Earlier today, I happened to be on set for an America's Newsroom segment when I watched this live hit from Fox News correspondent William La Jeunesse. Reporting from the Southern border, La Jeunesse showed footage of dozens of illegal immigrants breaching an old fence, having allegedly been delivered directly to the Arizona boundary from Guatemala by cartel-funded buses. Watch the entire thing, which packs numerous stunning and worrisome pieces of information into a short package. The bit at the very end about forged documents and child trafficking is particularly alarming:
This clip underscores the importance of not only constructing newer, smarter barriers, but also maintaining old ones. It also demonstrates how deeply broken our entire system has become, and how it's being exploited. These unlawful migrants are now being hauled up from Central America to our border by the busload, apparently bankrolled by drug cartels, then they crawl through a hole with the deliberate intention of being apprehended by Border Patrol. They're brought to facilities that are completely overwhelmed, staffed by agents who have been pulled off of their enforcement duties to help manage the mess -- all at great daily expense to US taxpayers. This is a completely dysfunctional status quo, and Democrats are in denial about it, blinded by Trump derangement and cynical political calculation. The Washington Post quotes a nonpartisan career official who worries that the opposition party is refusing to accept empirical data, prioritizing anti-Trump emotionalism and posturing:
Democrats have pressed administration officials to acknowledge there is no emergency. During a Senate oversight hearing this month, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) asserted that border crossings “are still at a historic low compared to other times in our nation’s history.” “No, Senator, they’re not,” CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan responded. “We’re on pace for over 700,000 crossings this year — that’s closer to historic highs than historic lows.” After Blumenthal suggested the numbers were a fluke, McAleenan said: “We have to confront what’s happened in these five months .?.?. This is new, different and potentially worsening.”… “I’m concerned about the lack of factual grounding in our political debate,” said one senior U.S. official whose career has spanned multiple administrations. Democrats are “starting to not even believe data created by professionals,” the official added
Hot Air's John Sexton also notes that the Los Angeles Times is reporting how over-capacity detention centers are now simply releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants into the United States. The incentives are clear: Illegally enter the US (preferably with children), surrender to authorities, make claims about your status, and hope that the bogged-down "conveyor belt" results in your ability to stay. No wonder people pay thousands of dollars to be shuttled here this way:
The Border Patrol released 250 migrants here on Tuesday and Wednesday and expects to free hundreds more in coming days because there is no room to hold them. Normally, the agency would transfer the migrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be “processed” and in many cases placed in detention facilities. But officials said Wednesday that a recent influx of Central American families has led to a severe shortage of space.
The crush of this problem is being felt elsewhere, too. Democrats are strongly opposed to doing anything constructive about it, it seems, preferring preening faux morality and talking about pathways to citizenship for the millions of people who are already living here illegally -- all while increasing the potency of the magnet effect of pro-illegal immigration policies. One candidate for president says he'd tear down existing, effective walls. Another appeared to raise the prospect of extending Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants. Some left-wing communities are moving toward allowing illegal immigrants to vote in local elections. And sanctuary cities are shielding even criminal aliens from federal officials, sometimes with lethal consequences. This is madness. As the 2020 primary tilts ever more sharply to the left, will the emerging Democratic consensus become that it's a moral wrong to deport any illegal immigrant who's entered America and hasn't committed a subsequent crime? They should be asked this question.
When meaningful enforcement is vilified, while incentives to arrive, exploit our system, and stay are entrenched, what message does that send? Politicians can assert that of course they're not pro-illegal immigration, but actions and policies speak louder than flippant denials. This is a crisis. Democrats refuse to treat it as such. I'll leave you with this:
Good Q for reporters to ask at this point. See how many Dems are willing to suggest *any penalty whatsoever* https://t.co/vSEW3dedB5
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) March 19, 2019