The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in response to the attacks of 9/11. Among its critical responsibilities is to secure the nation’s borders, enforce its immigration laws and protect the interests of Americans and migrants. But none of those priorities is likely to be achieved under the leadership of Alejandro Mayorkas, the man President-elect Joe Biden has nominated to serve as the next DHS secretary.
The times they will be changing, come January 20. Joe Biden will bring a change in style, a change in tone and a change in temperament when he assumes office next month. And like any new president, he will bring a change in policies. Perhaps none will be more notable than his handling of immigration policy.
For the past four years, Donald Trump has approached immigration policy from the standpoint that, like any other public policy, its primary purpose was to serve the greater good of the American people. In pursuit of that objective, his administration made good faith efforts to secure our borders, cut down on asylum and other sorts of fraud, end abuses in guest worker programs that undermine the interests of U.S. workers (especially after the pandemic struck) and to ensure that people who immigrate legally have the wherewithal to be self-sufficient.
2020 was an odd year. But 2021 may be even odder as Joe Biden will likely have to support a foreign guest worker freeze — an unimaginable concept that has now become a reality.
Last week, President Trump extended Proclamation 10052, an executive order suspending temporary foreign guest worker programs — including the H-1B and H-2B — as well as some green cards, through March.
Last week, the Mexican government abruptly stopped readmitting Central American migrant families who were removed from the U.S. border under Title 42 — a public health order that enables U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to quickly send illegal immigrants back to Mexico in order to mitigate risks from COVID-19.
The Mexican government is now only accepting the returns of single adults, while families are to be released into the interior of the United States. History has shown that “catch and release” practices fuel border and humanitarian crises, increase our illegal immigrant population and can exacerbate public health risks amidst a global pandemic.
The White House has released its 66-page section-by-section summary of its immigration overhaul legislation it calls the U.S. Citizenship Act. If you’re thinking that any piece of legislation that requires 66 pages to summarize is probably filled with goodies for every imaginable special interest, you’re absolutely right.
The bill can actually be summarized in just 39 words: Amnesty for every illegal alien (including criminals) in the United States and for many who have been deported (and any spouses and children they might have outside the country), and lots more visas for workers and extended family members. The rest, as they say, is details.
Editor’s note: We endeavor to bring you the top voices on current events representing a range of perspectives. Below is a column arguing that amnesty for illegal immigrants is a bad idea. You can find a counterpoint here, where Charles Kolb, former Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy under George H.W. Bush, argues that Republicans need to embrace amnesty.
Check out what Mark Morgan wrote in the Daily Caller:
Albert Einstein is reputed to have said that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” By that definition, President Biden’s approach to ‘solving’ America’s long-standing problem of illegal immigration, by granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens clearly qualifies as an act of insanity.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is projecting that some 117,000 unaccompanied alien children (UACs) could end up at our southern border this year.
February figures were the largest for the group and month in history. These alarming numbers are not what the Biden administration should want — especially this early in the term and amidst a global pandemic.
He might as well have stood on the U.S.-Mexico border and waved the green flag.
From the moment he stepped onto the stage during the Democratic debates, Joe Biden made it crystal clear: The comprehensive border and interior immigration deterrent systems that were put in place during the Trump administration — that had resulted in illegal immigration being reduced to record low levels — were coming down as soon as he was elected.
And he didn’t mince his words. During the presidential debates in 2019, Biden told the world’s would-be immigrants and those fleeing some form of persecution that “you should come.” And he didn’t stop there. He proudly proclaimed that on the legal immigration front, America “could afford to take in a heartbeat another two million people [per year].”
President Joe Biden and his administration continue to peddle the public relations snake oil that spending money in the Northern Triangle countries will help regain control of the southern border and reduce illegal immigration. The administration plans to spend $4 billion as part of its strategy to look like they’re trying to control the border, provide more than $300 million in emergency aid and has contemplated granting direct cash payments to migrants.