Sometimes, the numbers just speak for themselves. In fiscal year 2020, there were just shy of half-a-million illegal migrant border encounters by US officials. That same year, more than 185,000 illegal immigrants were expelled from the United States. Early in fiscal year 2021, Joe Biden became president, and his administration started radically altering immigration policies and rhetoric. Unlawful immigrants got the message loud and clear.
The results:
NEW: Prelim ICE data shows a massive drop in deportations in FY ‘21 compared to previous years, despite much higher encounters.
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) February 10, 2022
FY 21: 55,590 deportations
1.7 million encounters
FY 20: 185,884 deportations
458,000 encounters
FY 19: 267,258 deportations
977,000 encounters
Encounters more than tripled, while deportations dropped by more than two-thirds – not proportionally, mind you. Raw numbers. The White House may object to referring to this as "open borders," but the practical effect of these failing policies is undeniable at this point. In fact, it's difficult to see what's happening as anything other than deliberate, on some level. I had Melugin on my radio show yesterday, and he pointed out that the numbers are actually worse than they seem for Team Biden because a disproportionate number of the FY 21 deportations occurred in the waning days of the Trump administration. The enforcement drop-off was even more precipitous under Biden than it looks. The current team in charge has decreed that entire categories of illegal immigrants who are also convicted of additional crimes are not subject to deportation. The outcome of that is institutionalized lawlessness, incentivized law-breaking, and headlines like this:
A twice-deported Mexican citizen with a 15-year criminal history was arrested for allegedly drawing swastikas at Washington, D.C.'s Union Station, but reportedly does not face deportation under the Biden administration's standards for arrest or removal. "The criminal who defaced Union Station with antisemitic symbols, Geraldo Pando, should not have been able to commit this act of hatred. He is a convicted felon and an unlawful migrant with a criminal history of deportations and arrests, including for assault on a first responder," Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, told the Washington Examiner...Pando, 34, has a 15-year criminal history, including a 35-page criminal history in Colorado for crimes stretching from possession of drugs to misdemeanor theft. He had been detained by police earlier in January for vandalizing the U.S. Capitol Police headquarters, a senior Senate aide told the Washington Examiner. He was released, however, because ICE did not ask for him to be held until he was in federal custody.
Of course, some criminal illegal immigrants do get tossed out of the country, then come right back in. Some of them get apprehended:
A previously removed felon was arrested by Nogales Station agents west of the Port of #Nogales. Records revealed that Jose Vazquez-Ramirez, a Mexican citizen, was convicted in #California for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under 16. #BorderSecurity = National Security pic.twitter.com/NiNHNi0Lc8
— John R. Modlin (@USBPChiefTCA) February 10, 2022
NEW: On Monday alone, Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley arrested three MS-13 gang members and a Salvadoran man who was previously convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child in New Jersey. On Tuesday, agents arrested an 18th street gang member. @FoxNews @USBPChiefRGV
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) February 10, 2022
Others, who are among the more than 400,000 estimated "got-aways" at the border last year, do not. How is any of this acceptable? Per Melugin, there are signs the crisis is again deepening:
Del Rio sector continues to see massive activity. Since 10/1, their encounters are up more than 215% over the same time period last year.
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) February 10, 2022
They also had two 5-year-old girls show up this week from Guatemala & Honduras. One completely alone, the other with 3 other children. https://t.co/1yrwNRlUsZ
I'll leave you with our full interview. Be sure to catch Melugin's statistic about the administration's supposed reinstatement of the successful "Remain in Mexico" policy:
"You have a massive, massive, massive increase in migrant encounters at the border, and a massive drop in enforcement and removals from the country."
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 11, 2022
- @BillFOXLA https://t.co/BGU1arUznt
