October 19, 2023 - 4:30pm
Amid a surge of migrants illegally entering the US, the Biden administration is reopening a detention centre for migrant children in Carrizo Springs, Texas, evoking a popular criticism from the Trump years that border authorities who detain minors in such facilities are placing “kids in cages”.
The Obama administration built detention facilities specifically to accommodate minors, beginning in 2014, in response to massive waves of Central American migrants crossing the border with children. This practice was encouraged by smugglers because of the reduced risk of deportation such families faced compared to single adults.
These facilities, often built in massive warehouses with chain link fences dividing the population into various groups by age and other factors, became a political flashpoint during the Trump presidency, particularly during the short-lived zero-tolerance policy, under which the administration criminally prosecuted all migrants caught crossing the border illegally. The policy resulted in the separation of children from adults, at least 170 of whom had fraudulently claimed to be related to said children.
The Biden administration’s reopening of the Carrizo Springs facility that was built in 2019 is the latest in a series of efforts to curb illegal immigration, often in stark contrast to the President’s anti-Trump messaging in 2020.
In another example, the US has recently resumed the deportation of Venezuelans who illegally enter the country to discourage migrants from undertaking the dangerous journey through South and Central America. Biden officials hope that the decision will encourage prospective migrants to opt for expanded legal pathways available to Venezuelan migrants instead.
Biden promised during his presidential campaign that “not another foot” of border wall would be built under his leadership, but his administration is now pushing through the construction of 20 additional miles along the Texas-Mexico border, waiving numerous laws and regulations to get the project done. Funding came from a 2019 congressional appropriation, according to Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, who wrote that the border wall construction was consistent with the President’s pledge to use such funds for their intended purpose — but halt the allocating funds for border wall construction in the future.
US Customs and Border Patrol is on pace to encounter more than 2.3 million migrants crossing the southern border this year, which will surpass the previous record set in 2022. Many of these migrants have found their way to sanctuary cities such as New York and Chicago, where predominantly Democratic residents are becoming increasingly critical of mass migration and Democratic leaders including New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker are demanding action from the Biden administration.
The wave of migrants entering major cities has caused a change in attitudes among blue state voters: 77% of New York Democrats view the recent influx of migrants as a serious problem, and only 48% of them believe the state should accept new migrants, according to an August poll from Siena. Several New Yorkers revealed their developing concerns about mass migration to the New York Times in September, politely explaining that immigration needs to be restricted.
“We’re not here to take in the whole world,” one lifelong Democrat told the outlet. “We can only do so much.”
The White House has been contacted for comment.
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SubscribeYou are a racist, misogynistic homophobe if you don’t support open borders – until we say so. Then it’s okay to build walls and cage kids. The hypocrisy is breath taking.
You are a racist, misogynistic homophobe if you don’t support importing racist, misogynistic homophobes from abroad.
I wish I could buy you a beer Jim!
Me too!
Is there anything more nauseating than reading…..”The wave of migrants entering major cities has caused a change in attitudes among blue state voters:”?
It could have been a headline from the Babylon Bee, like my recent favorite: “Harvard Student Leaves Lecture On Microaggressions To Attend ‘Kill The Jews’ Rally.”
Of course he did.
What policies has Biden ever really stood for? Other than his calamitous crime bill, his whole career seems to have been mostly about furthering his interests and feathering his nest.
Since 2020 Biden’s administration has aspired to be an Obama tribute act – unsurprisingly as many insiders insist that Obama is still the de facto president pulling the strings whilst Joe stumbles and bumbles about the place as a barely sentient Weekend at Bernie’s stand-in quasi-corpse. The Biden agenda, from Day One, has been all about reversing every Trump initiative.
How has that gone? Is the world a better, safer place for it? Even the most partisan, Trump-deranged Democrat would struggle to make a convincing case for that particular idea.
Biden reopened the Southern Border. Why? For no better reason than because Trump had closed it. Illegal migrants and drugs duly poured into the country, and lately it looks like a dose of reality might have crossed the Rio Grande with them, as Biden has belatedly decided that the Wall will have to be built after all.
Of the many thosands of illegal migrants that crossed into border towns, Biden cared not a jot. Right up until Democrat mayors started bleating when invited to shoulder a fraction of the burden. Martha’s Vineyard is a proud “sanctuary” jurisdiction in a self-proclaimed “sanctuary” state, ie one which boasts they would never inform on illegal migrants to immigration authorities. Yet within hours of a mere 50 migrants landing on their shores, this “sanctuary” declared an humanitarian crisis and did whatever they could to rid themselves of the burden. 50 migrants, in a place where 65% of homes sit vacant, awaiting their uber-wealthy owners on vacation, could not find anywhere to shelter these migrants?
Heavily Democrat-leaning residents decry the “callousness” of border towns for not welcoming migrants. El Paso receives between 1200 and 1300 every day. Wealthy denizens of Democrat controlled cities wish to advertise their moral superiority without it costing them anything, either in monetary terms, or effort or discomfort. The moment it does, they cry foul and wish to rid themselves of the problem. Republican mayors who shipped a few migrants to Democrat cities showed that Dem rhetoric cannot survive first contact with objective reality.
In an increasingly dangerous world, we need strong leaders who project strength, resolve and good judgement. Biden’s obvious weakness emboldens the enemies of the West. Military power, now we are beyond the era of empire building, is mainly about deterrence. If the President truly is “The Leader of the Free World” then nothing about Biden’s presidency would deter anyone. Weakness merely invites attack – and Ukraine, Israel and potentially the rest of the free world are paying the price.
Dem rhetoric cannot survive first contact with objective reality
That captures so much about Democrat policies from immigration to climate change to Covid to trans issues to inflation. Thanks for the pithy comment.
Virtue signalling is easy. Actual virtue is tough.
“The White House has been contacted for comment.”
LOL. I love a columnist with a sense of humor.
I giggled at that too haha
“We’re not here to take in the whole world. We can only do so much.”
Love it when a lifelong Dim has a moment of lucid thinking :0)
By my calculations, we could build a sheer concrete bulwark 20 feet high and 10 feet thick along the entire US-Mexico border for less than 100 billion dollars. Now, we’ve given 50 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine alone in the past nine years, so I’m sure we can find some extra funds in the unicorn-soup budget or whatever the hell else the White House squanders our money on to build this structure. If we were willing to spend 200 billion, I bet we could dig a moat in front of it, too.
We’ve got one, it’s called the English Channel. The trouble is, the French call it La Manche and regard it is a way to extract cash from the UK whilst pretending to make an effort to stop people from crossing it illegally. I’m not sure who’s government is the more stupid, the UK or the US.
They’re both equally more stupid.
And Albo has the Aussies right along side them
This effort by Biden can easily be explained by the approaching election. The challenge for Biden is to out Trump Trump. No small challenge. Although stranger things have happened.
The challenge is to hide the disasters that Biden has created by quietly using Trump’s effective policies. And the MSM are co-conspirators in this as they very rarely mention how Biden is slowly re-initiating the very effective Trump policies. God forbid they give credit to Trump the Vulgarian.
Americans are more selfish than Europeans, which in the long run might serve us better sooner rather than later w regard to illegal immigration? One hopes.
It’s just Governor Greg Abbott’s application of the Cloward-Piven strategy.
(My British readers are recommended to Google that Sixties term to better appreciate the concept.)
Buses? Why not trainloads?
To paraphrase another leftist slogan from the same era:
“Two, three, many trainloads!”