Tipsheet

Fox News Poll: Voters Overwhelmingly Say Border Less Secure Under Biden

Guy Benson
Guy Benson  |  April 28, 2021 1:25 PM

As we await the president's address tonight, this shouldn't come as a shock, but it still represents a clear rebuke of the Biden administration's buck-passing, blame-storming absurdity about what's happening at the border.  They claim the current crisis -- which the White House and some friendly media outlets refuse to acknowledge as a crisis -- is both "seasonal" and the fault of the previous administration.  The obvious truth is that Team Biden's rhetoric and policies have opened the flood gates, powerfully incentivizing illegal immigration, and reversing successful Trump-era policies.  The American people aren't fooled by the partisan spin:

By a stark 46-15 percent margin, voters say U.S. border security is worse today than it was two years ago, according to the latest Fox News survey...So it’s not surprising voters give President Biden his worst job ratings on border security and immigration. By an 18-point margin, more disapprove (52 percent) than approve (34 percent) of his performance on immigration. Views are nearly identical on border security, as just over half disapprove (51 percent vs. 35 percent approve).

Biden's Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, seems to be doing everything within his power to signal that the new administration is not interested in enforcement.  We've covered their decision to rule out deportations for illegal immigrants convicted of certain additional crimes (including drunk driving and assault), and now there's this:

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would no longer impose fines on people who are in the United States illegally, who have been ordered by a judge to leave the country, and who refuse to go. (The announcement called them "noncitizens who fail to depart the U.S.") Mayorkas also announced that he would work with the Treasury Department to cancel the debts of those were fined under the Trump administration.  "There is no indication that these penalties promoted compliance with noncitizens' departure obligations," Mayorkas said in a statement. "We can enforce our immigration laws without resorting to ineffective and unnecessary punitive measures." But the fact is, the Biden administration is not enforcing U.S. immigration laws, or at least not imposing consequences on those who defy U.S. immigration laws. For more than 20 years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has had the authority to impose fines on those who have been ordered to leave the country but refuse to do so.

We have also mentioned the Biden administration's decision to use taxpayer dollars to fly unaccompanied illegal immigrant children from the border to various US cities to meet up with relatives. This may sound humane, but it is another powerful magnet for draw more children into the United States. That journey is extremely dangerous, and the huge influx of unaccompanied minors is overwhelming our system and hindering border enforcement elsewhere by diverting manpower and resources.  There's an update to that policy, as well:

The federal government has been paying travel costs for adult sponsors trying to get to shelters to pick up migrant children, a Department of Health and Human Services agency spokesperson confirmed to Axios...Officials would not provide numbers, but the policy shift underscores the urgency the Biden administration feels to quickly release kids who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border alone and remain in HHS custody...The authorization was updated on March 22, allowing government funds to also be used for the transportation of sponsors to migrant child facilities when needed, according to ACF. The allowance came despite the agency's own policy stating that the sponsor "is responsible for the unaccompanied alien child’s transportation costs," and under "no circumstances will [the Office of Refugee Resettlement] pay for the sponsor’s airfare." ... Given reports it costs about $775 a day to house a child, covering sponsor travel costs could save the government money, [a former Obama official] said.

Policies that encourage more illegal immigration will beget more illegal immigration. And the "money savings" argument is a canard. It may be cheaper to pay for sponsors' travel to and from the border than holding them indefinitely, but what about the costs of tracking everyone down later -- or the costs of worsening the crisis?  This was published a few days ago:


I'll leave you with this piece about the gap between Biden's moderate, 'work together' rhetoric and his actual actions -- plus an interesting polling nugget that applies to a major political battle he's waded into with lies and wild-eyed demagoguery:

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UPDATE - More evidence that the spin ain't working: