by Corinne Murdock | Oct 25, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The Biden administration closed out its 2022 fiscal year with close to 2.4 million border encounters: the highest ever recorded in one year.
According to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data released last Friday, the administration also made history with its total September encounters: over 227,500. This total doesn’t reflect estimated “gotaways”: those who escape without apprehension.
With this historic influx of illegal immigrants came an unprecedented number of terrorists. Nearly 100 illegal immigrants apprehended were on the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB). As Fox reporter Bill Melugin noted, that’s nearly quadruple the number of terrorists caught crossing illegally from the past five years combined.
A key part of the border crisis is the burgeoning fentanyl crisis. Last month alone, CBP seized enough fentanyl to kill over 220,000 people. Their other seizures indicate that Biden’s lax border policy is lucrative for the cartels: over $4.1 million worth of drugs, firearms, and pesticides, as well as over $11 million worth of narcotics.
CBP data reflects the reality that hard drugs overtook marijuana as the preferred substance of smugglers. Last month, CBP reported over 1,800 pounds of fentanyl seized: over 14,100 pounds for the 2022 fiscal year, and close to 21,600 pounds since President Joe Biden took office. That’s well over double of what was seized between January 2019 and December 2020: just under 10,000 pounds.
While fentanyl trafficking skyrocketed, the overall number of drugs seized by weight decreased. From January 2019 to December 2020, CBP seized just under 1.4 million pounds of drugs (most of which was marijuana, meth, cocaine, fentanyl, then heroin, in that order). From January 2020 to present, CBP seized just under 590,000 pounds of drugs (again, most of which were marijuana, meth, cocaine, fentanyl, then heroin, in that order).
Biden named Vice President Kamala Harris the border czar last March, but Harris did little to address the crisis. It took her three months to visit the border after that, visiting El Paso, Texas in late June, although GOP members of Congress criticized that Harris visited a Border Patrol station miles away from the border crisis playing out along the Rio Grande.
According to a Los Angeles Times tracker of Harris’ schedule, analyzed by the New York Post, the vice president didn’t hold an immigration event in nine months as of May.
Last week, Arizona sued the Biden administration after the Department of Interior (DOI) ordered the state to remove shipping containers and razor wire closing up the border wall gaps. The DOI accused Governor Doug Ducey of committing trespass. Bureau of Reclamation Regional Director Jacklynn Gould promised that the Biden administration was making headway on closing the border themselves.
“That trespass is harming federal lands and resources and impeding Reclamation’s ability to perform its mission,” stated Gould.
In response, Ducey said that his obligation to Arizonans was greater than to the federal government.
“The safety and security of Arizona and its citizens must not be ignored,” stated Ducey. “Arizona is going to do the job that Joe Biden refuses to do — secure the border in any way we can. We’re not backing down.”
On Monday, Ducey announced that the state continued adding onto the border wall over the weekend — starting the day the state sued the Biden administration.
“Arizona isn’t afraid of a challenge. We will not back down. We will protect our state,” tweeted Ducey.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Aug 10, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Tuesday it will lift the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” program, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).
The program required non-Mexican migrants seeking asylum to wait in Mexico while their claims were processed.
The DHS changes followed a Monday ruling from Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk with the Texas Northern District Court, which lifted his previous injunction from last August requiring DHS to reimplement the MPP in good faith. Kacsmaryk’s recent ruling aligned with the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) reversal in June of his August ruling.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has stated that the MPP stands in the way of the immigration system’s improvement.
“The MPP has endemic flaws, imposed unjustifiable human costs, pulled resources and personnel away from other priority efforts, and did not address the root causes of irregular migration,” stated Mayorkas.
Mayorkas cited the Biden administration mantra on immigration — “safe, orderly, and humane” — to contrast MPP with their reform goals.
The “safe, orderly, and human” slogan is cited frequently in left-wing circles. Immigration reform activists, like the Hope Border Institute, used it to praise the Biden administration’s initial rollback of MPP last March.
Catholic bishops along the southern border also cited the slogan while advocating for illegal immigration.
CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus — formerly Tucson’s controversial police chief who told officials not to enforce immigration laws and instead uphold sanctuary city policies — also used the slogan to describe their ideal reimagined approach to border security.
Over 5,700 migrants were enrolled in the MPP from December through June. That’s about 60 percent of initial MPP enrollments, totaling over 9,600, with the remaining 40 percent (over 3,400) disenrolled.
MPP enrollments make up less than one percent (.6 percent) of all illegal immigrant encounters along the southwest border since December: over 1.4 million. As of press time, the southwest border encounter totals for July have yet to be released.
There have been over 3.2 million southwest border encounters since President Joe Biden took office.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | May 19, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) signed onto a bill allowing victims of illegal immigrant criminals to sue the relevant state or local jurisdictions that adopted “sanctuary” practices. At the time of this report, Gosar was the only one of Arizona’s congressmen to cosponsor the bill. A total of 26 representatives nationwide have cosponsored the legislation.
According to data from the Center for Immigration Studies, Arizona doesn’t have any counties or cities with sanctuary practices: those policies, laws, ordinances, regulations, or resolutions preventing enforcement of federal immigration law by refusing cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Phoenix almost became a sanctuary city in 2017, but their city council voted against it. Then in 2019, Tucson voters rejected a sanctuary city proposal outlined in Proposition 205. Months before the COVID-19 outbreak, Governor Doug Ducey requested the legislature introduce a constitutional amendment to outlaw sanctuary practices statewide. That legislation never came to fruition.
The bill in question — HR515, the “Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act of 2021” — was introduced by Congressman Ted Budd (R-NC-13) in early January of last year. The bill was referred to the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship last March. Since then, it hasn’t moved.
Gosar urged fellow Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) to cosponsor the bill as well. He retweeted a post urging Lesko to take action.
Certain state level efforts to mitigate crimes committed by illegal immigrants haven’t moved either. State Representative John Kavanagh’s bill to require the publication of illegal immigrant mugshots and information, HB2326, hasn’t advanced the Senate since it was passed in the House in February.
Over 100 cities and counties qualify as sanctuary areas. 11 states adopted sanctuary practices: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Sep 17, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Pima County is backing an event celebrating illegal immigrants and advocating to equip them with taxpayer-funded legal defense. Pima County Attorney’s Office has sponsored the event, as well as Pima County Board of Supervisor Adelita Grijalva’s special staff assistant, Marjava Ramirez, while Tucson Mayor Regina Romero announced her support for the event on Thursday. In addition to their sponsorship, the county attorney’s office will offer information about marijuana expungement and gun locks at the event.
The “We Are Home Celebration” will begin with several hours of voter outreach for a ballot initiative to allow illegal immigrants access to public defenders for their deportation cases, also known as “universal representation”. This portion of the event will be led by PIMA County Justice For All – Justicia Para Todos. They need at least 75,000 signatures by next summer to appear on the 2022 ballot. Currently, they have around 6,000 signatures.
According to campaign manager for the ballot initiative, Martha Reyes, illegal immigrants often lack the funds for adequate representation, raising the likelihood of their deportation.
“We want to establish a legal office for undocumented folks in deportation proceedings. These are typically poor people who don’t have money to get a lawyer,” Reyes said. “They’re people who have been here for years, and the only thing they want is a better life and a better future for their kids. A simple [traffic] stop can change their whole lives.”
The ballot initiative has attracted the attention of some of Hollywood’s elite. Last month, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the director made famous by his Broadway hit, “Hamilton,” donated $25,000 to the ballot initiative.
Other sponsors for the event include Mi Familia Vota, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, Tucson Jobs with Justice, LUCHA – Living United for Change in Arizona, Arizona Center for Empowerment, International Painters Union Local 86, Corazon Arizona, AzCOSH, Moms Clean Air Force, Arizona Dream Act Coalition ADAC, Care in Action US, Jahmar International, and Healthcare Rising Arizona.
In addition to Romero, several other elected officials and tribal leaders have also endorsed the initiative. Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-03) and Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-02); State Representative Andres Cano (D-Tucson); Tucson City Councilmembers Lane Santa Cruz, Paul Cunningham, Paul Durham, and Richard Fimbres; Pima County Supervisor and Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Board Member Sadie Shaw; Pascua Yaqui Tribe Chairman Robert Valencia; and Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris.
The government-backed event will take place Saturday at Mission Manor Park, from 9 am to 3 pm. The event will also offer free COVID-19 vaccinations and immigration services.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com
by Dr. Thomas Patterson | Apr 9, 2021 | Opinion
By Dr. Thomas Patterson |
America has a border wall that is very efficient at keeping out intruders. It hasn’t been breached once in over three months.
Unfortunately, it protects only our political elites at the US Capitol, who are under minimal threat. Other Americans must make do with a wall that is highly porous, that leaks multitudes of illegal immigrants daily, including everything from petty criminals making life miserable for border residents to murderous cartel members.
Americans not living in a cave know we have a hot mess on our southern border. Fired up by Biden‘s not-so-subtle invitation to come in, hordes of migrants began forming caravans even before his inauguration.
175,000 immigrants in March alone overwhelmed border patrol agents, with unknown additional numbers sneaking across. Overcrowded facilities at the border are so deplorable that even reporters and congressmen are denied access.
Worse, 20,000 unaccompanied minors were in custody at last count. From the appearance of their accommodations, kids in cages are back big time.
Economic migration of would-be breadwinners has been replaced by families and children, because of an inane policy requiring all minors who present at the border to be automatically admitted. The Biden administration claims to be strictly enforcing immigration laws, but only 10 of 20 percent are refused admission.
The majority of illegal immigrants are released into the US population with status pending a court date far in the future. “Asylum-seekers“ rarely prevail in court. Understandably, few risk deportation by showing up.
Meanwhile, busloads of migrants empty out into hapless desert towns like Ajo and Gila Bend, which have absolutely no capability to provide the (free) food and accommodations expected. Some are sent to military bases where the US Armed Forces are deployed to care and provide for them. Migrants not admitted construct tent cities at the border and feel entitled to refuse to move until their “demands“ are met.
This is clearly a humanitarian crisis and a serious security threat. Even some leaders of the immigrants’ home countries object. Yet the response of the Biden administration has been a preternatural calmness.
They have made no effort to prevent the masses from coming. They spent great amounts of political capital on avoiding the word “crisis“ to describe the crisis. They have worked hard to keep us from knowing or seeing the ghastly details.
They have contended that it’s “Trump’s fault”, which is truly laughable. Border crossings were controlled during his tenure. All hell broke loose only when they foolishly reversed the previous administration’s policies.
To control the debacle, Biden appointed his VP. But Kamala Harris has so far not even attempted to appear interested, literally laughing at the suggestion that she might even visit the border.
But c’mon man. There is only one explanation that makes any sense: Democratic dreams of millions of new easily controlled voters. Where reasonable people see uneducated, low-skilled workers who broke our law, don’t speak our language and have no intention of sharing our history and values, Democrat leaders see future Democrats. No price is too great to pay in pursuit of an assured political future.
The suffering at the border is of no apparent concern. Known terrorists and cartel members slipping in? Children found abandoned in the desert? Unfair competition with American workers in a tight market for low-end labor? None of it matters.
The only point of the drill is to somehow get these future Dems physically into the country. Then nothing happens when they skip their court hearings, get “papers“ for jobs and government benefits and over-run welfare and justice systems.
Before long we’ll be hearing amnesty is the only possible course because, like the DACA recipients, they have been here for so long, they know no other home, there are too many to send back, blah, blah. An undemanding “pathway to citizenship“ will be the only humane solution. We’ll probably be promised enhanced border security (again) if we go along.
Up to 20 million illegal aliens already live in the US. Biden’s number is for 2 million more per year. America is a welcoming country that wants and needs a sound immigration system. We just don’t need this one.
Dr. Thomas Patterson, former Chairman of the Goldwater Institute, is a retired emergency physician. He served as an Arizona State senator for 10 years in the 1990s, and as Majority Leader from 93-96. He is the author of Arizona’s original charter schools bill.
