Posted on 03/06/2019 9:20:01 AM PST by jazusamo
Yesterday the Department of Homeland Security released new numbers showing 76,000 illegal aliens crossed the southern border into the United States in February, a significant increase from the 58,000 individuals who crossed in January.
Today Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham is holding a hearing about the problem.
"Contrary to what some political opponents and media outlets claim the situation at our southern border is dangerous and growing worse. It’s not a hoax. It’s not a manufactured crisis. It’s not a cable television ploy. It is real. It is serious. It is a threat. And it poses a direct challenge to the safety and security of the citizens of the United States. To believe otherwise is to deny reality and ignore the facts," Graham said. "Here are the facts from the first 5 months of this fiscal year. We are witnessing an almost 55% increase in the number of unaccompanied minors apprehended at the border over the same time period last year - an almost 340% increase in the number of family units apprehended from same time period last year."
A crisis at the border is raging. Border Patrol agents are using their time to take care of families, rather than fully focusing on criminal aliens, violent drug cartels and other national security threats to American communities.
For months, officials at the Department of Homeland Security and in the White House have been begging Congress to change the laws enabling this problem. During his opening statement, Graham did the same and detailed how lawmakers can work to stem the increasing flow of illegal immigration.
"It is no coincidence that these two groups – unaccompanied minors and family units – are crossing the border at an alarming rate. Our immigration laws require that both unaccompanied children and family units be released into the interior of the United States after apprehension," Graham said. "This is due to two legal loopholes in our immigration system: the Flores settlement agreement and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). Flores requires children (or those with children, so family units) to be released after 20 days in custody. The TVPRA requires unaccompanied alien children from non-contiguous countries (countries that do not border the United States) to be released to Health and Human Services care facilities instead of being sent back to their countries of origin."
"I have worked for over a decade to fix our nation’s broken immigration system. If we do not fix these two legal loopholes, then we are only continuing to fuel the smuggling of persons trade from the Northern Triangle. These laws incentivize smugglers to exploit migrants who seek to come to the United States and stay," he continued. "They know our legal system better than many of us, and they profit greatly off the most vulnerable. Smugglers don’t care how they do their job, or whether migrants are raped, tortured, or starved on the journey. They care about making a profit. Last year, smugglers made $2.5 billion smuggling migrants."
Democrats have given no indication they are willing to close the loopholes outlined by Graham. Without action on these specific issues, the humanitarian and illegal immigration crisis will continue. With the numbers of family units and unaccompanied minors rapidly increasing, the situation is unsustainable.
One million illegal aliens on their way here. Congress has effectively destroy this Republic by their failure to do their job. Maybe we should garnishee their wages until they do their job.
My thoughts, too...shoot them. This is war, damn it!
That’s the key. No visa, passport to/from the US.....escort them right back to the border and shove them over. If they actually make it inside make it so inhabitable for them they turn around and go home.
Anything else is stupid.
It's not just the people in Mexico and Central America who are seeing this, either.
Senator Graham, QUIT DANGLING AMNESTY AS BAIT!
Publicly repudiate amnesty as a policy solution and work towards restoring the rule of law.
Vigorous enforcement will convince many of the 30 million here already to go home and will discourage new ones from coming.
All Grahamnesty has done for over a decade is incentivize illegal aliens with promises of amnesty.
anti-personnel mines are a start, and it’s been something I’ve been an advocate of for a long time. Also, I would have the ROE changed to give the men/women guarding the border more freedom to deal with threats.
There’s really only one: deny benefits of any kind. They’ll self deport.
76000 aliens released into the country is a gift of perhaps 30000 new votes for Democrats. Illegals in 2020 will likely vote unchallenged at the same rate as citizens.
“We’re in bad shape if we’re looking to Grahamnesty for fixes.”
You got that right. It’s bad. Really bad.
We’re in bad shape when Graham seems to be the only one who is zeroing in on the real cause.
We’re in bad shape when Graham seems to be the only one who is zeroing in on the real cause.
Dems are getting everything they want right now. Open Borders, aslyum with all the perks, poke in the eye to POTUS and his grassroots supporters, etc. No need for them to agree to an amnesty deal.
“Right! You’re bloody well right!”
I repeat-— TATOO them all As Caught illegally entering—ON back of hand and made to last at least a year..Then start processing them....
More military needed at the border. Can’t wait for more wall that may or may not happen.
I repeat-— TATOO them all As Caught illegally entering—ON back of hand and made to last at least a year..Then start processing them....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RIGHT ~ TATOO ~ AND DONT FORGET THE CHIP ~
One million illegal aliens on their way here. Congress has effectively destroy this Republic by their failure to do their job. Maybe we should garnishee their wages until they do their job.
That’s my solution. What happens to these thousands once they get across the border? Where do they go? Who provides for them? Did Congress appropriate enough funds to take care of these thousands? Why is this not being a bigger issue than it is?
That’s my solution.
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