hands of the federal government, even though the administration has completely dropped the ball.
The administration also will argue that the states are not constitutionally authorized to conduct foreign policy with allies or adversaries, nor are they authorized to wage war. However, Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution makes an exception allowing the states to defend themselves where the states are “actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.”
The border states in particular are being invaded by foreign smugglers. These states are facing the imminent danger of violence and massive drug fatalities as a result. There is no vetting to speak of at the border by federal border agents who are overwhelmed by the sheer number of illegal immigrants crossing into the U.S. every day. The border states face imminent danger from terrorist suspects, murderers, and rapists who enter their states. The border states are also the first points of entry for lethal fentanyl that kills their people.
“Acting as if they are above the law, Mexican and Central American cartels are engaging in brazen attacks on Arizona, trafficking in drugs, weapons, and human beings,” wrote Arizona’s Attorney General Mark Brnovich last February. “The cartels' smuggling of humans and drugs is bringing more violence to the border crossing into the United States…Border area ranchers have experienced this violence firsthand, including one who was killed the day after he reported a drug load to authorities.”
Attorney General Brnovich issued a legal opinion noting that “cartel and gang members are entering Arizona in a hostile manner that attacks, encroaches on, and violates Arizona.” The Attorney General concluded:
“The on-the-ground violence and lawlessness at Arizona’s border caused by cartels and gangs is extensive, well-documented, and persistent. It can satisfy the definition of ‘actually Invaded’ and ‘invasion’ under the U.S. Constitution. Two conclusions flow from this. First, the federal government has a duty to protect Arizona under the Invasion Clause. Second, Arizona retains the independent authority under the State Self-Defense Clause to defend itself when actually invaded.”
“The federal government is failing to fulfill its duty under Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution to defend the States from invasion. The State Self-Defense Clause exists precisely for situations such as the present, to ensure that States are not left helpless.”
Texas and Arizona should band together to challenge the Biden administration’s failure to carry out the federal government’s constitutional duty to protect. They should declare the constitutional right of the states in such circumstances to defend their own lawful residents from invasion and imminent danger. The states unfortunately may face an uphill battle, however, as the courts so far have been reluctant to become involved in what they have characterized as political matters concerning foreign policy and defense. The Supreme Court itself by a slender majority erred in allowing the Biden administration to end the Remain in Mexico program.
Perhaps this time will be different. The border states are being confronted with unprecedented, unchecked, invasive actions conducted by hostile organized criminal enterprises launched from foreign soil into the United States. Unvetted illegal immigrants with violent criminal pasts who are let loose and threaten security in these states pose imminent danger to their lawful residents. So does fentanyl coming from China that is smuggled into the states by the Mexican cartels. The Supreme Court may get the chance to do the right thing this time and rule on behalf of the states trying to protect their own people and territory from the imminent dangers that the Biden administration has intensified.
WHAT???? SHOULD AMERICA LOOK TO THE GOP TO END BIDEN’S ORCHESTRATED MASSIVE INVASION TO KEEP WAGES DEPRESSED?!?!?!
https://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2022/06/president-of-narcomex-howls-it-is.html
Republican Study Committee Creates Holistic Immigration Plan to Raise Wages, Grow Middle Class
The RSC Budget would prohibit federal funds from going to cities or jurisdictions operating as sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. There are at least 190 of these so-called sanctuary jurisdictions across the country,[7] and many cities have seen increased crime rates since declaring themselves sanctuary cities.[8
Five Gang Members, Sex Offenders Arrested at Border over July 4 Weekend
Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley and Del Rio Sectors arrested five criminal gang members and two deported sex offenders over the Independence Day weekend.
In the Rio Grande Valley Sector, McAllen Station agents captured three members of the hyperviolent Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang members. During a background investigation, agents found one of the men had a 2010 assault conviction which resulted in a seven-month jail sentence in Maryland. A second gang member received two years in prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Houston. That criminal alien was deported in 2021.
McAllen Station agents also arrested a member of the Mexican Valluco gang near Hidalgo, Texas. This criminal alien had convictions for larceny and public order crimes as well as a federal immigration conviction for illegal re-entry after removal.
Harlingen Station agents received a request for assistance from TSA officials at the Harlingen International Airport to identify a suspected illegal alien. Agents identified the man as a Salvadoran national illegally present in the U.S. The man revealed his membership in the 18th Street gang and said he served 12 years in a Salvadoran prison for aggravated robbery.
McAllen Station agents also apprehended a group of six migrants near Mission, Texas, on July 1. Hiding in the group was a Mexican national who received a 29-month jail sentence in Michigan for criminal sexual conduct. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers deported the man through Brownsville, Texas, in 2020.
In the Del Rio Sector, Bracketteville Station agents arrested a group of 11 migrants on July 2. The migrants marched through the brush in an attempt to avoid detection and apprehension. During processing at the station, agents identified one of the men as a Guatemalan national with a criminal history.
Agents identified the Guatemalan man as 36-year-old Hector Portillo-Soto. A Louisiana court convicted the Guatemalan man for rape in 2019. The court sentenced him to three years in prison. ERO officers deported the man to Guatemala in February of this year.
The criminal aliens with histories of deportations now face federal felony charges for illegal re-entry after removal. If convicted, each could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
Men Behind ‘Potential Massacre’ in Virginia Were Illegal Immigrants
Two men arrested for plotting a mass shooting at a Fourth of July fireworks show in Richmond, Va., were illegal immigrants.
Police arrested the men earlier this month following an anonymous tip that the two were planning an attack at the Dogwood Dell Amphitheater. During the arrests, Richmond police seized two assault-style rifles, one handgun, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Both men were charged with possession of firearms by non-U.S. citizens, according to court records. A Richmond police spokeswoman said at a press conference that the two suspects are from Guatemala.
The incident is the second high-profile crime by illegal immigrants in recent weeks. Two illegal immigrants were arrested in Texas for their alleged role in the deaths of more than 50 migrants left in a semi-trailer.
The weapons possessed by the Virginia suspects also raises questions about how gun control laws could prevent such attacks in the future. Both men were not allowed to purchase any firearms under federal law. Richmond authorities said they are working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to trace where the suspects' weapons and ammunition came from.
The two suspects were roommates in the Richmond area. At least one of the men was living in the United States on an expired visa, and the Associated Press reported that court filings show both are living in the United States illegally.
The motivation behind the attack is unknown. Police say there is no reason to believe there was any connection to previous mass shootings. At least one man was offered $15,000 bail.
"We know their intent. Their intent was to conduct a mass shooting at our Fourth of July celebration," Richmond police chief Gerald Smith said at the press conference.
The amphitheater targeted in the alleged plot seats more than 2,000 people. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R., Va.) called the anonymous tipster a "hero" who helped prevent a "potential massacre."
An Unsecured Border Is a Mortal and Moral Hazard
Human trafficking, minors crossing illegally in record numbers, and tragic deaths.
It happened outside Brackettville, Texas, which sits about halfway between Uvalde and the border crossing at Del Rio.
This was a shooting you probably did not hear about — in part, thankfully, because no one was hurt.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent was on a road that runs out of Brackettville when he saw a Chevrolet Suburban heading north. It was just before 10:00 a.m. on Jan. 3, 2021.
"The USBP agent activated his overhead lights to initiate a vehicle stop on the SUV in order to conduct an immigration inspection," said a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
"A high-speed pursuit ensued as the SUV attempted to abscond from USBP agents," the complaint alleged. "During the course of the pursuit multiple shots were fired at the USBP agents who were attempting to stop the vehicle. The vehicle traveled at a high rate of speed, in excess of 100 MPH for approximately twenty-eight minutes before law enforcement officers were able to successfully deploy spike strips, bringing the vehicle to a stop."
"USBP agents apprehended six (6) Honduran nationals who were illegally present in the United States without proper documentation," alleged the complaint.
The driver of the vehicle was also illegally in the United States. He was, alleged the complaint, "Sergio Trevino, a Mexican national and illegal alien, who initially absconded from the SUV, but was later apprehended."
"Sergio Trevino admitted his involvement in the failed alien smuggling event by stating he was hired by a friend in Houston, Texas to knowingly and willingly transport IAs further into the United States," alleged the complaint. "Trevino stated he was going to be paid approximately $2,000.00 USD for transporting the IAs.
"Trevino also admitted that he used the firearm and fired multiple shots from the moving vehicle, at law enforcement agents, as agents attempted to conduct the immigration inspection," the complaint alleged.
On June 15, Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a statement about the resolution of the Trevino case.
"A Mexican citizen was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison for shooting at two U.S. Border Patrol agents near Brackettville," said ICE.
"On June 10, Sergio Trevino, 35, was sentenced to 214 months in prison," it said. "On March 31, 2021, Trevino pleaded guilty to one count of assault on a federal officer and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence. Trevino was sentenced to 94 months in prison on the assault charge and 120 months on the use of a firearm charge with both sentences to run consecutively."
Ashley Hoff, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, summarized the situation.
"Sergio Trevino not only placed the lives of the U.S. Border Patrol agents who were attempting to apprehend him in peril, but also the lives of the undocumented noncitizens he was transporting and everyone traveling on the road that day," she said.
"Thankfully," she said, "no one was seriously injured by his senseless and dangerous actions."
A similar expression of relief cannot be made concerning the profoundly tragic events that soon unfolded in the same part of Texas for the same reason: an unsecured border.
Less than two weeks after U.S. Attorney Hoff issued her statement about the resolution of the Brackettville incident, San Antonio police officers called Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to join them at the scene of a crime.
"San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) officers advised HSI special agents as they arrived at the location of the tractor trailer in southwest San Antonio after receiving 911 calls from concerned citizens," said a statement released by ICE. "At the scene, SAPD officers discovered multiple individuals inside the tractor trailer, on the ground, and in nearby brush — many of them deceased and some incapacitated."
"HSI confirmed that 48 individuals at the scene were deceased," the office of the U.S. attorney for the Western District Texas reported two days later.
"Of those 22 were Mexican nationals, seven Guatemalan nationals, two Honduran nationals and 17 of unknown origin but suspected to be undocumented non-citizens," said the U.S. attorney's office.
"HSI confirmed the undocumented status of the deceased individuals by utilizing a mobile fingerprint device," said the U.S. attorney's statement. "Sixteen of the 64 undocumented individuals were transported to local hospitals for medical evaluation. Five died at the hospital."
The next day, the Houston Chronicle carried a story headlined: "Minors migrating in record numbers."
"The four kids reported to have been hospitalized after being found in a packed, overheated tractor-trailer in San Antonio on Monday are among the growing number of children and teens making the perilous journey to the United States," the Chronicle reported.
"Bexar County officials have also told media that some of the 53 who died from the incident may be under 18," said the paper.
"The number of unaccompanied children and teens apprehended at the border has increased 17-fold since 2008, according to a new Syracuse University analysis of U.S. Customs and Border Protection data," the Chronicle reported.
In fact, the Syracuse analysis shows that in fiscal 2008, the Border Patrol apprehended 8,081 unaccompanied children (17 or younger). That rose to 76,136 in fiscal 2019, before the COVID pandemic hit. Then it dropped to 19,657 in fiscal 2020, in the midst of the pandemic and President Donald Trump's last full year in office.
In fiscal 2021, when President Joe Biden took office, it jumped to 140,230 — a one-year climb of more than 600%.
This column argued eight years ago that our unsecured southern border was like an unfenced swimming pool — a mortal hazard for would-be illegal crossers and a moral hazard for those who refused to secure it.
That June, a 15-year-old boy from Guatemala was found dead in the Rio Grande Valley. "He apparently got lost on his way north and likely died from exposure in hot, dry brush country of South Texas," the Associated Press reported then.
This June, it was 53 people trapped in a tractor trailer.
Two Illegal Immigrants Arrested In Connection With Death of Dozens of Migrants
Two illegal immigrants have been arrested for their alleged role in the deaths of more than 50 migrants in San Antonio.
Prosecutors filed criminal complaints against two Mexican nationals on Tuesday evening in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, charging the men with illegal possession of a firearm "by an alien illegally in the United States." The two men first entered the country on a travel visa but never returned to Mexico following its expiration.
Police arrested the men following an investigation into the registration of the semi-truck containing dozens of migrants, most of whom died from dehydration and exhaustion and were found by a nearby pedestrian. At least 51 of the migrants found in the truck have died—the worst migrant death incident ever recorded in the United States.
The new details related to deaths of the migrants highlight how cartel-connected smugglers have been emboldened amid the worst immigration crisis in U.S. history. Law enforcement and immigration experts say the sheer number of migrants attempting to enter the country has led to more callousness by smugglers, who increasingly view people as commodities who can be discarded.
"All were the apparent victims of human smugglers indifferent to the well-being of human life. The South Texas heat is brutal this time of year, especially given the recent record-high temperatures," U.S. attorney Ashley Hoff said in a statement. "We will continue to work with the Homeland Security Investigations and the local responders to identify and bring those who were responsible for this tragedy to justice."
Both of the men arrested admitted to illegally owning the firearms, which included an assault-style rifle, multiple handguns, and a shotgun. The two men also admitted to being in the United States illegally.
A third man, whom law enforcement say is a U.S. citizen, has also been detained. What roles the men played in the incident remain unclear.
If found guilty, the two men face up to 10 years in prison for the weapons-related charges.
Sanctuary State New Jersey Creates $60M ‘Slush Fund’ for Illegal Aliens
The sanctuary state of New Jersey has created a $60 million “slush fund” for about 100,000 illegal aliens, Republicans say.
The plan is part of a budget deal by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) where illegal aliens in New Jersey are expected to receive taxpayer-funded stimulus checks, New Jersey 101.5 reports:
Language added to the budget allows Murphy to allocate $300 million from the state’s share of federal COVID recovery funds without needing the Legislature’s agreement through a vote of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or JBOC. [Emphasis added]
Those allocations can’t be larger than $20 million without JBOC approval – except for one $60 million allocation. That happens to be large enough to cover the $53 million fund Murphy proposed in March to pay $500 each to over 100,000 immigrants with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN. [Emphasis added]
Elected Republicans have called the plan a “slush fund” intended to transfer New Jersey taxpayer dollars to illegal aliens.
“The Democrats who control the legislature know that Gov. Murphy’s program giving big cash payments to illegal immigrants is so unpopular with most New Jerseyans that they were afraid to fund it directly in the state budget,” State Sen. Jim Holzapfel (R) said.
“Instead, they created a slush fund that Gov. Murphy controls that appears to have been designed specifically to continue making these ridiculous payments,” Holzapfel continued.
Just last month, Murphy was accused of improperly giving $10 million in Chinese coronavirus funds to illegal aliens in the form of stimulus checks. The allegation came after Murphy provided the state’s nearly half a million illegal aliens with stimulus checks.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
“Mexican authorities have arrested the former mayor of a rural community in the border state of Coahuila in connection with the kidnapping, murder and incineration of hundreds of victims through a network of ovens at the hands of the Los Zetas cartel. The arrest comes after Breitbart Texas exposed not only the horrors of the mass extermination, but also the cover-up and complicity of the Mexican government.”
This Georgia Dem Wants To Abolish ICE and ‘Shut Down’ Illegal Immigrant Detention Centers
Bee Nguyen called immigration enforcement agency 'rogue,' 'cruel'
A Georgia Democratic nominee repeatedly called to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and argued that carrying out the country's immigration laws is rooted in "white supremacy" and "xenophobia."
Bee Nguyen, Georgia Democrats' nominee for secretary of state, has a long history of anti-ICE rhetoric. From September to October 2020, Nguyen called to abolish ICE on five separate occasions—in one instance, the Democrat called to "shutdown the detention centers," where illegal immigrants—many of whom have a criminal record—are housed ahead of removal proceedings. In another, Nguyen called ICE "rogue" and "cruel" and contended that illegal immigrant enforcement is conducted "in the name of power, white supremacy, money, xenophobia, and political pandering." Roughly 30 percent of ICE agents are Latino.
Nguyen's calls to abolish ICE continued into January 2021, when President Joe Biden took office. The United States went on to experience a surge in illegal immigrant encounters. In 2021, for example, the country hit a record-high 1.73 million illegal immigrant apprehensions. That number is on pace to exceed 2 million this year.
Nguyen's anti-ICE activism could prompt political peril as voters sour on Democrats' immigration policies, which critics say have emboldened cartel-connected smugglers. On Tuesday, police arrested two illegal immigrants over their alleged role in the deaths of more than 50 migrants in San Antonio, which marked the worst migrant death incident ever recorded in the United States. Those Mexican nationals never left the country after their travel visa expired and possessed an assault-style rifle, multiple handguns, and a shotgun.
According to a July 2021 Federation for American Immigration Reform poll, 61 percent of Georgia voters hold the Biden administration responsible for the ongoing "border crisis," while 54 percent say that mass amnesty proposals pushed by Democrats would "encourage more people to enter the country illegally and make an already difficult situation worse." Roughly 50 percent of respondents, meanwhile, said they would be less likely to vote for Georgia's Democratic senators should they support mass amnesty.
Nguyen's campaign did not return a request for comment.
In addition to Nguyen's abolish ICE push, the Democrat vocally opposed the 287 (g) program, which enables state and local law enforcement to assist federal immigration authorities. Atlanta's Gwinnett County participated in the program for years but ended its involvement after Democrats won the county's sheriff race. The program has allowed local law enforcement to take violent criminals off the streets—in 2020, for example, the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office encountered a Guatemalan national charged with felony murder and a Mexican national charged with rape and aggravated child molestation, according to ICE reports.
Nguyen's statewide run in Georgia comes roughly five years after the Democrat joined the state legislature, replacing Stacey Abrams, who resigned in favor of a failed gubernatorial campaign. Nguyen won a primary runoff by 54 points in late June and will face Republican incumbent Brad Raffensperger in November. Her candidacy is backed by both Abrams and Rep. Hank Johnson (D., Ga.), who has compared Jewish settlers to termites and expressed concern that stationing thousands of Marines on the island of Guam would cause it to "tip over and capsize."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom to Run Ads in Florida on July 4th
Governor Gavin Newsom (D) will run campaign ads on July 4th — in Florida, not in his home state of California, where he is up for re-election.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Newsom is preparing for a possible 2024 presidential run:
The ads are the latest move in what his advisers say is Newsom’s effort to stand up nationally for Democratic values. He’s been posting “truths” about red states on Donald Trump’s new social media platform, ripping Supreme Court justices for their decisions on abortion, guns and the environment, chiding rival governors in Texas and Florida, doing national media interviews and even calling out his fellow Democrats for being too passive.
“I’m resolved to wake all of us up to what is going on in this country,” Newsom said recently. To “what is happening in real time that is not getting the attention it deserves in red states across America. (Conservatives are) aggressively and successfully rolling back rights that all of us have come to take for granted.”
But there is another, unspoken reason that Newsom is bumping up his national profile as a fighter: He is warming up in the bullpen for the 2024 presidential campaign — just in case Joe Biden decides not to seek re-election. (Biden insists that he’s running. And Newsom insists he wants Vice President Kamala Harris to be Biden’s successor.)
Less than a year ago, Newsom survived a recall election in his own state that represented a backlash among voters to his aggressive coronavirus policies. Florida distinguished itself by keeping its economy largely open during the pandemic.
Newsom faces a vast array of unresolved problems at home: large-scale homelessness; a crime wave; an extreme drought; a lack of electricity generation capacity; frequent wildfires; and a dismal state education system, among other chronic issues.
Yet he is positioning himself as a leader of the opposition to Republicans on cultural issues such as abortion and gun control, repeating a strategy that took him to prominence in 2004 when, as mayor, he legalized gay marriage in San Francisco.
He has also targeted Texas and Florida, both of which have enticed businesses and residents to relocate from California, where taxes, regulations, and the cost of living have become burdensome. Rather than change California’s policies, Newsom has mocked rival states.
Earlier this month, Newsom joined Donald Trump’s fledgling “Truth Social” network with the specific mission of trolling conservatives. His new ad strategy on the Fourth of July in Florida continues that strategy.
Newsom’s opponent in November is State Sen. Brian Dahle (R-Bieber). He is widely expected to cruise to re-election, owing to the state’s heavy Democratic advantage in voter registration. No Republican has won statewide office in over a decade.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
