Jim Hartman
Four months after President Biden switched strategies to stem illegal crossings at the southern border, his new plan is failing.
Illegal border crossings from Mexico into the United States are surging after an unexpected drop in May and June when Biden ended use of pandemic-era Title 42 and replaced it with new policies he claimed would work as a better deterrent.
U.S. Border Patrol arrested 183,503 migrants in July and 232,972 in August as the raging crisis at the border escalates. In September illegal crossings continue to soar, exceeding 11,000 “encounters” on Sept. 24 – not including border “gotaways.”
Former President Barack Obama’s DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson once testified that more than 1,000 “encounters” a day represented a “crisis.”
With September’s numbers so far, “encounters” for fiscal year 2023 already exceed the FY2022 record of 2.37 million.
Twenty-five Republican governors, including Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, have called on Biden to provide “honest, accurate ,detailed information” about the migrant crisis, including where they are moving to.
They warn states are facing staggering costs related to the crisis.
“States are forced to provide financial, educational, and medical support to migrants entering our country illegally – support that is skyrocketing in cost,” they say.
But it’s no longer just Republicans being critical of Biden’s policy. Democratic mayors and governors have declared states of emergency in their jurisdictions to deal with the flood of immigrants overburdening their communities.
“Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to,” said New York Mayor Eric Adams. “This issue will destroy New York City.”
A growing number of Democrats are placing blame squarely on Biden.
States of emergency have been declared by the Democratic mayors of Chicago, El Paso, Denver and Washington, D.C., as well as Democratic governors in Illinois and New York.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, has accused the government of inaction and called for a national emergency declaration.
Even far-left Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, classified as “pro-migrant,” have criticized Biden. “Immigration is arguably this administration’s weakest issue,” she said.
A recent ABC News/WP poll found only 23% of those surveyed approved of Biden’s actions in securing the border.
Since Title 42’s expiration the number of migrant families crossing the border has more than doubled. Although the administration advertised harsh consequences for anyone entering illegally, it doesn’t have the capacity to administer an initial asylum screening program for families. They’re overwhelmed.
As a result, only 2% of families are put into the tracking program, the rest are released and allowed to move anywhere in the U.S.
The current surge is predominantly illegal Venezuelan immigrants, reminiscent of the Haitian migrant crisis two years ago.
The skyrocketing numbers also include people from around the entire world, with the border open to migrant fentanyl drug gangs, violent criminals and those on the terror watch list.
On Sept. 20, Biden granted work permits to 472,000 Venezuelans already in the country. This action will only further incentivize those who contemplate illegally crossing the border, critics note.
Biden has called on Congress to provide more immigration and border funding.
In May, House Republicans passed H.R.2 that would set tight limits on asylum seekers and resume the successful Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” program, requiring them to stay outside the U.S. until their asylum hearing date.
H.R. 2 would also restart construction of a border wall and expand federal law enforcement efforts.
Republicans seek to include it in a continuing resolution to keep the government open into October.
Millions of immigrants from around the world are entering the United States because they know Biden allows them in and permits them to stay. Until that policy changes, millions more will keep coming.
Biden’s border policy is an unsustainable national disaster.
E-mail Jim Hartman at lawdocman1@aol.com.