San Antonio human smuggling tragedy emphatically shows the need for change in Immigration policy
The worst case of human trafficking in modern U.S. history stands as the latest effect of President Biden’s immigration policy as it relates to America’s southern border.
As of Tuesday morning, the death count stands at 50 after a tractor-trailer was found in San Antonio, Texas, near Lackland Air Force Base, packed with migrants trying to make it safely into the U.S. Initially it was reported that 46 were dead, most apparently from heat stroke, with 16 taken to hospitals.
NBC News is reporting that “On Tuesday morning, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the death toll had risen to 50. He said 22 of the dead were Mexican nationals, while seven were from Guatemala and two from Honduras. The nationalities of the remaining 19 people had yet to be confirmed.”
This comes just days after by a Trump appointed federal judge ruled last Thursday in a 160-page order that “the Biden administration’s new policies limiting deportations violate standards set by Congress,” according to Courthouse News.
The case was brought by Texas and Louisiana. District Judge Drew Tipton’s ruling is being called “the latest blow to President Joe Biden’s immigration policies” as they relate to the Department of Homeland Security policy of allowing some illegal migrants to go free when they should be deported based on their criminal records.
Judge Tipton cited “undisputed evidence that in the first two months of Biden’s presidency, ICE had rescinded detainers for 68 immigrants locked up in Texas jails or prisons.”
He wrote that “the list includes aliens who were convicted of possessing over fifty pounds of a narcotic, manufacturing over 400 grams of methamphetamine, theft, intoxication assault with a vehicle, and the sexual assault of a child.”
But that is clearly not all of the problems caused by the policies of President Biden, DHS Secretary Mayorkas, and Border czar Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to former acting ICE director Tom Homan, “it is the dismantling of the Trump policies that we have to blame for this” referring to the tragic deaths of the migrants found in the truck in San Antonio. He said that “The Biden administration dismantled the most secure border we ever had,” adding that “they dismantled the ‘Remain in Mexico,’ they dismantled the safe 3rd country agreements we had with Central America, they dismantled ICE detention, they dismantled ICE priorities.”
This past weekend, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) reported that in the previous 48 hours there had been 2,968 encounters in the Del Rio sector of Texas alone, representing a 118% increase from last fiscal year, and 320,625 encounters in the Fiscal Year to Date.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), “The latest Biden administration disclosures in Biden v. Texas reveal that in May, DHS released 95,318 migrants CBP had encountered at the Southwest border into the United States, bringing the total of illegal migrant releases there under the Biden administration to 1,049,532 — a population larger than the number of residents in the president’s home state of Delaware, at a rate of 2,115 per day.”
In a typical year, the U.S. allows approximately one million legal immigrants into this country, more than any other country in the world. And it should. We fully support that. But we do not support the open border policies of this administration that have resulted in massive amounts of drug trafficking and human trafficking, enriching the cartels with billions of dollars, while at the same time flashing an ongoing green light to the world that if you get to the U.S. border, you can just walk across, turn yourself in, and your chances of staying permanently are very good. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is claiming that the border is secure and under control, and that their policies are a more humane way to deal with the issue at the border, which has clearly reached crisis level.
There’s been a huge increase in the number of people coming across the border, which are called “encounters,” which means apprehensions of illegal migrants. The Biden administration has drastically reduced deportations, often citing prosecutorial discretion, including of criminals. They have expanded the ways to come across the border, offering incredible incentives for people to come into the country. Many are turned away for asylum because their claims don’t meet the standards of the law. Yet once they get here most end up staying for life. We need to weaken instead of strengthen the incentives. Laws need to be changed and there must be vastly improved enforcement of existing laws.
Senator James Risch (R-Idaho) has recently issued a report, a summary of which can be seen here, identifying the problems and offering a set of solutions that we view as a solid basis for moving forward. Among the solutions he suggests are “Extend Title 42 until the end of the COVID-19 health emergency and tighten ICE immigration enforcement.” Another remedy he offers is to “Fully implement the Migration Protection Protocols with Mexico and Asylum Cooperative Agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, and tie U.S. foreign aid to measurable progress in border security and asylum processing in the region.”
We believe Sen. Risch is on the right track and his report and suggestions should serve as a basis for negotiating and finally resolving some of the thorniest immigration issues in a bipartisan way. That may be the only way to at least temporarily resolve this festering national security crisis.