Biden’s immigration and border security crisis

OPINION:

“Is somebody asking the foreign nationals who are walking in Del Rio, Texas, and setting up camps on [the U.S.] side of the border for proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test?” Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday.

He continued: “That is [the Biden administration’s] policy for people who fly into the country. So if somebody walks into the country, right across the river, does somebody ask them to see their vaccination card?”

Ms. Psaki’s answer was disingenuous, foolish, and nonsensical – much like President Joe Biden’s immigration and COVID-19 policies.

“They’re [southern border migrants] not intending to stay here for a lengthy period of time. I don’t think that’s the same thing,” she replied.

They do not intend to stay here for a lengthy period of time? The reason they’re crossing the border is that they want to live in the U.S. And as an aside, we have seen no “science” indicating “length of stay” cuts down on COVID-19 transmission.

What’s happening at our southern border is a humanitarian crisis. In the last several days, more than 15,000 Haitians made a make-shift camp under a bridge in Del Rio, living in conditions eyewitnesses describe as worse than a “third-world refugee camp,” constructing tents made of garbage and squatting in human excrement. 

When video of the invasion surfaced last week, the Biden administration used the Federal Aviation Administration to ground aerial drones capturing the footage. Enterprising Fox News reporter Bill Melugin then caught a flight on a helicopter and rented a boat to continue his reporting.

Even the mainstream media couldn’t sugarcoat the imagery Mr. Melugin has been capturing, prompting the White House to step up deportations, relocate Department of Homeland Security employees to the border, and ask the Department of Defense for help. But it’s slow going, and most migrants are being relocated throughout the interior of the U.S., not returned to their home countries.

As of Tuesday, the migrant camp under the international bridge in Del Rio had dipped just below 10,000. Per federal sources, 1,772 migrants were processed in the Del Rio sector in the last 24 hours, short of the U.S. Border Patrol’s goal of 3,000 a day. Of the 3,300 migrants processed on Sunday, only 327 were deported to Haiti, meaning 90% will be relocated within the U.S., most to live with family. Within 12 to 18 months, after they’ve reached their final destination (on the American taxpayer’s dime), they will be given “notice to appear” court dates to process their asylum. History shows, close to none of them will show, disappearing into our heartland.

No one knows how many of them have COVID-19 or any other disease. No one knows if they’re gang members or have committed felonies. No one knows what countries they’re coming from or if they have terrorist ties. Coupled with the relocation of Afghan refugees, our immigration system is overwhelmed and border agents exhausted.

But don’t call it a crisis. According to Department of Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas, it’s a “heartbreaking situation” and a “tremendous challenge.” On Tuesday, he took aim at his staff, reacting to images of what appeared to be Border Patrol agents on horseback trying to round up migrants, which he said: “horrified him.”

“Any mistreatment or abuse of a migrant is unacceptable,” Mr. Mayorkas told CNN, adding, “the pictures that I’ve observed troubled me profoundly.”

But not the surge of migrants. Over 1.2 million illegal immigrants have been caught attempting to cross the border since Mr. Biden took office – a higher total than any year since 2001. Illicit drugs are flowing into the U.S. at an alarming rate, with 1,104 pounds of fentanyl and 19,671 pounds of methamphetamine seized at the southern border in August alone. In the El Paso Sector, Border Patrol reported nearly double the number of attacks against its agents this year as crime rises.

The Biden administration doesn’t care. They’ve deluded themselves into thinking none of this is a problem, even as it’s reported another 20,000 or more Haitians are waiting in Colombia for their turn to enter the U.S.