ICE increasingly arresting violent criminals released into US from southern border

Federal officers at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement increasingly arrested serious criminals charged with violent crimes within the United States after being released into the country from the border during the Biden administration.

Historically, illegal immigrants whom ICE has arrested within the U.S. have been individuals wanted in their home country in connection to serious crimes there or have been in the U.S. for a number of years and have criminal records that range from less serious to somewhat serious offenses, such as a DUI and robbery.

The New Atlantis — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrest an immigrant outside his residence during an early morning raid in Duarte, California, Monday, June 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Thus far in August, ICE has increasingly focused on arresting people who have a criminal record and entered the United States under Biden than people who entered before he was president in 2021.

On Wednesday, ICE nabbed Peruvian gang leader Gianfranco Torres-Navarro in Endicott, New York. Torres-Navarro was wanted for 23 murders in his home country and had illegally entered the U.S. in May near Roma, Texas. He was let into the country rather than detained in ICE custody — a decision that Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) said was the Biden administration’s fault.

“Let’s be crystal clear on why this happened. Governor Hochul, the Biden-Harris Administration, and open border activists like Josh Riley abandoned our borders and abandoned communities like Endicott. Because of them, we had an illegal immigrant and known serial killer wandering Endicott for nearly three months — just waiting for his next victim,” Molinaro said in a statement Friday.

ICE offices in Baltimore found and arrested the wanted leader of a Colombian gang who had entered the country illegally on Sept. 14, 2023, near San Ysidro, California. The unnamed 29-year-old man is the head of the Las Colinas criminal organization in Santa Marta, Colombia.

Haitian migrant Marc Kervens Beauvais was arrested by ICE on Aug. 13 in Peabody, Massachusetts, after he was charged with the aggravated rape of a pregnant woman in June. The 34-year-old man was also charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and an attempt to commit a crime. He was arrested by the Border Patrol in Del Rio, Texas, on June 26, 2021, and released with a notice to report to ICE offices for court details.

“We simply can not allow anyone that poses such a threat to prey upon the residents of our communities,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons in a statement. “ERO Boston will continue our mission of prioritizing public safety by aggressively apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from New England.”

A 35-year-old man from Brazil was taken into custody in Wakefield, Massachusetts, this week for the assault to rape, indecent assault, and battery of a child over 14 years of age, as well as domestic assault and battery.

Jackson Bento-Pinheiro was admitted into the country and allowed to remain under the Alternatives to Detention, which fits individuals with ankle monitors or a phone app capable of tracking their GPS location. He was first encountered by Border Patrol entering near San Ysidro, California, on July 10, 2021.

In numerous cases, people were arrested by ICE after being bailed or bonded out of local jail. ICE was not able to immediately take custody of the detainee when they were let out of jail in the community because local ordinances in these “sanctuary” cities bar local police from turning over people in custody to federal law enforcement.

A 26-year-old Haitian migrant arrested in the aggravated rape of a child in Rockland, Massachusetts, was arrested in March by local police. ICE asked the police to detain Cory Bernard Alvarez until officers could transfer him to federal custody. The Plymouth County Superior Court of Brockton denied the ICE request and released Alvarez on a $500 bond. ICE arrested Alvarez near his home in Brockton, Massachusetts, this week.

The Rhode Island Department of Corrections declined to hold a suspect that ICE requested be detained until federal police could take custody. Rhode Island authorities released a man in custody for fentanyl smuggling in Rhode Island from custody in July.

Dominican citizen Yohan Perez-Chala was arrested in May for fentanyl trafficking in Cranston, Rhode Island. He entered the U.S. illegally at the southern border but was not caught by Border Patrol when he entered and made his way to New England. ICE arrested him in Cranston last month.

The Connecticut Department of Corrections also recently denied an ICE detainer request and let back onto the street a 36-year-old Peruvian man charged in Hartford, Connecticut, with assault, as well as threatening and unlawful restraint.

Irving Gustavo Escate-Huarancca entered the U.S. illegally at the border near San Luis, Arizona, on Dec. 11, 2023. Border authorities released him into the country, unaware that he had been convicted of aggravated robbery in Peru and sentenced to 11 years in prison. ICE arrested Escate-Huarancca in Hartford in mid-July.

“He clearly represents a threat to our neighborhoods that we cannot allow to continue,” said Lyons. “ERO Boston will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from New England.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Colombian citizen Elkin Arturo Yarce-Munera was released into the country from the border town of Brownville, Texas in May 2022. The following January he was arrested in Boston for the assault and battery of a family member or household member.

The East Boston District Court convicted Yarce in December 2023 but declined to turn him over to ICE. ICE arrested Yarce and found he had fake Social Security and U.S. permanent resident documents.

2024-08-16 22:39:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fpolicy%2Fimmigration%2F3124091%2Fice-arresting-illegal-immigrant-criminals-southern-border%2F?w=600&h=450, Federal officers at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement increasingly arrested serious criminals charged with violent crimes within the United States after being released into the country from the border during the Biden administration. Historically, illegal immigrants whom ICE has arrested within the U.S. have been individuals wanted in their home country in connection to serious,

Thus far in August, ICE has increasingly focused on arresting people who have a criminal record and entered the United States under Biden than people who entered before he was president in 2021.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The East Boston District Court convicted Yarce in December 2023 but declined to turn him over to ICE. ICE arrested Yarce and found he had fake Social Security and U.S. permanent resident documents.

, Federal officers at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement increasingly arrested serious criminals charged with violent crimes within the United States after being released into the country from the border during the Biden administration. Historically, illegal immigrants whom ICE has arrested within the U.S. have been individuals wanted in their home country in connection to serious crimes there or have been in the U.S. for a number of years and have criminal records that range from less serious to somewhat serious offenses, such as a DUI and robbery. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrest an immigrant outside his residence during an early morning raid in Duarte, California, Monday, June 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Thus far in August, ICE has increasingly focused on arresting people who have a criminal record and entered the United States under Biden than people who entered before he was president in 2021. On Wednesday, ICE nabbed Peruvian gang leader Gianfranco Torres-Navarro in Endicott, New York. Torres-Navarro was wanted for 23 murders in his home country and had illegally entered the U.S. in May near Roma, Texas. He was let into the country rather than detained in ICE custody — a decision that Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) said was the Biden administration’s fault. “Let’s be crystal clear on why this happened. Governor Hochul, the Biden-Harris Administration, and open border activists like Josh Riley abandoned our borders and abandoned communities like Endicott. Because of them, we had an illegal immigrant and known serial killer wandering Endicott for nearly three months — just waiting for his next victim,” Molinaro said in a statement Friday. ICE offices in Baltimore found and arrested the wanted leader of a Colombian gang who had entered the country illegally on Sept. 14, 2023, near San Ysidro, California. The unnamed 29-year-old man is the head of the Las Colinas criminal organization in Santa Marta, Colombia. Haitian migrant Marc Kervens Beauvais was arrested by ICE on Aug. 13 in Peabody, Massachusetts, after he was charged with the aggravated rape of a pregnant woman in June. The 34-year-old man was also charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and an attempt to commit a crime. He was arrested by the Border Patrol in Del Rio, Texas, on June 26, 2021, and released with a notice to report to ICE offices for court details. “We simply can not allow anyone that poses such a threat to prey upon the residents of our communities,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons in a statement. “ERO Boston will continue our mission of prioritizing public safety by aggressively apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from New England.” A 35-year-old man from Brazil was taken into custody in Wakefield, Massachusetts, this week for the assault to rape, indecent assault, and battery of a child over 14 years of age, as well as domestic assault and battery. Jackson Bento-Pinheiro was admitted into the country and allowed to remain under the Alternatives to Detention, which fits individuals with ankle monitors or a phone app capable of tracking their GPS location. He was first encountered by Border Patrol entering near San Ysidro, California, on July 10, 2021. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrest an immigrant considered a threat to public safety and national security during an early morning raid in Compton, California, Monday, June 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) In numerous cases, people were arrested by ICE after being bailed or bonded out of local jail. ICE was not able to immediately take custody of the detainee when they were let out of jail in the community because local ordinances in these “sanctuary” cities bar local police from turning over people in custody to federal law enforcement. A 26-year-old Haitian migrant arrested in the aggravated rape of a child in Rockland, Massachusetts, was arrested in March by local police. ICE asked the police to detain Cory Bernard Alvarez until officers could transfer him to federal custody. The Plymouth County Superior Court of Brockton denied the ICE request and released Alvarez on a $500 bond. ICE arrested Alvarez near his home in Brockton, Massachusetts, this week. The Rhode Island Department of Corrections declined to hold a suspect that ICE requested be detained until federal police could take custody. Rhode Island authorities released a man in custody for fentanyl smuggling in Rhode Island from custody in July. Dominican citizen Yohan Perez-Chala was arrested in May for fentanyl trafficking in Cranston, Rhode Island. He entered the U.S. illegally at the southern border but was not caught by Border Patrol when he entered and made his way to New England. ICE arrested him in Cranston last month. The Connecticut Department of Corrections also recently denied an ICE detainer request and let back onto the street a 36-year-old Peruvian man charged in Hartford, Connecticut, with assault, as well as threatening and unlawful restraint. Irving Gustavo Escate-Huarancca entered the U.S. illegally at the border near San Luis, Arizona, on Dec. 11, 2023. Border authorities released him into the country, unaware that he had been convicted of aggravated robbery in Peru and sentenced to 11 years in prison. ICE arrested Escate-Huarancca in Hartford in mid-July. “He clearly represents a threat to our neighborhoods that we cannot allow to continue,” said Lyons. “ERO Boston will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from New England.” CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Colombian citizen Elkin Arturo Yarce-Munera was released into the country from the border town of Brownville, Texas in May 2022. The following January he was arrested in Boston for the assault and battery of a family member or household member. The East Boston District Court convicted Yarce in December 2023 but declined to turn him over to ICE. ICE arrested Yarce and found he had fake Social Security and U.S. permanent resident documents., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ice-community-arrests.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Anna Giaritelli,

HHS under GOP fire for putting migrant children ‘in danger’

EXCLUSIVE — House Republicans are pushing the Biden administration for information on the number of potentially dangerous adults in the United States who applied to take custody of unaccompanied migrant children in government custody after crossing the southern border alone.

Senior Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee sent the Department of Health and Human Services a letter late Monday that requested data from its Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is responsible for caring for the more than 430,000 children in federal custody at the border and screening the adult sponsors the child is placed to live with, the Washington Examiner has learned.

“The humanitarian crisis caused by the Biden-Harris administration’s open-borders policies have placed hundreds of thousands of innocent children in danger,” House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) said in a statement.

“It is now apparent that once unaccompanied children arrive here, HHS is failing to sufficiently vet ‘sponsors’ to whom they are releasing these vulnerable children to. Allowing this heartbreaking abuse to continue is unconscionable,” Green said. “My Committee is demanding answers on the administration’s failure to protect the most vulnerable among us and end the crisis that has put them in harm’s way to begin with.”

Green, alongside Reps. Clay Higgins (R-LA) and Dan Bishop (R-NC), wrote in the letter to HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Robin Dunn Marcos that their oversight of the HHS was warranted given the committee’s jurisdiction over border matters and the Biden administration’s well-documented failures to manage children in custody.

A February 2024 audit by the HHS Office of Inspector General found the agency failed to conduct timely well-being follow-up calls for 22% of children placed with sponsors; 16% of case files lacked proof that sponsors underwent safety checks; and 19% of children were released to adults before FBI fingerprint and state child abuse registries shared results with the government about the sponsors.

Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, more than 500,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the southern border — a figure no other administration has come close to hitting.

Of that figure, 430,000 children were released to adults within the U.S. Roughly 15% of children were returned to their countries of origin.

In early 2023, the New York Times reported that more than 85,000 children who had been released in the first two years of the Biden administration were unable to be contacted when the HHS attempted to follow-up with the children and their sponsors.

The New York Times report stated that countless children had been forced into working, even trafficked into sex work and forced labor by the adults who HHS placed them with.

The three Republicans asked HHS to disclose the number of adults who applied to take custody of a child and were found not to be a good fit and ultimately not approved since January 2021.

HHS is also to provide lawmakers with the number of sponsor applicants who, upon undergoing background checks, were determined to have been charged or convicted for any crime, as well as investigated for the physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a child.

Oversight Republicans have requested documents that show the monthly number of children who were placed with sponsors that HHS later lost contact with during follow-up attempts post-placement and the number of applicants who provided false information in an attempt to obtain a child.

Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, children who arrive at the border without a parent or guardian are to be protected from immediate removal from the country on the basis that they may be victims of human trafficking.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Children from all countries except for Canada and Mexico are typically exempt from automatic removal under the TVPRA though the Biden administration has flown back thousands of children from some Central American countries. Children who arrive at the southern border with a parent are not separated except in rare cases where the adult may be wanted in the U.S.

The HHS did not respond to a request for comment.

2024-08-13 12:00:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fpolicy%2Fimmigration%2F3118253%2Fhhs-lost-migrant-children-house-gop%2F?w=600&h=450, EXCLUSIVE — House Republicans are pushing the Biden administration for information on the number of potentially dangerous adults in the United States who applied to take custody of unaccompanied migrant children in government custody after crossing the southern border alone. Senior Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee sent the Department of Health and Human,

Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, more than 500,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the southern border — a figure no other administration has come close to hitting.

Of that figure, 430,000 children were released to adults within the U.S. Roughly 15% of children were returned to their countries of origin.

The New York Times report stated that countless children had been forced into working, even trafficked into sex work and forced labor by the adults who HHS placed them with.

The three Republicans asked HHS to disclose the number of adults who applied to take custody of a child and were found not to be a good fit and ultimately not approved since January 2021.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The HHS did not respond to a request for comment.

, EXCLUSIVE — House Republicans are pushing the Biden administration for information on the number of potentially dangerous adults in the United States who applied to take custody of unaccompanied migrant children in government custody after crossing the southern border alone. Senior Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee sent the Department of Health and Human Services a letter late Monday that requested data from its Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is responsible for caring for the more than 430,000 children in federal custody at the border and screening the adult sponsors the child is placed to live with, the Washington Examiner has learned. “The humanitarian crisis caused by the Biden-Harris administration’s open-borders policies have placed hundreds of thousands of innocent children in danger,” House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) said in a statement. “It is now apparent that once unaccompanied children arrive here, HHS is failing to sufficiently vet ‘sponsors’ to whom they are releasing these vulnerable children to. Allowing this heartbreaking abuse to continue is unconscionable,” Green said. “My Committee is demanding answers on the administration’s failure to protect the most vulnerable among us and end the crisis that has put them in harm’s way to begin with.” Green, alongside Reps. Clay Higgins (R-LA) and Dan Bishop (R-NC), wrote in the letter to HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Robin Dunn Marcos that their oversight of the HHS was warranted given the committee’s jurisdiction over border matters and the Biden administration’s well-documented failures to manage children in custody. A February 2024 audit by the HHS Office of Inspector General found the agency failed to conduct timely well-being follow-up calls for 22% of children placed with sponsors; 16% of case files lacked proof that sponsors underwent safety checks; and 19% of children were released to adults before FBI fingerprint and state child abuse registries shared results with the government about the sponsors. Migrants head to a makeshift camp where thousands of Haitian migrants have created a makeshift camp, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, in Del Rio, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, more than 500,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the southern border — a figure no other administration has come close to hitting. Of that figure, 430,000 children were released to adults within the U.S. Roughly 15% of children were returned to their countries of origin. In early 2023, the New York Times reported that more than 85,000 children who had been released in the first two years of the Biden administration were unable to be contacted when the HHS attempted to follow-up with the children and their sponsors. The New York Times report stated that countless children had been forced into working, even trafficked into sex work and forced labor by the adults who HHS placed them with. The three Republicans asked HHS to disclose the number of adults who applied to take custody of a child and were found not to be a good fit and ultimately not approved since January 2021. HHS is also to provide lawmakers with the number of sponsor applicants who, upon undergoing background checks, were determined to have been charged or convicted for any crime, as well as investigated for the physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a child. Oversight Republicans have requested documents that show the monthly number of children who were placed with sponsors that HHS later lost contact with during follow-up attempts post-placement and the number of applicants who provided false information in an attempt to obtain a child. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, children who arrive at the border without a parent or guardian are to be protected from immediate removal from the country on the basis that they may be victims of human trafficking. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Children from all countries except for Canada and Mexico are typically exempt from automatic removal under the TVPRA though the Biden administration has flown back thousands of children from some Central American countries. Children who arrive at the southern border with a parent are not separated except in rare cases where the adult may be wanted in the U.S. The HHS did not respond to a request for comment., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/unaccompanied-migrant-children.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Anna Giaritelli,

‘Never’ Harris: Border Patrol agents divulge how they feel about Kamala

EXCLUSIVE — Border Patrol agents expressed more distrust of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris than President Joe Biden and said they will not vote for her in November in interviews with the Washington Examiner.

None of the more than a dozen Border Patrol agents questioned by the Washington Examiner said they would cast a ballot for Harris because they do not view her as supportive of the organization and its congressionally mandated mission.

“I would never vote for her,” said the first agent.

“These past four years have been a nightmare for the Patrol and it would be another four years of the same. And probably worse than Biden, honestly,” said a second agent.

Agents are not allowed to speak with the media and those who spoke with the Washington Examiner did so on the condition of anonymity. The agents ranged from rank-and-file to supervisors to the upper echelon of management.

Their reasons for bucking Harris ranged from viewing her as a radical to her lack of engagement with personnel to personal and religious beliefs. However, all agreed that a Harris administration would render the United States worse off from a security standpoint than it is now.

Several agents who will be or already are eligible for retirement are already discussing early retirement and whether staying on the job would be worthwhile if Harris is elected this fall.

Perception as a Radical Democrat

Border Patrol agents fear that a future Harris administration would “continue the same failed policies as Biden” which resulted in nearly 10 million migrant encounters nationwide since January 2021 — a record for any point in national history, according to the third agent.

Agents overwhelmingly view Harris as further to the left than what Biden has done as president. One agent pointed to her selection this week of Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) as her running mate as more reason to believe the ticket was not your average pair of Democrats.

Walz has supported overhauling federal agency U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and signed into law state policies that allowed illegal immigrants to obtain free college tuition and driver’s licenses.

“She will continue or even enhance Biden’s failed policies,” said a third agent. “The vice president pick seems even more radical than her, which is mind-blowing. I view her as leaning left more than Biden.”

A fourth agent added that he imagined Harris would “laugh when she’s confronted about it,” a reference to Harris’s tendency to laugh nervously in some situations.

“We are screwed as a country if she becomes president. The border will never close,” a fifth agent said.

VP role as ‘border czar’

As the number of unaccompanied children, families, and single adults coming over the southern border began to spike within weeks of Biden’s inauguration, Biden tapped Harris early on in his term to address the root causes that citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico were fleeing to the United States.

However, during her tenure as vice president, migrants from around the globe have surged to the southern border to more than make up for any decline from certain Central American nations.

But Border Patrol agents said she failed to visit them. In a June 2021 interview with NBC News reporter Lester Holt, Harris was asked when she planned to visit the southern border. She retorted that she had not visited Europe yet either.

“She was tapped by President Biden to be the official/unofficial ‘Border Czar’ and failed at that MISERABLY,” the first agent said in a text message. “Aside from that, her overall personality, or lack there of, is not appealing at all. When she speaks in public and goes off script, you get awkward word salads and obnoxious cackling. And finally, I spent 16 years in California. She is a text book ‘California Liberal’ and always will be. No matter how hard the DNC tries to paint her as a ‘moderate.’”

Religious beliefs and personal differences

Other agents who faced suspension and termination by the Biden administration for refusing to get a coronavirus vaccine during the pandemic were haunted by the idea of a continuation of a Democratic White House.

“Nothing has been done to show support for Border Patrol Agents or the mission in the past 4 years,” the sixth agent wrote in a text message. “I fear having another 4 years of the same thing would be even more detrimental to the homeland if Harris becomes president.”

A seventh agent said he would not vote for Harris but not because of border issues, rather because of his Christian faith and view on abortion. Harris supports rights for women to terminate their pregnancies.

“I think she would be worse than President Biden,” he said. “With Biden I feel like he was actually clueless to what was happening. He acted surprised when he heard certain border issues. I think his handlers were setting policy, not him.”

A ninth agent described Harris as “not a good leader” or “commander” material for the job.

To retire or stay

Agents have lamented since Biden took office that their jobs have shifted in recent years to arresting migrants rather than guarding the nation against national security threats, including terrorists and fentanyl coming into the country.

The number of people arrested entering the country illegally and later found to be on the FBI terrorist watch list has skyrocketed from a handful in years during the Trump administration to more than 150 last year. Fentanyl seizures, as well as the number of Americans killed after consuming the drug, are at all-time highs.

Four of the agents surveyed said they are presently eligible to retire or would be before 2028. Their lives have been significantly affected by the border crisis with weekslong mandatory details to other states to help process migrants arrested, forcing them to leave their families behind sometimes for months out of the year.

“I’ve learned to put up with the Democrat Administrations,” the fourth agent said. “I’m at the point where I’m in it for me now, not the patrol.”

The third agent said that he would stay on if Harris was elected in order to receive his full pension when he retires.

“My retirement fund has suffered from four years of incompetence, it won’t survive four more,” he said. “This is how the majority of agents feel, not all but a majority.”

Others viewed staying on despite being eligible to retire as a sacrifice for other agents who cannot retire.

“I feel the men and women need support and I might actually stay to try and be a voice of reason for the new administration,” said the seventh agent. “My biggest concern is to take care of the agents. Issues like Del Rio Horse Patrol require leadership that will protect agents, not hang them out to dry.”

Border Patrol agents were demonized by Biden and other senior administration officials in September 2021 after a picture of agents on horseback in Del Rio, Texas, went viral. Biden told reporters that the migrants were being “strapped” by federal law enforcement. Agents were eventually disciplined but descriptions by senior officials that migrants were being whipped were clarified as false.

The fourth agent, who is already eligible for retirement, said he has hung on over the past several years out of the desire to serve his country. However, if Harris is elected, he said he would “absolutely” retire.

Chris Cabrera, an agent and spokesman for the National Border Patrol Council, the nation’s largest union organization for agents who are not in management, said he agreed with the agents’ reasons for not voting for Harris.

“The whole radical point is dead-on,” said Cabrera. “One of the issues is that this administration has always slow-walked this issue at the border. They denied it and when they wanted to come down [to visit the border], they’d make sure they go somewhere that was good optics and not look bad for them.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

NBPC Vice President Hector Garza told the Washington Examiner in a statement Friday afternoon that the union “supports President Trump” and planned to endorse Trump “in the near future.”

The Harris campaign and U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond to requests for comment.

2024-08-12 11:00:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fpolicy%2Fimmigration%2F3116638%2Fnever-kamala-harris-border-patrol-agents%2F?w=600&h=450, EXCLUSIVE — Border Patrol agents expressed more distrust of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris than President Joe Biden and said they will not vote for her in November in interviews with the Washington Examiner. None of the more than a dozen Border Patrol agents questioned by the Washington Examiner said they would cast a ballot,

“I would never vote for her,” said the first agent.

“These past four years have been a nightmare for the Patrol and it would be another four years of the same. And probably worse than Biden, honestly,” said a second agent.

Several agents who will be or already are eligible for retirement are already discussing early retirement and whether staying on the job would be worthwhile if Harris is elected this fall.

Perception as a Radical Democrat

A fourth agent added that he imagined Harris would “laugh when she’s confronted about it,” a reference to Harris’s tendency to laugh nervously in some situations.

“We are screwed as a country if she becomes president. The border will never close,” a fifth agent said.

VP role as ‘border czar’

However, during her tenure as vice president, migrants from around the globe have surged to the southern border to more than make up for any decline from certain Central American nations.

Religious beliefs and personal differences

A ninth agent described Harris as “not a good leader” or “commander” material for the job.

To retire or stay

“I’ve learned to put up with the Democrat Administrations,” the fourth agent said. “I’m at the point where I’m in it for me now, not the patrol.”

The third agent said that he would stay on if Harris was elected in order to receive his full pension when he retires.

“My retirement fund has suffered from four years of incompetence, it won’t survive four more,” he said. “This is how the majority of agents feel, not all but a majority.”

Others viewed staying on despite being eligible to retire as a sacrifice for other agents who cannot retire.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

NBPC Vice President Hector Garza told the Washington Examiner in a statement Friday afternoon that the union “supports President Trump” and planned to endorse Trump “in the near future.”

The Harris campaign and U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond to requests for comment.

, EXCLUSIVE — Border Patrol agents expressed more distrust of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris than President Joe Biden and said they will not vote for her in November in interviews with the Washington Examiner. None of the more than a dozen Border Patrol agents questioned by the Washington Examiner said they would cast a ballot for Harris because they do not view her as supportive of the organization and its congressionally mandated mission. “I would never vote for her,” said the first agent. “These past four years have been a nightmare for the Patrol and it would be another four years of the same. And probably worse than Biden, honestly,” said a second agent. Agents are not allowed to speak with the media and those who spoke with the Washington Examiner did so on the condition of anonymity. The agents ranged from rank-and-file to supervisors to the upper echelon of management. Their reasons for bucking Harris ranged from viewing her as a radical to her lack of engagement with personnel to personal and religious beliefs. However, all agreed that a Harris administration would render the United States worse off from a security standpoint than it is now. Several agents who will be or already are eligible for retirement are already discussing early retirement and whether staying on the job would be worthwhile if Harris is elected this fall. Peruvian Julia Paredes, left in white hat, listens to instructions from a Border Patrol agent with others seeking asylum as they wait to be processed after crossing the border with Mexico nearby, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Boulevard, California. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Perception as a Radical Democrat Border Patrol agents fear that a future Harris administration would “continue the same failed policies as Biden” which resulted in nearly 10 million migrant encounters nationwide since January 2021 — a record for any point in national history, according to the third agent. Agents overwhelmingly view Harris as further to the left than what Biden has done as president. One agent pointed to her selection this week of Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) as her running mate as more reason to believe the ticket was not your average pair of Democrats. Walz has supported overhauling federal agency U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and signed into law state policies that allowed illegal immigrants to obtain free college tuition and driver’s licenses. “She will continue or even enhance Biden’s failed policies,” said a third agent. “The vice president pick seems even more radical than her, which is mind-blowing. I view her as leaning left more than Biden.” A fourth agent added that he imagined Harris would “laugh when she’s confronted about it,” a reference to Harris’s tendency to laugh nervously in some situations. “We are screwed as a country if she becomes president. The border will never close,” a fifth agent said. Mounted Border Patrol agents ride along a newly fortified border wall structure Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, in Calexico, California. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) VP role as ‘border czar’ As the number of unaccompanied children, families, and single adults coming over the southern border began to spike within weeks of Biden’s inauguration, Biden tapped Harris early on in his term to address the root causes that citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico were fleeing to the United States. However, during her tenure as vice president, migrants from around the globe have surged to the southern border to more than make up for any decline from certain Central American nations. But Border Patrol agents said she failed to visit them. In a June 2021 interview with NBC News reporter Lester Holt, Harris was asked when she planned to visit the southern border. She retorted that she had not visited Europe yet either. “She was tapped by President Biden to be the official/unofficial ‘Border Czar’ and failed at that MISERABLY,” the first agent said in a text message. “Aside from that, her overall personality, or lack there of, is not appealing at all. When she speaks in public and goes off script, you get awkward word salads and obnoxious cackling. And finally, I spent 16 years in California. She is a text book ‘California Liberal’ and always will be. No matter how hard the DNC tries to paint her as a ‘moderate.’” FILE – Vice President Kamala Harris talks to Gloria Chavez, Chief Patrol Agent of the El Paso Sector, as she tours the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Central Processing Center, June 25, 2021, in El Paso, Texas, with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), right. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) Religious beliefs and personal differences Other agents who faced suspension and termination by the Biden administration for refusing to get a coronavirus vaccine during the pandemic were haunted by the idea of a continuation of a Democratic White House. “Nothing has been done to show support for Border Patrol Agents or the mission in the past 4 years,” the sixth agent wrote in a text message. “I fear having another 4 years of the same thing would be even more detrimental to the homeland if Harris becomes president.” A seventh agent said he would not vote for Harris but not because of border issues, rather because of his Christian faith and view on abortion. Harris supports rights for women to terminate their pregnancies. “I think she would be worse than President Biden,” he said. “With Biden I feel like he was actually clueless to what was happening. He acted surprised when he heard certain border issues. I think his handlers were setting policy, not him.” A ninth agent described Harris as “not a good leader” or “commander” material for the job. To retire or stay Agents have lamented since Biden took office that their jobs have shifted in recent years to arresting migrants rather than guarding the nation against national security threats, including terrorists and fentanyl coming into the country. The number of people arrested entering the country illegally and later found to be on the FBI terrorist watch list has skyrocketed from a handful in years during the Trump administration to more than 150 last year. Fentanyl seizures, as well as the number of Americans killed after consuming the drug, are at all-time highs. Four of the agents surveyed said they are presently eligible to retire or would be before 2028. Their lives have been significantly affected by the border crisis with weekslong mandatory details to other states to help process migrants arrested, forcing them to leave their families behind sometimes for months out of the year. “I’ve learned to put up with the Democrat Administrations,” the fourth agent said. “I’m at the point where I’m in it for me now, not the patrol.” The third agent said that he would stay on if Harris was elected in order to receive his full pension when he retires. “My retirement fund has suffered from four years of incompetence, it won’t survive four more,” he said. “This is how the majority of agents feel, not all but a majority.” Migrants that were trying to evade U.S. Border Patrol agents, wait to be processed in Granjeno, Texas, early Thursday, May 4, 2023. In almost two weeks the Rio Grande Valley Sector has been the busiest sector averaging nearly 2,000 apprehensions a day. (AP Photo/Veronica G. Cardenas) Others viewed staying on despite being eligible to retire as a sacrifice for other agents who cannot retire. “I feel the men and women need support and I might actually stay to try and be a voice of reason for the new administration,” said the seventh agent. “My biggest concern is to take care of the agents. Issues like Del Rio Horse Patrol require leadership that will protect agents, not hang them out to dry.” Border Patrol agents were demonized by Biden and other senior administration officials in September 2021 after a picture of agents on horseback in Del Rio, Texas, went viral. Biden told reporters that the migrants were being “strapped” by federal law enforcement. Agents were eventually disciplined but descriptions by senior officials that migrants were being whipped were clarified as false. The fourth agent, who is already eligible for retirement, said he has hung on over the past several years out of the desire to serve his country. However, if Harris is elected, he said he would “absolutely” retire. Chris Cabrera, an agent and spokesman for the National Border Patrol Council, the nation’s largest union organization for agents who are not in management, said he agreed with the agents’ reasons for not voting for Harris. “The whole radical point is dead-on,” said Cabrera. “One of the issues is that this administration has always slow-walked this issue at the border. They denied it and when they wanted to come down [to visit the border], they’d make sure they go somewhere that was good optics and not look bad for them.” CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER NBPC Vice President Hector Garza told the Washington Examiner in a statement Friday afternoon that the union “supports President Trump” and planned to endorse Trump “in the near future.” The Harris campaign and U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond to requests for comment. A U.S. Border Patrol agent checks for migrants crossing the Rio Grande under the port of entry bridge in Hidalgo, Texas, Thursday, May 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Veronica G. Cardenas), , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/border-patrol-agents-mounted.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Anna Giaritelli,

Harris running mate Walz marched with ‘Abolish ICE’ protesters in 2018

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), Vice President Kamala Harris‘s running mate, attended a march with “Abolish ICE” protesters in 2018, a move that goes further than even his partner’s criticism of the government agency.

Walz, a veteran and former congressman whom Democrats have portrayed as a Midwesterner with centrist views, marched in the streets of downtown Minneapolis with hundreds of protesters denouncing the Trump administration’s immigration policies, according to the Minneapolis Daily.

Walz, who was running for governor at the time, told a separate publication he did not support abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement but did believe in “majorly reforming” it.

Other notable attendees at the “Free our Future” protest included Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, gubernatorial candidate and Rep. Erin Murphy (D-MN), and Rep. Peggy Flanagan (D-MN).

Tim Walz marched in an “Abolish ICE” protest in Minneapolis on June 30, 2018 https://t.co/Vi0ABaWsSa pic.twitter.com/YD7YenZbEz

— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) August 9, 2024

The protest came days after the Trump administration rescinded its “zero tolerance” policy at the southern border, an action that resulted in parents and children being separated while in Border Patrol custody for the adults to be prosecuted. Roughly 5,000 children were separated as a result.

Matt Wolking, vice president for communications at Axiom Strategies, one of the largest Republican political consulting firms, first posted pictures from the June 30, 2018, event on X on Friday afternoon.

“Kamala Harris is a self described radical, and she picked a radical running mate who matches her open borders beliefs: sneaking across the border is a not a crime, sanctuary cities and drivers licenses for illegals are good, building a wall and securing the border is bad, the agency in charge of enforcing immigration laws should be scrapped, and illegals are entitled to receive taxpayer funded health care and benefits,” Wolking said in a text message to the Washington Examiner on Friday afternoon.

The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Progressive Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), called for the government to wipe out the agency, though no action was taken under then-President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden.

Harris did not declaratively call for ICE to be closed down during the 2018 or 2020 election cycles, but she did say in 2018 that the government should think about “starting from scratch” with the agency.

ICE was created in the early 2000s through an act of Congress. Under congressional mandate, agents and officers within ICE are responsible for investigating certain federal crimes and detaining, arresting, and deporting illegal immigrants whom federal judges order removed.

Walz told a reporter during an interview in 2019 that he identified as a “progressive,” not a “centrist.”

Establishment media are rushing to describe Tim Walz as a “centrist.”

But when he was asked in 2019 if he was a progressive or a centrist, Walz said he is a progressive. pic.twitter.com/eQ9ZYnsMYF

— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) August 7, 2024

Walz has a history of advancing liberal immigration policies, a top issue for voters heading into November.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

As a gubernatorial candidate in 2018, Walz said he supported Minnesota becoming a “sanctuary” state, a term used for local and state jurisdictions that do not cooperate with federal immigration officers.

As governor, Walz has signed several bills into law, including providing immigrants who illegally entered the country with driver’s licenses, free college tuition, and taxpayer-subsidized healthcare.

2024-08-09 21:55:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fpolicy%2Fimmigration%2F3116812%2Fwalz-marched-abolish-ice-protesters%2F?w=600&h=450, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), Vice President Kamala Harris‘s running mate, attended a march with “Abolish ICE” protesters in 2018, a move that goes further than even his partner’s criticism of the government agency. Walz, a veteran and former congressman whom Democrats have portrayed as a Midwesterner with centrist views, marched in the streets of downtown,

Walz, who was running for governor at the time, told a separate publication he did not support abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement but did believe in “majorly reforming” it.

Other notable attendees at the “Free our Future” protest included Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, gubernatorial candidate and Rep. Erin Murphy (D-MN), and Rep. Peggy Flanagan (D-MN).

Tim Walz marched in an “Abolish ICE” protest in Minneapolis on June 30, 2018 https://t.co/Vi0ABaWsSa pic.twitter.com/YD7YenZbEz

— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) August 9, 2024

The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Walz told a reporter during an interview in 2019 that he identified as a “progressive,” not a “centrist.”

Establishment media are rushing to describe Tim Walz as a “centrist.”

But when he was asked in 2019 if he was a progressive or a centrist, Walz said he is a progressive. pic.twitter.com/eQ9ZYnsMYF

— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) August 7, 2024

Walz has a history of advancing liberal immigration policies, a top issue for voters heading into November.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), Vice President Kamala Harris‘s running mate, attended a march with “Abolish ICE” protesters in 2018, a move that goes further than even his partner’s criticism of the government agency. Walz, a veteran and former congressman whom Democrats have portrayed as a Midwesterner with centrist views, marched in the streets of downtown Minneapolis with hundreds of protesters denouncing the Trump administration’s immigration policies, according to the Minneapolis Daily. Walz, who was running for governor at the time, told a separate publication he did not support abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement but did believe in “majorly reforming” it. Other notable attendees at the “Free our Future” protest included Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, gubernatorial candidate and Rep. Erin Murphy (D-MN), and Rep. Peggy Flanagan (D-MN). Tim Walz marched in an “Abolish ICE” protest in Minneapolis on June 30, 2018 https://t.co/Vi0ABaWsSa pic.twitter.com/YD7YenZbEz — Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) August 9, 2024 The protest came days after the Trump administration rescinded its “zero tolerance” policy at the southern border, an action that resulted in parents and children being separated while in Border Patrol custody for the adults to be prosecuted. Roughly 5,000 children were separated as a result. Matt Wolking, vice president for communications at Axiom Strategies, one of the largest Republican political consulting firms, first posted pictures from the June 30, 2018, event on X on Friday afternoon. “Kamala Harris is a self described radical, and she picked a radical running mate who matches her open borders beliefs: sneaking across the border is a not a crime, sanctuary cities and drivers licenses for illegals are good, building a wall and securing the border is bad, the agency in charge of enforcing immigration laws should be scrapped, and illegals are entitled to receive taxpayer funded health care and benefits,” Wolking said in a text message to the Washington Examiner on Friday afternoon. The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Progressive Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), called for the government to wipe out the agency, though no action was taken under then-President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden. Harris did not declaratively call for ICE to be closed down during the 2018 or 2020 election cycles, but she did say in 2018 that the government should think about “starting from scratch” with the agency. ICE was created in the early 2000s through an act of Congress. Under congressional mandate, agents and officers within ICE are responsible for investigating certain federal crimes and detaining, arresting, and deporting illegal immigrants whom federal judges order removed. Walz told a reporter during an interview in 2019 that he identified as a “progressive,” not a “centrist.” Establishment media are rushing to describe Tim Walz as a “centrist.” But when he was asked in 2019 if he was a progressive or a centrist, Walz said he is a progressive. pic.twitter.com/eQ9ZYnsMYF — Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) August 7, 2024 Walz has a history of advancing liberal immigration policies, a top issue for voters heading into November. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER As a gubernatorial candidate in 2018, Walz said he supported Minnesota becoming a “sanctuary” state, a term used for local and state jurisdictions that do not cooperate with federal immigration officers. As governor, Walz has signed several bills into law, including providing immigrants who illegally entered the country with driver’s licenses, free college tuition, and taxpayer-subsidized healthcare., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YL.GoldenRule.081424jpg.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Anna Giaritelli,

Biden could lift border executive action that helped lower migrant crossings

A sharp drop in the number of migrants arrested after illegally entering the United States from Mexico could prompt President Joe Biden to ease his executive action that is credited, in part, for the turnaround.

In July, approximately 57,000 migrants were apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol along the southwest border, according to federal data shared with the Washington Examiner.

The figure is the lowest since September 2020, when 54,771 people were arrested during the Trump administration, less than 25% of the 250,000 seen at its historic peak in December 2023.

The Biden administration’s sudden success stemming the flow of migrants across the border could come with unintended consequences if it walks back the June executive action that it has credited for slowing illegal immigration and set off a surge of migrants flooding into the country due to the pent-up demand.

“About 12,000 [arrests] total last 7 days so it’s super slow right now. I’d imagine they could lift the proclamation if it continues to drop,” wrote a senior Border Patrol official in a text message. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity.

White House issues border proclamation

In the first week of June, following six months of diplomatic talks with Mexican counterparts to deter migrants from entering through the country to the U.S., Biden took executive action.

Biden invoked his authority to bar migrants from seeking asylum if they were intercepted by federal police not at a port of entry — primarily impacting people who walk or swim across the Mexico border.

Migrants who cross between entry points where vehicles and pedestrians are supposed to apply for inspection would be within the guardrails for being expelled or removed back to their country of origin.

The action affected migrants who entered illegally, not those who went to ports of entry to seek asylum.

Adam Isacson, director of defense oversight for human rights group the Washington Office on Latin America, said the proclamation was not an asylum ban but limited migrants’ ability to seek refuge.

“Under the Biden administration’s June asylum rule, for instance, Border Patrol agents no longer ask migrants if they fear deportation to their countries,” Isacson wrote in a July 26 newsletter. “Under what is called the ‘shout test,’ asylum seekers must voluntarily speak up and hope that their apprehending agents listen to them.”

Executive action leads to fewer crossings

The action quickly impacted the number of migrants trying to enter as arrests in June dropped from 117,901 in May to 83,536. July was reported by the Washington Examiner’s sources to be around 57,000.

The Biden administration touted in early July that it had carried out more than 120 international repatriation flights to more than 20 countries, including a large charter flight to China. The intense focus on removal flights has prompted migrants to rethink traveling to the U.S.

“I think it’s a combination of several things. Hard rhetoric always seems to be a factor, which is what the proclamation was,” said the senior Border Patrol official.

But Isacson warned that although the lower number of border arrests may benefit Democrats ahead of the election, it has failed to address the demand for help from migrants outside the U.S.

“While the reduced numbers create political space for Democratic candidates as the 2024 election nears, putting asylum out of reach does place some fleeing migrants in danger,” Isacson wrote.

Terminating the proclamation, if numbers continue to decline, could temporarily solve the problem of pent-up demand from south of the border.

Ending the border executive order

The process of lifting the ban has not been explained in detail by the DHS, though it could come in the very near future given that arrests averaged below 1,850 per day in July.

“The Biden administration’s June 5, 2024 asylum restriction rule states that, should the weekly average of migrant apprehensions drop below 1,500 per day for 3 weeks, and should the average remain below 2,500, then U.S. border authorities will no longer automatically deny asylum access to people who cross between ports of entry to ask for protection,” Isacson wrote.

If the 7-day average of migrant arrests each day stays below 1,500, the White House proclamation will automatically lift, which could send a message to migrants and human smugglers who profit from moving people from the border that they can enter the U.S.

“The suspension and limitation on entry will be discontinued 14 calendar days after the secretary makes a factual determination that there has been a 7-consecutive-calendar-day average of less than 1,500 encounters,” the proclamation states.

Once the ban is lifted, if arrests top a “7-consecutive-calendar-day average of 2,500 encounters or more,” the ban will go back into effect the following day. It will remain in place for 14 days after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas determines there has been another 7-day average of less than 1,500 or Biden revokes the proclamation.

Biden officials specifically determined that the base threshold was 1,500 because that was the breaking point for Border Patrol to be able to carry out national security operations on the border and process as many people were in custody.

Aaron Reichlin-melnick, senior fellow for the American Immigration Council in Washington, D.C., suggested that any lifting of the proclamation will not have a major impact on border crossings.

“I think whether or not there is some kind of surge will depend primarily on messaging,” Reichlin-melnick wrote in a statement, adding that the Border Patrol would be able “to continue deporting a much higher percentage of people who cross.”

The challenge for the Biden administration would be communicating these stipulations given that smugglers could use any lifting of the proclamation to falsely tell migrants they will not be turned away at the border, according to Reichlin-melnick.

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), whose district runs along 800 miles of the southern border, argued that the proclamation still should not be lifted even if illegal immigration arrests continue to decline.

“1500 illegal crossings a day should not be the new normal — that is still 1500 too many. Signaling otherwise is a green light to traffickers and those they traffic,” Gonzales wrote in a text message.

“Once that system starts up again, it is very difficult to turn it back off and with cooler temperatures in the fall, an election around the corner — border experts have told me to expect more crossings than ever before,” said Gonzales.

The DHS did not comment on its plans.

How we got here

The border fell into “crisis,” according to Republicans, early on in 2021 as the number of people taken into custody jumped from 70,000 to 100,000, then 200,000 monthly.

The crisis was the result of a number of factors, including pent-up demand to leave countries with strict pandemic lockdowns, crashing economies throughout Latin America, and a less stringent administration in D.C. On Biden’s first day in office, he slashed former President Donald Trump’s border and immigration policies, sending a signal to the world that a new administration was in town.

Unlike previous upticks in illegal immigration at the southern border, the influx shortly after Biden’s arrival was increasingly comprised of people from faraway countries. For decades, Border Patrol agents have come across migrants from more than 150 countries, but in 2021, they began to see a greater number of people from abroad.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Republicans and Democrats have fought for three years over who was to blame for the crisis. Democrats have blamed Republicans for adhering to Trump’s instruction last year and refusing to back a bipartisan Senate border bill that would have boosted security funding.

The House GOP impeached Mayorkas for falling asleep at the wheel as nearly 10 million people have been encountered trying to enter the country under Biden.

2024-08-09 09:00:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fpolicy%2Fimmigration%2F3113538%2Fbiden-border-executive-action-migrant-crossings%2F?w=600&h=450, A sharp drop in the number of migrants arrested after illegally entering the United States from Mexico could prompt President Joe Biden to ease his executive action that is credited, in part, for the turnaround. In July, approximately 57,000 migrants were apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol along the southwest border, according to federal data,

In July, approximately 57,000 migrants were apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol along the southwest border, according to federal data shared with the Washington Examiner.

The figure is the lowest since September 2020, when 54,771 people were arrested during the Trump administration, less than 25% of the 250,000 seen at its historic peak in December 2023.

White House issues border proclamation

In the first week of June, following six months of diplomatic talks with Mexican counterparts to deter migrants from entering through the country to the U.S., Biden took executive action.

The action affected migrants who entered illegally, not those who went to ports of entry to seek asylum.

Adam Isacson, director of defense oversight for human rights group the Washington Office on Latin America, said the proclamation was not an asylum ban but limited migrants’ ability to seek refuge.

Executive action leads to fewer crossings

“I think it’s a combination of several things. Hard rhetoric always seems to be a factor, which is what the proclamation was,” said the senior Border Patrol official.

But Isacson warned that although the lower number of border arrests may benefit Democrats ahead of the election, it has failed to address the demand for help from migrants outside the U.S.

“While the reduced numbers create political space for Democratic candidates as the 2024 election nears, putting asylum out of reach does place some fleeing migrants in danger,” Isacson wrote.

Terminating the proclamation, if numbers continue to decline, could temporarily solve the problem of pent-up demand from south of the border.

Ending the border executive order

The process of lifting the ban has not been explained in detail by the DHS, though it could come in the very near future given that arrests averaged below 1,850 per day in July.

Aaron Reichlin-melnick, senior fellow for the American Immigration Council in Washington, D.C., suggested that any lifting of the proclamation will not have a major impact on border crossings.

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), whose district runs along 800 miles of the southern border, argued that the proclamation still should not be lifted even if illegal immigration arrests continue to decline.

The DHS did not comment on its plans.

How we got here

The border fell into “crisis,” according to Republicans, early on in 2021 as the number of people taken into custody jumped from 70,000 to 100,000, then 200,000 monthly.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The House GOP impeached Mayorkas for falling asleep at the wheel as nearly 10 million people have been encountered trying to enter the country under Biden.

, A sharp drop in the number of migrants arrested after illegally entering the United States from Mexico could prompt President Joe Biden to ease his executive action that is credited, in part, for the turnaround. In July, approximately 57,000 migrants were apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol along the southwest border, according to federal data shared with the Washington Examiner. The figure is the lowest since September 2020, when 54,771 people were arrested during the Trump administration, less than 25% of the 250,000 seen at its historic peak in December 2023. The Biden administration’s sudden success stemming the flow of migrants across the border could come with unintended consequences if it walks back the June executive action that it has credited for slowing illegal immigration and set off a surge of migrants flooding into the country due to the pent-up demand. “About 12,000 [arrests] total last 7 days so it’s super slow right now. I’d imagine they could lift the proclamation if it continues to drop,” wrote a senior Border Patrol official in a text message. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity. A migrant woman from Mexico talks with a Border Patrol agent before being transported in a van to be processed for asylum, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, near Dulzura, California. President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled plans to enact immediate significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border as the White House tries to neutralize immigration as a political liability ahead of the November elections. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) White House issues border proclamation In the first week of June, following six months of diplomatic talks with Mexican counterparts to deter migrants from entering through the country to the U.S., Biden took executive action. Biden invoked his authority to bar migrants from seeking asylum if they were intercepted by federal police not at a port of entry — primarily impacting people who walk or swim across the Mexico border. Migrants who cross between entry points where vehicles and pedestrians are supposed to apply for inspection would be within the guardrails for being expelled or removed back to their country of origin. The action affected migrants who entered illegally, not those who went to ports of entry to seek asylum. Adam Isacson, director of defense oversight for human rights group the Washington Office on Latin America, said the proclamation was not an asylum ban but limited migrants’ ability to seek refuge. “Under the Biden administration’s June asylum rule, for instance, Border Patrol agents no longer ask migrants if they fear deportation to their countries,” Isacson wrote in a July 26 newsletter. “Under what is called the ‘shout test,’ asylum seekers must voluntarily speak up and hope that their apprehending agents listen to them.” A U.S. Border Patrol agent processes asylum seekers from Peru after they crossed the nearby border with Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, near Jacumba Hot Springs, California. Migrants continue to arrive at desert campsites along California’s border with Mexico, as they await processing. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy) Executive action leads to fewer crossings The action quickly impacted the number of migrants trying to enter as arrests in June dropped from 117,901 in May to 83,536. July was reported by the Washington Examiner’s sources to be around 57,000. The Biden administration touted in early July that it had carried out more than 120 international repatriation flights to more than 20 countries, including a large charter flight to China. The intense focus on removal flights has prompted migrants to rethink traveling to the U.S. “I think it’s a combination of several things. Hard rhetoric always seems to be a factor, which is what the proclamation was,” said the senior Border Patrol official. But Isacson warned that although the lower number of border arrests may benefit Democrats ahead of the election, it has failed to address the demand for help from migrants outside the U.S. “While the reduced numbers create political space for Democratic candidates as the 2024 election nears, putting asylum out of reach does place some fleeing migrants in danger,” Isacson wrote. Terminating the proclamation, if numbers continue to decline, could temporarily solve the problem of pent-up demand from south of the border. Venezuelan migrants board a plane heading back to their home country from Harlingen, Texas, on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. U.S. immigration officials say passengers chosen for the deportation flight included recent arrivals as well as migrants who have committed crimes in the United States. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez) Ending the border executive order The process of lifting the ban has not been explained in detail by the DHS, though it could come in the very near future given that arrests averaged below 1,850 per day in July. “The Biden administration’s June 5, 2024 asylum restriction rule states that, should the weekly average of migrant apprehensions drop below 1,500 per day for 3 weeks, and should the average remain below 2,500, then U.S. border authorities will no longer automatically deny asylum access to people who cross between ports of entry to ask for protection,” Isacson wrote. If the 7-day average of migrant arrests each day stays below 1,500, the White House proclamation will automatically lift, which could send a message to migrants and human smugglers who profit from moving people from the border that they can enter the U.S. “The suspension and limitation on entry will be discontinued 14 calendar days after the secretary makes a factual determination that there has been a 7-consecutive-calendar-day average of less than 1,500 encounters,” the proclamation states. Once the ban is lifted, if arrests top a “7-consecutive-calendar-day average of 2,500 encounters or more,” the ban will go back into effect the following day. It will remain in place for 14 days after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas determines there has been another 7-day average of less than 1,500 or Biden revokes the proclamation. Biden officials specifically determined that the base threshold was 1,500 because that was the breaking point for Border Patrol to be able to carry out national security operations on the border and process as many people were in custody. Border patrol agent Pete Bidegain looks from a hilltop on the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool) Aaron Reichlin-melnick, senior fellow for the American Immigration Council in Washington, D.C., suggested that any lifting of the proclamation will not have a major impact on border crossings. “I think whether or not there is some kind of surge will depend primarily on messaging,” Reichlin-melnick wrote in a statement, adding that the Border Patrol would be able “to continue deporting a much higher percentage of people who cross.” The challenge for the Biden administration would be communicating these stipulations given that smugglers could use any lifting of the proclamation to falsely tell migrants they will not be turned away at the border, according to Reichlin-melnick. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), whose district runs along 800 miles of the southern border, argued that the proclamation still should not be lifted even if illegal immigration arrests continue to decline. “1500 illegal crossings a day should not be the new normal — that is still 1500 too many. Signaling otherwise is a green light to traffickers and those they traffic,” Gonzales wrote in a text message. “Once that system starts up again, it is very difficult to turn it back off and with cooler temperatures in the fall, an election around the corner — border experts have told me to expect more crossings than ever before,” said Gonzales. The DHS did not comment on its plans. How we got here The border fell into “crisis,” according to Republicans, early on in 2021 as the number of people taken into custody jumped from 70,000 to 100,000, then 200,000 monthly. The crisis was the result of a number of factors, including pent-up demand to leave countries with strict pandemic lockdowns, crashing economies throughout Latin America, and a less stringent administration in D.C. On Biden’s first day in office, he slashed former President Donald Trump’s border and immigration policies, sending a signal to the world that a new administration was in town. Unlike previous upticks in illegal immigration at the southern border, the influx shortly after Biden’s arrival was increasingly comprised of people from faraway countries. For decades, Border Patrol agents have come across migrants from more than 150 countries, but in 2021, they began to see a greater number of people from abroad. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Republicans and Democrats have fought for three years over who was to blame for the crisis. Democrats have blamed Republicans for adhering to Trump’s instruction last year and refusing to back a bipartisan Senate border bill that would have boosted security funding. The House GOP impeached Mayorkas for falling asleep at the wheel as nearly 10 million people have been encountered trying to enter the country under Biden., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/biden-border-executive-order.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Anna Giaritelli,

Tim Walz’s immigration record in Minnesota shows support for sanctuary policies

Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-MN) record on immigration has come into focus after Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, selected the Minnesotan as her running mate.

Harris is vulnerable on immigration after being tasked early on as vice president with addressing the root causes of the border crisis — only for illegal immigration levels to rise to historic highs during her tenure.

As Harris goes up against former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, in November, her selection of a Democrat with a record of implementing progressive immigration policies could give Harris a leg-up with Democrats but also give pause to independents and Republicans concerned about border security.

Walz beat out centrist candidate Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who had broken with the White House in recent years to call for President Joe Biden to finish portions of the Trump-era border wall and opposed its plan to end Title 42, a border policy that allowed illegal immigrants to be returned to Mexico.

Walz has held public office for nearly two decades and has shifted further to the Left with support for policies that benefit illegal immigrants, even reupping in early August a clip of him stating he would invest in ladders capable of getting migrants in Mexico over the border wall.

“I always say, ‘Let me know how high it is.’ If it’s 25 feet, then I’ll invest in a 30-foot-ladder factory. That’s not how you stop this,” Walz said.

Donald Trump sunk the bipartisan border security bill so he could run on the issue. He’d rather play politics for his benefit than secure our border. Kamala Harris will make sure we pass the damn thing. pic.twitter.com/bKLWUyyFWa

— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) August 2, 2024

Harris tapped the two-term governor Tuesday morning. The veteran-turned-congressman has a history of advancing liberal immigration policies, a top matter on voters’ minds heading into November.

As a gubernatorial candidate in 2018, Waltz said he supported Minnesota becoming a “sanctuary” state, a term used for local and state jurisdictions that do not cooperate with federal immigration officers.

“My position on Minnesota becoming a sanctuary state boils down to who has the responsibility for enforcing immigration laws,” Walz said at the time.

Walz has signed several state bills into law since becoming governor in 2019. Under his leadership, Minnesota in 2023 approved free college tuition for illegal immigrants in the state under its North Star Promise program.

The state also allowed all residents to enroll in its publicly subsidized health insurance program, MinnesotaCare, regardless of immigration status. Roughly 40,000 illegal immigrants living in the state were eligible to enroll at the time the law was enacted last year, according to local news outlet the Minnesota Reformer.

Earlier in 2023, Walz signed into law a bill that would allow all residents to apply for a driver’s license, including up to 81,000 people without permanent legal status.

All of the state bills are commonplace in that most Democrat-governed states have passed these measures, while more progressive states, such as California and New York, have gone further.

Walz is a former six-term congressman who served from 2007 to 2019 before becoming governor. He represented a large, primarily rural area of southern Minnesota along the Iowa border.

Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years and trained in heavy artillery. He retired and pursued teaching social studies at a local school before pursuing politics.

Republicans were quick to ding Walz over his immigration record and posted statements online within hours.

“Tim Walz. Driver’s Licenses For Illegals Weak. Failed. Dangerously Liberal. Just like Kamala,” the Republican National Committee’s research arm posted Tuesday on X.

“Tim Walz wants to invest in a ‘ladder factory’ to help illegals scale the border wall,” the Trump War Room account posted on X, sharing a clip from a Walz interview on CNN. “Walz supports sanctuary cities, driver’s licenses for illegals, free college for illegals, free health care for illegals, and so much more. Just like Kamala.”

Former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley called the Harris-Walz ticket “a win for open borders, socialism, and Iran.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Tim Walz wants to invest in a “ladder factory” to help illegals scale the border wall.

Walz supports sanctuary cities, driver’s licenses for illegals, free college for illegals, free health care for illegals, and so much more.

Just like Kamala.pic.twitter.com/B6EoiQlMZy

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 6, 2024

Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) suggested Walz would forgive immigration offenses of illegal immigrants who had been released from the border into the United States.

“Kamala Harris doesn’t believe an ILLEGAL ALIEN is ILLEGAL. Tim Walz gave ILLEGAL ALIENS driver licenses as governor of Minnesota,” said Mast in a post to X. “The worst BORDER CZAR in U.S. history found her perfect partner.”

2024-08-06 18:53:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fcampaigns%2Fpresidential%2F3111953%2Ftim-walz-immigration-record-sanctuary-policies%2F?w=600&h=450, Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-MN) record on immigration has come into focus after Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, selected the Minnesotan as her running mate. Harris is vulnerable on immigration after being tasked early on as vice president with addressing the root causes of the border crisis — only for illegal immigration levels,