Tag Archives: Border Patrol

Every State Is A Border State

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On Friday, The New York Post posted an article about a June jewelry store robbery in Denver.

The article reports:

Four Venezuelan migrants believed to have links to the notorious prison gang Tren de Aragua were indicted Wednesday in the violent armed robbery of a Denver jewelry store — including two migrants who have previously been arrested in other states, The Post can reveal.

Three of the alleged gangbangers — Oswaldo Lozada-Solis, 23, Jesus Daniel Lara Del Toro, 20, and Jean Franco Torres-Roman, 21 — were charged with armed robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced Wednesday.

The fourth migrant, Edwuimar Nazareth Colina-Romero, 18, was charged with transporting stolen goods and possession of stolen goods.

The charges stem from a June 25 robbery in which two female staffers at Joyeria El Ruby Jewelry Store were pistol-whipped and threatened with death.

No, the countries who are invading our southern border are not sending us their best.

The article notes:

Lozada Solis crossed the border into Laredo in October of 2022, according to Homeland Security records obtained by The Post. He had told border authorities that he was heading to Atlanta and was let into the country with an ankle monitor.

However, the illegal migrant cut the monitor off after about 200 days, according to the records. It is unclear when he arrived in the Big Apple.

The article concludes:

Three days after the Denver heist, Lozada-Solis, Torres-Roman and Colina-Romero were all captured at a Motel 6 in El Paso, Texas, according to sources.

The motel is “notoriously used by transnational criminal organizations in the smuggling/harboring of illegal aliens and illegal drugs attempting to make it further into the United States,” sources said.

Officers also arrested seven others at the motel believed to be tied to the same Tren de Aragua operation, including another migrant, Newman Castillo Delgado, who has a rap sheet. Castillo Delgado, however, has not been indicted in the jewelry store robbery.

Castillo Delgado was previously nabbed in Chicago for allegedly shoplifting $3,114 worth of Ralph Lauren clothing from a local department store in June 2023, according to CWB Chicago.

A judge later released him pending prosecution, the outlet reported.

Castillo Delgado then failed to appear in court after his release and a warrant was subsequently issued for his arrest, according to the Cook County Clerk’s Office.

Castillo Delgado crossed the border illegally into Texas in August 2022, when he was released by Border Patrol and enrolled in a tracking program, which he absconded around January 2023, according to Homeland Security sources.

While making the arrests at Motel 6, police found a firearm and the stolen jewelry, which the group was trying to flush down the toilet, according to sources.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, every state has become a border state.

Not Surprising

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Our open southern border is only part of the problem.

On Saturday, Breitbart reported the following:

Border Patrol agents in the Swanton Sector of the U.S.-Canada border have apprehended more than 15,000 migrants so far this fiscal year, more than the previous 13 years combined, according to U.S. Border Patrol reports.

Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia reported this week that since October 1, 2023, his agents apprehended more than 15,000 migrants. The astounding record of migrant apprehensions this year reflects the vulnerability of our northern border with Canada.

We have no idea who is coming into our country at this point. I realize the America’s immigration system needs major repair, but we cannot have both an open border and a welfare system. One of them has to go.

The article concludes:

Garcia’s post above indicates that July apprehensions will likely exceed 3,000 migrants. If that holds true, the sector will have apprehended more than 9,000 migrants just in the last three months.

Migrant apprehensions in the Swanton Sector rose exponentially during the Biden-Harris era. Garcia reported that the apprehensions during the month of April exceeded the combined annual totals of FY21 and FY22.

Since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office in January 2021, Swanton Sector agents have arrested more than 23,000 migrants.

We will not survive as a country without borders.

Is Anyone Surprised?

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On Thursday, The Post Millennial posted an article about a recent group of people who were squatting in the Bronx. These squatters were arrested on drug and gun charges.

The article reports:

Four of the illegal immigrant squatters who were arrested in a Bronx home on charges related to firearms, drugs, and child endangerment reportedly skipped their processing appointments with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

According to the New York Post, Yoessy Pino Castillo, Yojairo Martinez, Javier Alborno, and Yerbin Lozado-Munoz, aged 25, were detained by the US Border Patrol in Texas over a year ago. However, they were subsequently released into the country due to overcrowding at processing centers. They failed to appear for their processing appointments.

Johan Cardenas Silva, another individual involved in the squatting incident, was taken into custody in 2022 and had previously been ordered for removal by an immigration judge. However, he was released from his detention center under an order of supervision to report to New York City. Silva failed to attend his Enforcement and Removal Operations appointment upon arriving in New York City.

“At the check-ins, migrants are supposed to file a claim, that could be for asylum, and let officials know where they are staying. Immigration officials can then determine what level of supervision is required,” the Post explained.

The four men were among eight squatters recently apprehended for occupying a house where firearms, drugs, and a seven-year-old child were discovered in the basement.

This is what happens when you fail to secure the borders of the country.

The Value Of Drug-Sniffing Dogs

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On Saturday, The Hill posted an article about a drug seizure at the Otay Mesa, California, cargo facility this month.

The article reports:

Mexican cartels for decades have devised creative ways to smuggle narcotics and other contraband across the southern U.S., including using produce, law enforcement officials say. This month, in one week, thousands of pounds of meth were seized hidden in shipments of peppers, tomatillos and carrots.

At the Otay Mesa, California, cargo facility this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized large quantities of methamphetamine hidden under packages of the vegetables.

In one instance, CBP officers stopped a 27-year-old male with a valid border crossing card driving a commercial tractor-trailer with a shipment manifested for peppers and tomatillos. At first glance, the shipment appeared to contain only peppers and tomatillos. But after a K-9 unit screened it, officers examined the trailer and found a box containing a crystal-like substance. Additional officers were radioed to provide assistance and began extracting package after package hidden under the produce. They found 3,594 packages that were tested and identified as methamphetamine. The stash totaled 3,671.58 pounds.

The same week, CBP officers at the same facility uncovered another massive load of meth being smuggled in using carrots.

They stopped a 44-year-old man, also a valid border crossing card holder, driving a commercial tractor trailer hauling a shipment manifested as carrots. Officers unloaded the cases of carrots and found suspicious packages hidden underneath, which were tested and identified as methamphetamine. Overall, they seized 574 packages weighing approximately 2,900 pounds.

In both instances, the meth and commercial tractor-trailers were seized; the drivers were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations.

I do believe that part of the problem with drug smuggling is that unfortunately America is a prime market for those drugs. I don’t have a solution to that problem other than to discourage drug use among the youth and imprison drug users until they are willing to go through treatment. Because treatment doesn’t work unless the drug user is willing to cooperate, that would not be an ideal solution.

The article concludes:

As CBP officers continue to seize large quantities of drugs, California Border Patrol chiefs have warned of increased security threats between ports of entry where checkpoints have been closed due to current administration policies. When deposed by the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security during its impeachment investigation of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, they expressed alarm about not knowing how many people or drugs are being smuggled across the border.

Despite being stretched thin, California CBP and Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 500,000 illegal border crossers in fiscal 2023, The Center Square reported.

Record high illegal entries continued along the southwest border in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, with California seeing higher entries as Texas’ resistance grew, The Center Square reported.

It’s time to seal the border until we can get illegal immigration and drug smuggling under control.

The Border The News Is Ignoring

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Illegal immigration has been a problem for a long time. The problem was exacerbated when President Biden took office and undid the Executive Orders President Trump had put in place to stem the tide of illegals entering America through our porous southern border. The problem was further exacerbated when the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) realized they could get money from the United Nations (mainly funded by U.S. taxpayers) and the U.S. Government for providing resources for illegal immigrants. The invitations went out throughout South America. Now the invitations are going out throughout the world. The impact on America is obvious–our cities and states are struggling with housing and food for the illegal immigrants and the taxpayers are providing food, housing, and medical care while we can barely take care of our own. But now we also have a problem on our northern border.

On Sunday, The New York Post reported:

Unsettling Post footage and interviews with US residents along the Canadian border offer a rare glimpse into the thriving migrant smuggling operation that has taken hold up north in addition to the debacle to the south.

Residents of bucolic Swanton, Vt. — a town of about 6,500 people located just across Lake Champlain from New York and about a 10-minute drive from the Canadian border — have been getting a troubling firsthand look at the US’s northern illegal migrant crisis for months.

The town’s plentiful woods make the leafy hamlet an ideal spot for hunters — and also provide ample camouflage for smugglers, who have become so rampant that some locals are packing pistols to protect themselves and turning into amateur sleuths to help thwart them.

“Now I’ve got the Border Patrol guys on speed dial,” local Chris Feeley, 52, recently grimly acknowledged.

According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, the number of migrants illegally entering the US at the northern border last year topped 12,200 — a 240% spike from 2022.

The article notes:

Feeley told The Post he has been hunting in the area since he was a teenager, with his favorite vantage point a tree stand about 18 feet above the ground on the property of a local farm.

The elevated perch not only provides a bird’s-eye view of any approaching white-tailed deer but also the area around the Canadian border, which sits just 250 yards from his lookout.

He said that in the past, it was not unusual for him to go an entire day of hunting without encountering another person. But that all changed around three years ago.

Feeley recalled being in his tree stand one morning when a startled group of deer unexpectedly ran by — followed by two men “of Mexican descent” with backpacks and walking sticks, one of whom was looking intently at the screen of his smartphone.

At least the Border Patrol is free to protect our northern border.

 

The Danger Of An Open Border

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America is a land of immigrants–legal immigrants who came here to build a better life and were vetted before they were allowed in. Currently we are being overrun by people seeking access to our welfare system and an easy life. I don’t begrudge anyone seeking a better life, but I do have a problem with seeking a better life at someone else’s expense. As American cities pour money into housing, feeding and providing medical care for people who are here illegally, our own citizens who are struggling economically are being ignored. Our homeless are on the streets–they are not getting hotel rooms and three meals a day. Aside from the misplaced priorities of our current border policy (or lack thereof), there is the national security aspect.

On Friday, The Daily Caller reported:

  • Federal immigration authorities released for one day a Pakistani man who illegally crossed the southern border into California whose name appeared on the terror watchlist, according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
  • Border Patrol apprehended the Pakistani national on Nov. 10, 2023 in Tecate, California, according to the memo.
  • “Imagine how many cases like this one get through without us knowing,” a DHS official told the DCNF on the condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak publicly.

The article continues:

The Pakistani national entered the U.S. illegally on Nov. 9, 2023 and was nabbed by Border Patrol the next day in Tecate, California, according to a memo the DCNF received from two different Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources. While in Border Patrol custody on Nov. 22, the Terrorism Screening Center (TSC) confirmed he was a positive match on the terror watchlist, according to the memo.

Despite this, the memo says the terror suspect was released from the custody of ICE San Diego on Jan. 23. ICE served him with an “Order of Release on Recognizance” with tracking technology through the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program during that time.

Border agents served him with an expedited removal order on Nov. 11, after which he expressed that he had a credible fear of going back to Pakistan, according to the memo.

On Jan. 24, however, the ICE office in San Diego informed the agency’s office in Los Angeles of his presence on the terror watchlist, along with his “mandatory detention requirement,” and had him report on his own to the ATD check-in office. ICE Los Angeles was able to arrest him when he showed up for the check-in.

Imagine how many cases like this one get through without us knowing,” a DHS official told the DCNF on the condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak publicly.

I fear we have reached the place where ordinary Americans are going to have to be responsible for their own safety. Terrorist do not generally value their own lives, and that fact makes them very dangerous. Because so many of the people who have crossed our southern border are military-age men, we may all have to be prepared to defend ourselves from a major attack within our country.

 

Failure To Provide Public Safety

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On Monday, The Daily Caller reported the following:

Federal authorities caught a terrorist at the U.S. southern border and released him into the country, where he roamed freely for nearly a year before being arrested in Minnesota just days ago, according to an internal federal memo exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The unnamed individual, who the memo only identifies as a member of the Somali terror group al-Shabaab, was released shortly after being caught illegally crossing the southern border near San Ysidro, California on March 13, 2023, according to the memo, which the DCNF is not publishing in order to protect the identity of a confidential source. The Terrorist Screening Center “deemed him a ‘mismatch’” after running his name through the terror watchlist, according to the memo, which was sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

However, on January 18, 2024, the Terrorist Screening Center “made a redetermination” that the individual was “a confirmed member of al-Shabaab” and was involved in the use, manufacture or transport of explosives or firearms, the memo states. Two days later, ICE nabbed the al-Shabaab member in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The article concludes:

The U.S. government has considered Al-Shabaab a foreign terrorist organization since 2008. The terrorist group operates in Somalia and has also committed attacks in Kenya and Uganda, according to the National Counterterrorism Center.

U.S. forces killed three al-Shabaab terrorists in a self defense air strike on Jan. 21 at the request of the Somali government

Al-Shabaab has carried out bombings, including suicide attacks, and the group has assassinated Somali peace activists, international aid workers, journalists and numerous civil society figures, according to the National Counterterrorism Center. The terror group carried out a 2013 attack on Westgate mall in Nairobi, killing 67 people, and in 2017 killed hundreds of civilians in Mogadishu through two suicide attacks.

After Hamas’ attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, federal authorities warned Border Patrol to be on alert for Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah terrorists attempting to illegally cross the southern border, according to an internal memo exclusively obtained by the DCNF at the time.

“It is clear that our safety is dependent on enforcing our immigration laws and securing the border,” Fabbricatore said.

ICE didn’t respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

It is probably time for every American to take the class to get their concealed carry license. It is becoming very obvious that our government does not have our backs. We need to be responsible for our own safety.

These Are NOT Families

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On Wednesday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about the continuing flow of illegal immigrants coming into America via our southern border. They are NOT families.

The article reports:

Thousands of military-age men from India, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East invaded Eagle Pass and Lukeville on Wednesday.

December is on track to be a record month for illegal border crossings. According to Customs and Border Protection, more than 300,000 illegals will likely pour into the US in December on Joe Biden’s open border invitation.

Video posted to X by NewsNation correspondent Jorge Ventura showed thousands of illegals – mainly military-age males – at the Eagle Pass, Texas port of entry waiting to be processed.

Border Patrol agents are overwhelmed and thousands more are on the way.
The article includes a video that can be found here:  https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/1737489620298776633?s=20
These are not families seeking asylum–they are military-age men. What is going to happen when these military-age men cannot find jobs or cannot find jobs that pay enough to support them? Do you suppose they might follow in the path of the groups that are looting and committing crimes in cities that are not holding criminals accountable? This is a Trojan Horse that is entering our country with the knowledge of the Congress and President who swore an oath to defend us.

One Impact Of An Open Border

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On Friday, The Daily Caller reported the following:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) flagged 74,904 illegal migrants nationwide for potentially posing risks to national security between October 2022 and August, according to CBP data obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Certain illegal migrants are deemed to be “special interest aliens” because they may have travel patterns that “possibly have a nexus to terrorism” or may come from countries with such ties, according to a 2019 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fact sheet. Border Patrol agents encountered 25,627 “special interest” illegal migrants in fiscal year 2022, compared to 3,675 encounters in fiscal year 2021, according to internal agency data previously obtained by the DCNF; however, this data doesn’t account for all CBP encounters of special interest aliens.

…“This does not mean that all SIAs are “terrorists,” but rather that the travel and behavior of such individuals indicates a possible nexus to nefarious activity (including terrorism) and, at a minimum, provides indicators that necessitate heightened screening and further investigation,” DHS adds.

Illegal migrants can be deemed special interest aliens based solely on their country of origin, such as Turkey or Uzbekistan, according to an internal Border Patrol document previously obtained by the DCNF.

The FBI is currently searching for a group of more than one dozen Uzbek migrants that federal authorities released into the country after they used an ISIS-tied smuggler to cross the southern border illegally.

I know you are tired of hearing this, but as long as we elect Republicans who want cheap labor and Democrats who want future voters, our national security will be at risk. Allowing the southern border to stay open is the fault of BOTH political parties, and those involved in keeping the border open should be charged with treason.

Welding The Gates Open

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On Monday, The New York Post reported that 114 massive gates along the Arizona border have been welded open by the Biden administration. Officials have stated that the reason for welding the gates open is to allow water to flow freely during the annual monsoon season and for the migration of an endangered species of antelope. If you believe that, I have a bridge in New York I would like to sell you. You can collect the toll revenue. Obviously, welding the gates open allows illegal immigrants to flow freely into America.

I have an idea. Let’s go to all the gated communities that our politicians live in and weld those gates open. Let’s see how long it is before those gates are magically closed again.

The article reports:

Smugglers are capitalizing on the floodgate blunder, driving migrants by the busload to the border and dropping them off as if they were casual tourists. Once across, they turn themselves in to border agents and say they are seeking asylum.

Border Patrol agents call them “give-ups.”

Last month, 42,561 migrants were encountered at the Tuscon border post, a huge jump over the June number of 27,294. Tuscon now tops traditionally busier border spots at El Paso and Laredo in Texas, where 24,352 and 26,627 border crossings, respectively, were reported in July.

The article concludes:

Meanwhile Brandon Judd, President of the National Border Patrol Council, said the way in which the open gates were so quickly exploited is a sure sign of cartel influence.

He told The Post: “Anytime you leave a spillway or a gate opened, the vast majority of people are not going to know it’s open and they’re not going to have the means to get there really, really quickly. Because the cartels are constantly surveilling what we do, the moment something gets left open, it gets exploited.

“In this particular case, it exploded almost immediately, which shows you how adept the criminal cartels are at exploiting any weakness at any time that we show them.

“The cartels know that all you have to do is cross the border illegally, claim asylum. If you’re with a family unit, if you’re from certain specific countries, if you meet those loopholes that go outside what Secretary Mayorkas has announced, then you’re going to get released and that’s what we’re seeing right now.”

“Every one of us [Border Patrol agents], we’re all left scratching our head on why an administration would allow this to happen.

“We’re seeing more and more that this President doesn’t care about what’s best for the country. He cares about what’s best for his re-election.”

I’m not sure this works in favor of the President’s re-election unless the illegal aliens vote. That remains to be seen.

 

Is Anyone Comfortable With This?

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On Saturday, The Daily Wire posted an article about the video included in the Tweet below.The video shows a toddler abandoned by the smuggler who was supposed to get him into America. The smuggler did get him into America, but had the Border Patrol not acted swiftly, the child might not have been alive for very long.

The article reports:

The crisis at the southern border has only intensified since Biden has taken office and further restricted Border Patrol’s ability to expel migrants. Notably, Biden early on made changes to circumvent Title 42 — used by the Trump administration during the pandemic to expel migrants on the basis of public health.

“Beginning April 21, 2022, OFO will increase its capabilities to process noncitizens potentially amenable for an exception to Title 42,” a memo from sent to Border Patrol reportedly said. “Factors weighing in favor of an exception include the following: a physical or mental illness, disability; pregnancy; lack of access to safe housing or shelter in Mexico (under 21 years old or younger or over 70, including families); and an indication that an individual has been threatened or harmed in Mexico.”

The administration has long been seeking to lift Title 42, but that is currently working through the courts. Border experts have warned the removal of the policy will exacerbate the crisis at the southern border.

Biden has recently tried to claim that his administration and Democrats are really the ones who want border security, while Republicans are trying to block it.

The situation at our southern border is a disaster because Congress is letting it remain a disaster. If the Republicans or the Democrats wanted the border crisis solved, it would be solve. The Democrats want the future voters; the Republicans want cheap labor. Until we elect people to Congress who actually love America, this situation will continue.

Is The Covid Emergency Really Over?

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On Friday, The Daily Caller reported the following:

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Finally Backing Down’: Border Patrol Lifts Vaccine Mandate For Personnel

The article notes:

  • U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has lifted its vaccine mandate, according to a memorandum exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
  • “CBP is halting the COVID-19 screening program, and employees may choose to withdraw their pending reasonable accommodation requests for screening exemption,” an internal CBP memorandum stated.
  • Several agents who fought for vaccine exemptions are both happy and frustrated over the new decision, they told the DCNF.
  • “Management is finally backing down because this is a fight that they’re not going to win. I think this is a huge win for people that didn’t get the vaccine. It’s almost like a relief,” one Border Patrol agent said.

Don’t get too confident yet. The emergency status will be renewed in January. It is not going to be allowed to expire.

The article notes:

“It’s a joke because we’re so worried about COVID that we’re letting in all these aliens unvaccinated, untested, we’re not doing anything for them, right? We’re not testing them when they come across. We’re not giving them the vaccine when they come across, but COVID is such a big deal,” they added.

The record surge in illegal migration in fiscal year 2022, when CBP encountered roughly 2.3 million migrants, has only made matters worse for the workforce, especially those threatened for not getting the jab.

“It doesn’t even feel like we’re the sworn agents that we were developed and made out to be … we’re the guys that are protecting the border. It’s like they don’t even care. We’re not even like people to them. At this point. It’s just a statistic,” a third agent requesting a religious accommodation said.

The border is wide open and we are concerned about whether or not Americans are vaccinated? Common sense has taken a vacation.

Another Reason To Secure Our Southern Border

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On Sunday, Breitbart reported that many previously convicted criminals are entering America through our porous southern border.

The article reports:

Del Rio Sector Border Patrol officials sounded the alarm after reporting the apprehension of more than 1,600 previously convicted criminal migrants who illegally entered the U.S. during the current fiscal year. The news comes after the arrest on back-to-back days of deported sex offenders.

“Thanks to agents in the Del Rio Sector, these two criminals won’t be on our streets,” Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens tweeted. “This is why we need our agents on patrol. This is our mission.”

The article concludes:

Del Rio Sector officials report that since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2022 (October 1, 2021), agents arrested more than 1,651 criminal aliens who illegally re-entered the United States.

Migrants who re-enter the U.S. illegally after removal can be charged with a federal felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The historically quiet Del Rio Sector jumped into first place as the busiest of the nine southwest Border Patrol sectors in June, Breitbart Texas reported. Del Rio agents 45,225 migrants in June — an increase of more than 47 percent over one year ago. More than three-quarters of those apprehended in June were single adults — up nearly 68 percent over last year.

We have criminals, drugs, cartel members, and other non-desirable people and elements coming across our southern border. It is past time to finish the wall and secure our country.

This Really Is Not Surprising

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Yesterday The Washington Examiner posted an article about what is happening at America’s southern border.

The article reports:

Unprecedented numbers of known or suspected terrorists have crossed the southern border in recent months, the outgoing Border Patrol chief said.

The head of the Border Patrol, Rodney Scott, told his 19,000 agents before retiring on Aug. 14 that their national security mission is paramount right now despite the Biden administration’s focus on migrant families and children who are coming across the United States-Mexico boundary at record rates.

“Over and over again, I see other people talk about our mission, your mission, and the context of it being immigration or the current crisis today being an immigration crisis,” Scott said in a video message to agents, obtained by the Washington Examiner. “I firmly believe that it is a national security crisis. Immigration is just a subcomponent of it, and right now, it’s just a cover for massive amounts of smuggling going across the southwest border — to include TSDBs at a level we have never seen before. That’s a real threat.”

TSDB refers to known or suspected terrorists, as identified in the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database.

The article concludes:

The Washington Examiner was first to report in June that Biden administration officials were forcing out Scott at Border Patrol headquarters in Washington after 16 months on the job.

One person with firsthand knowledge of Scott’s decision said in May that Scott was told to retire, resign, or move away from headquarters. The decision by Scott’s bosses was “completely driven by politics,” even though Scott’s position is apolitical and he is a 29-year employee of the Border Patrol.

“I did choose to retire, but I am not retiring to run away from this crisis. I’m just going to fight for you from a slightly different angle,” Scott said in his message to agents, though he did not explain his future plans.

“I am asking each one of you to look in the mirror and remind yourself, and if you haven’t thought about it before, think about the fact that you are not immigration police and our job is not immigration on the border,” Scott said. “Our job is to know who and what comes in this country and then to filter it out based on the rules applied by Congress and by law. That’s critically important, and when you put it in the context of immigration only, I think you miss the bigger fight. This job is extremely important. Your mission’s very important.”

Firing competent people is not the path to good government.

Policies Matter

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On Thursday, The U.K. Daily  Mail posted an article that contained the following chart:

The article reports:

New charts reveals exactly how Joe Biden‘s inauguration triggered a surge of immigrants arriving at the southern border, despite repeated claims from administration officials that they inherited a broken system.

The graphs – showing that border detentions and child arrivals dropped to their lowest level in years at the end of 2020 before rocketing as soon as Biden took office – derailed efforts by the top U.S. homeland security official to deliver a rosy message when he appeared before senators on Thursday. 

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was forced on the defensive after Sen. Ron Johnson produced his dramatic red chart displaying ‘border apprehensions.’

The article contained another chart about the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border:

The article concludes:

However, the graphs, compiled from Customs and Border Protection data, was used by a string of Republican senators to question his optimistic view that the administration’s position that it was not to blame.

Sen. Mitt Romney expressed his incredulity at what he was being told.

‘I must admit that I have found this hearing to be stunning in that it seems Mr Secretary that you’re proud of the progress being made by the administration, that things are going well at the border,’ he said.

‘And, and I look at this chart that was prepared by Senator Johnson, and I see an extraordinary crisis, I mean, do you recognize this as an alarming crisis?’

‘Senator, I look at immigration as a challenge that has been persistent for many many years … ‘ he said before being cut off.

This should not be a partisan issue, but there is a reason it is. If the Democrats expected the illegal immigrants to vote Republican when the immigrants received voting rights, you can bet that the wall would be finished and twice its current height. Obviously the Democrats are expecting the illegal immigrants to be granted voting rights eventually and to vote Democrat in gratitude for letting them into the country. Meanwhile women are being raped, children are abandoned, and the cartels are getting richer and more powerful. Policies matter.

Dogs Are Amazing

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Yesterday Sara Carter reported that Border Control canines found $60k worth of fentanyl pills hidden inside burritos.

The article reports:

A Yuma Sector Border Patrol canine uncovered almost $60,000 worth of the drugs in the backpack of a man crossing a checkpoint near Arizona, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a press release Tuesday.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection stated the following in their press release:

A canine handler referred the male driver of a Chevrolet Tahoe to the checkpoint’s secondary inspection area at approximately 3 p.m., after his canine partner alerted to the vehicle. While in secondary, the canine alerted to a black backpack that was located inside the vehicle. Agents searched the backpack and discovered several small packages containing fentanyl pills that were stuffed inside breakfast burritos.

The packages of fentanyl had a combined weight of just over five pounds with an estimated street value of nearly $60,000.

A 37-year-old Lawfully Admitted Permanent Resident was arrested and the fentanyl was seized and processed per CBP guidelines.

Smugglers are under the false assumption that they can disguise drugs within food to throw off canines and their handlers. On the contrary, canines have the ability to detect a target odor among a myriad of other odors.

Our local sheriff one commented that a person might walk into a house and notice that there was beef stew cooking. A dog’s sense of smell is so acute that he would be thinking ‘you left out the carrots.’ Thank God for our men at the border and the dogs that work alongside them.

Why Borders Are Important

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Yesterday The Washington Times reported the following:

Border Patrol agents arrested 11 Iranians Monday after they sneaked across the border into Arizona.

The five women and six men were traveling as a group, and were nabbed on a bridge near San Luis, a border crossing point. Agents said the group had just crossed the border.

These men and women may have simply been people seeking a better life, but because our southern border is generally porous, they were able to enter America illegally. We have no idea how many Iranians or people from countries that wish America harm have come in through our southern border.

If we intend to remain a country, we need to secure our borders.

Actions Have Consequences

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One of the many contentious battles that President Trump has had to fight was the battle to erect a border wall. A large part of that wall has been built, and there are consequences. Today The Washington Examiner posted an article about some of the impact of that wall.

The article reports:

Border Patrol agents who work in the Pacific Ocean off the southern coast of California saw a dramatic increase in the number of arrests made over the past 12 months, an indication that the addition of new border wall in the region since 2017 is prompting smugglers to find new ways to move people and drugs into the United States.

“Over the past year, within 2020, we’ve had a record number of marine interdictions, including pangas [small, fast boats], jet skis, swimmers, and paddle boaters,” Border Patrol San Diego Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke told the Washington Examiner during a land and sea tour. “The wall structure itself is solidifying the land border, and it’s forcing the smugglers to come out into the maritime environment.”

Agents, using jet skis and boats to patrol the 20-mile stretch from Chula Vista at the border up past downtown San Diego, made 302 interdictions in fiscal 2020, which ran from Oct. 1, 2019, through Sept. 30, compared to 195 the previous year and 88 in 2015. One such incident resulted in the seizure of a small boat that was loaded with more than 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine.

Arrests of illegal immigrants and smugglers jumped 92% from 662 in 2019 to 1,271 in 2020. Comparatively, 219 people were arrested in 2015.

The article concludes:

Border Patrol’s San Diego region has seen 53 miles of border wall added to its 60-mile area of responsibility, including the duplicate fencing. A small portion of the new wall was completed with funding from the final year of the Obama administration, but most was funded in federal budgets passed during the Trump administration. The foundation of the double-layer fencing goes up to 10 feet below the ground, preventing people from digging shallow tunnels into the U.S., as was possible with the Clinton-era metal scraps. It stretches from 18 feet to 30 feet tall and is comprised of steel fence posts filled with concrete and rebar. It starts at the coast and goes up into the mountains in Otay Mesa, California, significantly further than the scrap metal that was taken out. Construction teams are in the process of completing the wall over the mountains, a seemingly impossible task for how steep the terrain is here.

Agents in San Diego said this new wall and the technology that comes with it will be hard to get past for most people and will funnel others to areas where agents are present because they have been freed up to focus on less secure areas as a result of the new wall. Those who do attempt to climb over the wall will be better detected thanks to new cameras, sensors, radar systems, and underground fiber optic systems.

Border Patrol officials had expected smugglers to try new approaches, including taking to the water. Heitke said smugglers who do choose to go the boat route are being tracked, oftentimes by the cellphone they leave behind in a boat or when it is seized after they are arrested.

“The smuggler has a phone with them,” said Heitke. “We can dump the information on the phone and find the routes saying where they’re going, and we’re able to see an enormous range of travel, whether they go out 50 miles or 100 miles out, whether [they] go up 50 or 100 miles to land.”

How many drug overdoses have been prevented because President Trump fought Congress to build a wall?

Why A Secure Border Matters

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Evidently China has been dealing with the coronavirus since December of last year. The virus has had a serious impact on the country in both economic and health areas. The restriction on Chinese citizens traveling to America that began in January has probably helped prevent a widespread epidemic in this country. However, the risk is still there.

The Daily Wire is reporting today:

“Some 328 illegal immigrants from China have been nabbed jumping the U.S.-Mexico border so far this year, according to Homeland Security data that raises the prospect a coronavirus carrier could sneak into the country via the border,” The Washington Times reported. “Three other people from South Korea — another country with rapidly spreading cases — have also been arrested at the border, as have 122 people from the Dominican Republican, where the coronavirus has now been detected.”

…Border Patrol agents told the Times that in addition to the 1,000 illegal aliens who are caught every day entering the United States through the southern border with Mexico, which is also dealing with an outbreak of the coronavirus, a significant number of illegal aliens are managing to sneak into the country undetected.

“The journey to the U.S. border puts migrants in poor conditions,” a Homeland Security official told The Washington Times. “We don’t know if they have come into contact with someone who has the flu, there is no passport, medical history, or travel manifest.”

The article concludes:

Another senior administration official told The Examiner, “We have a unique public health threat posed by individuals arriving unlawfully at the border. Any halting of MPP (Migrant Protection Protocols –the remain in Mexico policy) would exacerbate that threat.”

DHS acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli told The Examiner that the department’s top objective was protecting the American people, and that Trump’s efforts have gone a long way toward achieving that goal.

“The American people can be assured that we’re doing everything we can to protect our homeland. While the general risk to the American public remains low, DHS has mobilized a departmentwide response to keep Americans safe, secure, and informed,” Cuccinelli said. “Fortunately, we were able to engage DHS assistance early to prevent the spread of this virus in the U.S. We remain locked arm-in-arm with our interagency partners, HHS and CDC health professionals, and state and local officials acting as one to safeguard the health and safety of the American people.”

An open border represents both a security risk and a health risk. It is time to stop playing politics with the lives of American people and secure the border.

The President’s Immigration Policies Are Working

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Breitbart is reporting today that new immigration procedures implemented by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) effectively disbanded a group of 2,000 mostly Central American caravan migrants.

The article reports:

Immigration policies put in place following an agreement between Mexico and the Trump Administration broke up a caravan consisting of approximately 2,000 people from Central America, Africa, and the Caribbean Islands, the Associated Press reported Saturday. The group began to move northward from Tapachula, Chiapas, early one morning last week after being held up for official travel documents. The group quickly encountered Mexican Federal Police and members of the newly formed National Guard.

When the group came upon the police and soldiers, some scattered while others surrendered.

“This caravan no longer exists,” migrant rights advocate Irineo Mujica told the AP.

The migrants are provided opportunities to request asylum in Mexico. Instead, the group chose to illegally attempt to move through Mexico to the U.S. border.

“I want to pass through Mexico, I don’t want to live here,” Amado Ramirez expressed. Reportedly traveling with his wife and young children, he said he hoped to obtain documents allowing him to pass through Mexico.

The article concludes:

Under the agreement between Mexico and the United States, Mexican immigration officials give the migrants two choices — stay in Mexico or leave via Mexico’s southern border. Many are flown back to their countries of origin. African migrants have a more difficult path as their home countries often lack the infrastructure to handle mass repatriations, the AP stated.

Migrant support groups reported that the presence of the National Guard and other law enforcement officials in southern Mexico made the process for moving north very difficult.

Large group migration through Mexico to the U.S. southern border hit a 12-year high during Fiscal Year 2019. However, changes in Mexican policies negotiated by the Trump Administration effectively dropped the numbers from a high mark of nearly 133,000 in May to about 40,000 in September, Breitbart Texas reported. By the end of the fiscal year, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended an estimated 850,000.

Migrant families and unaccompanied minors made up for nearly two-thirds of the apprehensions in the U.S.

President Trump threatened Mexico with high tariffs if they did not end the caravans passing through their country and entering the United States illegally. What we are seeing is an American President who understands that because of America’s strong economy, we can use economic leverage to persuade other countries to do what is right.

A Very Misleading Statement

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Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez visited the southern border of America earlier this week. She tweeted about the deplorable conditions of the illegal immigrants held there awaiting processing. Somehow she neglected to mention that she had voted against additional funding to provide resources to improve conditions. In addition, she made some pretty outrageous claims about the conditions.

The Washington Examiner posted some of her comments:

“Now I’ve seen the inside of these facilities. It’s not just the kids. It’s everyone. People drinking out of toilets, officers laughing in front of members Congress. I brought it up to their superiors. They said ‘officers are under stress & act out sometimes.’ No accountability,” she tweeted. “Just left the 1st CBP facility. I see why CBP officers were being so physically &sexually threatening towards me. Officers were keeping women in cells w/ no water & had told them to drink out of the toilets. This was them on their GOOD behavior in front of members of Congress.”

This comment creates an impression of a horrible situation. However, I later found a picture of the toilets in the holding areas:

Does this change the meaning and the impact of her statement?

The article further clarifies and concludes:

The agent on scene said the congresswoman misrepresented why a person in custody had drunk from a toilet.

“So this is what happened with the migrant and drinking water from toilet: she wanted water, didn’t know how to use the faucet in the cell, and drank from the toilet. She never told AOC that we made her drink from the toilet. AOC, of course, changed it … This was when she [the migrant] was apprehended and brought into the facility,” according to the agent.

A Border Patrol official familiar with the sector’s media and congressional visits said the city’s congresswoman, Veronica Escobar, has been through stations “15 times” but did not respond in the same way as her colleague on Monday. Later in the visit, the first official said Escobar “yelled” at El Paso Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Hull about its care of detainees.

“We’ve never hidden anything from her,” the official said.

We are being played.

 

We Are Being Played

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We have a humanitarian crisis on our southern border. We also have a legal crisis of our southern border. No country can randomly allow non-citizens to cross their borders illegally and then take advantage of the largess of their citizens. All of these immigrants crossing  into the country illegally are receiving  medical care, dental care, etc. at the border. Many of them manage to collect government benefits after being here. Many receive free college tuition that American citizens do not get. Yes, there is a problem. It would be nice if Congress solved the problem. Hopefully they are moving in that direction.

Meanwhile, as Rahm Emmanuel once said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”

The first thing you do is create a really good photo op. Below is an example:

This is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez crying over the plight of immigrant children at our southern border. There is only one problem with the picture.

This is the shot from another angle:

I guess it is touching that AOC has compassion for border patrol agents standing in an empty parking lot, but somehow that is not how the media described the picture. The media suggested that AOC was sobbing presumably at the sight of migrant children being inhumanely detained. From the looks of the second picture, that was not exactly the case.

Photos posted at The Gateway Pundit.

 

 

 

It’s Not Just About Immigrants

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On Saturday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about the “We Build the Wall” organization led by founder and organizer Brian Kolfage. They are building their first major border wall section on the West Texas-New Mexico border.

The article reports:

In the first video “Foreman Mike” discussed the latest progress on the Sunland Park project. “We Build the Wall” is closing up on their first half mile of wall. They project is approximately 2,300 feet and they have 350 more feet to go to finish the project.

The construction team has used over 600 concrete trucks so far. They are also pouring concrete for a 25 foot speedway behind the all for Border Patrol agents.

Border Patrol officials say the current project when complete will cut off 19 different foot trails on Mount Cristo Rey on the border. The cartels are bringing $100,000 to $200,000 in drugs each day through the open border in this area.

Mike added this on the effectiveness of the current project, “When I got here 17 days ago there were 450 people a night crossing.  When equipment started arriving it went to 300.   When manpower started working we went down to 200.  When we started placing the bollards it went from 70 to 30 to 0.  We’ve had no crossings in the last 8 days.”

Then Mike added this on the very security  situation,  “We have military clad specialists from the cartels probing our line.  The only thing stopping them is our specialists in the hills counteracting with them.  We expect to be completed late, late, late this evening or early tomorrow with the first segment of the wall. “

When asked about the security needed to deal with the drug cartels, Mike replied, “It’s extremely dangerous.  They got within 15 feet of the escavators last night.  They’re coming down and trying to probe against the new wall… We have approximately 15 guards on post, armed security individuals.”

This is a video of exactly what is happening with the “We Build The Wall” Project:

If nothing else, this is proof that when the government fails to act, Americans can and will get things done.

Our Southern Border

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CNS News posted an article yesterday detailing what is happening at the southern border of America.

The article reports:

Rodolfo Karisch, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector, told the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Management and Accountability on Thursday, that the Border Patrol in his sector has intercepted illegal aliens trying to enter the United States “from 40 different countries, including Bangladesh, Turkey, Romania and China.”

“I want to provide some perspective on the challenges facing our men and women at the Southwest border,” Karisch told the committee in his opening statement. “Though I cannot speak for all of the components of Customs and Border Protection, I can provide a first-hand account of the complex border-security environment and ask for your assistance in helping our frontline men and women.

The article includes some statistics to illustrate what is happening at our southern border:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has published a spread sheet listing the number of illegal aliens apprehended in each border sector in 2017 by their nation of citizenship.

Of the 303,916 who were apprehended that year along the U.S.-Mexico border, only 127,938—or approximately 42.1 percent—were from Mexico.

1,364 of the deportable aliens intercepted on the U.S.-Mexico border in 2017 were from the People’s Republic of China. Of these, 702 were intercepted in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.

564 deportable aliens from Bangladesh were intercepted on the U.S.-Mexico border in 2017. Of these, 304 were intercepted in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.

433 deportable aliens from Romania were intercepted on the U.S.-Mexico border in 2017. Of these, 94 were intercepted in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.

35 deportable aliens from Turkey were intercepted on the U.S.-Mexico border in 2017. Of these, 21 were intercepted in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.

It’s time to build a wall so that we know who is coming in.

A Representative Speaks About The Border And The Shutdown

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On Saturday, The Alpha News, posted a column by U.S. Representative Jack Bergman.

Representative Bergman wrote:

For those of us who call the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan home, the discussion around border security is often different than what we see on the nightly news. The challenges for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agents and other federal, state and local law enforcement in the Soo vary greatly from those of their southern border counterparts. The commonality is we share the same goal: the safety and security of our citizens.

As the national debate rages on, we must remember that our nation is a welcoming nation and built by immigrants. I know firsthand — my grandparents immigrated from Sweden to the Upper Peninsula to start a new life.

Though, equally as true as the aforementioned: We are a nation of borders, as well as law and order. But our immigration system is broken — and to argue otherwise would be dishonest. From an ineffective visa system to porous borders, decades of disinterest, lazy legislation, and bureaucratic opposition have encouraged bad actors to take advantage of our current system. It’s not fair to put the needs of our citizens or of those who come here legally below those who enter illegally.

President Donald Trump is right to call this a crisis, and we have a unique opportunity right now to address these issues head on. Fixing our immigration system starts first and foremost with secure borders. Without that, everything else falls apart. While most are hoping to enter our country for a good reason, we can’t turn a blind eye to the facts. Over the past two years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested close to 300,000 criminal illegal immigrants in our country — 3,900 on murder charges, 27,000 on sex-related charges, 99,000 on assault-related charges, and over 160,000 on criminal traffic charges, such as driving under the influence.

Congress has the constitutional duty and obligation to provide for the safety and security of our citizens, and it’s time we put aside partisan games and secure our borders. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol have identified the need for 234 miles of physical barrier (read: wall) on our southern border.

Yet, Nancy Pelosi and many other “leaders” have radically dismissed the notion of walls being a necessary part of securing a border.

This is not campaign rhetoric or pandering for votes. This is a crisis of our own making. We are in the longest — and most avoidable — government shutdown in U.S. history. Those most vital to protecting our borders, coasts, and ports have now missed at least one paycheck, with little to no progress being made in Washington.

It’s time to end this shutdown, secure our borders, and get our government open and working for the people.

Come to the table Democrats.

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, represents Michigan’s 1st Congressional District, covering the northern Lower Peninsula and all of the Upper Peninsula.

Well spoken, sir.