Trump and Michigan Law Enforcement Discuss Catastrophic Impacts of the Border Crisis
FAIR Take | April 2024
Last week, 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump and several law enforcement officers from across the state of Michigan held an event addressing the devastating impact of the Biden Administration’s border policies on crime in local communities. Speakers emphasized how thousands of aliens with criminal backgrounds have made their way into communities and, as a result, Americans are paying the price in safety and loss of loved ones.
In his remarks, Trump argued that countries all over the world are sending their most dangerous citizens to the United States. Trump said, “In Venezuela, the crime is down 67% from what it was a year and a half ago because they’re taking all of their gangs, and all of their criminals and they’re depositing them into the United States of America.” Those comments follow reports in 2022 claiming that Venezuela had begun releasing prisoners and sending them in migrant caravans to the border. And, again in March of this year, more reports surfaced that Venezuela’s most notorious prison, Yare, along with several others, have released at least 100 prisoners in recent days.
Several Michigan law enforcement officers described how constant inaction from the Biden Administration has spread the impact of the border crisis to states all over the country, thousands of miles from the southern border. Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott spoke on how his small, rural Michigan county has been reeling from the Biden Administration’s policies. In one specific example, Abbott noted that in Van Buren County, the price of 3.5 ounces of methamphetamine during the Trump Administration was around $350, but under Biden has dropped to around $85 due to the huge supply of illegal drugs flooding over the border. Abbott also pointed to increased violent sex crimes and overdose deaths tied to criminal aliens. To close his remarks, he argued, “The open southern border is the heart of lawlessness and crime you’re witnessing, make no bones about it. We need leadership at the national level that is willing to solve this crisis.”
Trump also emphasized the danger posed by local sanctuary policies condoned by the Biden Administration. He pointed to the tragic story of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was brutally murdered on the University of Georgia’s campus. Her alleged murderer, Jose Antonio Ibarra, was released into the country on parole in 2022, and was shielded from immigration enforcement by sanctuary policies despite committing multiple crimes. According to Trump, the country cannot withstand this invasion any longer, and “not one more innocent life should be lost to Biden migrant crime.” Trump continued to argue that the country is facing the border crisis today largely due to the Biden Administration rescinding effective policies, such as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and not using expedited removal allowed under the law. In closing, he vowed support for carrying out extensive removal efforts and empowering local law enforcement and immigration officials to do their jobs effectively to curb illegal alien crime.
Under the Biden Administration, the border has seen an unprecedented flood of illegal aliens, including record numbers of criminal illegal aliens. In a little over three years, roughly 45,000 criminal aliens have been apprehended by Border Patrol agents attempting to enter the country illegally. Among those criminal aliens are over 4,000 convicted of assault, battery, or domestic violence, over 7,000 convicted of illegal drug possession and trafficking, and nearly 3,000 convicted of theft related offenses. On top of that, documents obtained by the House Judiciary Committee show that there are more than 600,000 aliens with pending criminal charges or convictions currently on the non-detained docket and roaming freely in the country.
The record flow of criminal aliens coming across our borders is endangering Americans and straining local law enforcement. American lives are being tragically lost because of the Biden Administration’s failed policies, and sanctuary policies around the country that provide safe harbor to illegal aliens. The status quo is clearly unsustainable—urgent action is needed to secure our border and enforce our immigration laws.