Biden Announces Widespread Amnesty Plan for Illegal Immigrants

President Joe Biden announced a new plan on Tuesday that will fast track a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals who’ve been living in the country illegally for more than 10 years and married a U.S. citizen. He also expanded protections for DACA recipients, according to several reports.

In a statement issued by the White House, the president blamed Republicans in Congress for not securing the border and fixing the “broken immigration system.”

Because of Republicans putting “partisan politics ahead of national security,” he announced additional measures to implement deportation protections to some illegal foreign nationals. Doing so reflects his commitment to “expanding lawful pathways and keeping families together,” he said, arguing that those who entered the country illegally “who have been in the United States for decades, paying taxes and contributing to their communities, are part of the social fabric of our country.”

His new action will help “people who have been here many years to keep American families together and allow more young people to contribute to our economy,” according to the statement.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that the plan zeroes “in on the population of mixed-status families, where typically the children and one parent are U.S. citizens, because they believe that demographic is the most compelling, according to administration officials and advocates who have spoken with them.”

One way to do this would be to implement another parole policy called “parole in place,” enabling illegal foreign national spouses of U.S. citizens to obtain green cards and U.S. citizenship. They would also receive work permits and deportation protections, according to several reports on Monday.

In order to be eligible for the new parole program, noncitizens, as of June 17, 2024, must have resided in the U.S. for 10 or more years and be legally married to a U.S. citizen. On average, those who are eligible have resided in the U.S. for 23 years, according to the White House statement released Tuesday.

Advocates in support of providing amnesty estimate there are more than one million spouses who could apply to the new parole program, the Journal reported.

The announcement at the White House came on the 12th-year anniversary of former President Barack Obama creating by executive order the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). DACA shielded children from deportation who were brought into the country illegally by their parents and has been in litigation for 12 years. A federal judge has twice ruled that the program is illegal. The most recent ruling was in a multi-state lawsuit led by Texas to end DACA once and for all, The Center Square reported. The case is expected to ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Biden announced an expanded program for DACA recipients to “streamline the process” for them “and other undocumented immigrants to request waivers that would make it easier for them to obtain temporary visas, such as H-1B visas for high-skilled workers,” CBS News reported.

DACA recipients who earned a degree at an accredited U.S. institution of higher education and who received an offer of employment from a U.S. employer in a field related to their degree will be able to quickly receive work visas, according to the White House statement.

Numerous reports suggest between 700,000 and 800,000 people living in the U.S. are DACA recipients. The Los Angeles Times reports there are 578,680 DACA recipients on record with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as of March 2023.

After announcing earlier this month he was limiting asylum claims, the president is now proposing a measure to ensure those in the country illegally aren’t deported. Both announcements made five months before the election aren’t solutions but political ploys and will only incentivize illegal immigration, critics argue.

“It is definitely an incentive and will drive more illegal immigration,” former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan told The Center Square. “In a time where we are facing historic numbers on the southern border, President Biden announces yet another giveaway program, another reward for illegally entering this country.

“This reinforces that you can enter this country illegally and if you can hide out long enough, you get legal status. This will drive more illegal immigration and they know that and that is why they are doing it.”

If the president really cared about border security and reforming immigration law, he would “reimplement the Migrant Protection Protocols; … restore Asylum Cooperative Agreements with Central American partners; finish construction of new border wall system that Congress funded years ago [which he halted]; and … end mass catch-and-release,” U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-TN, said in a statement. The president “could stop the flow of hundreds of thousands entering this country via unlawful mass-parole programs created by his DHS secretary. And he could encourage Senate Democrats to pass H.R. 2, the only border bill passed by either house of the 118th Congress, to further close loopholes and end avenues for exploitation of our borders by the cartels.

“But he won’t, because the rabidly anti-enforcement, open-borders left is calling the shots for the Biden administration. And the rest of us are paying the price.”

Any executive actions taken related to newly created parole programs or DACA are likely to be challenged by Republican attorneys general.

Originally published by The Center Square. Republished with permission.

Related Topics:#BidenAmnestyPlanForIllegalImmigrants #HeartlandDailyNews #TheCenterSquare

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Illegal Immigrants flooding through Canada into the US include known suspected terrorists

Published on June 29, 2024

Todayville

A Border Patrol agent standing watch at the Montana-Canada border in the CBP Spokane Sector.

From The Center Square

By Bethany Blankley

Illegal border crossings at northern border continue to break records

May totals highest for the month in US history

Illegal border crossings at the northern border continue to break records, according to the latest data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

A record-breaking 18,644, were apprehended illegally entering the U.S. at the northern border in May, the highest total for the month of May in recorded history.

The northern border has seen the highest number of illegal entries in U.S. history under the Biden administration, The Center Square has reported.

In the first eight months of fiscal 2024, more than 99,000 were apprehended after illegally entering through the northern border, according to CBP data. If the current trajectory continues, the numbers are on track to surpass fiscal 2023 apprehensions of 147,666.

Those numbers are up from 92,737 apprehensions in fiscal 2022 and 24,895 in fiscal 2021.

CBP’s fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

The data excluded “gotaways,” the official term used by CBP to describe foreign nationals who illegally enter the U.S. between ports of entry and don’t return to Mexico or Canada. CBP does not publicly report this data. The Center Square first began obtaining it from a Border Patrol agent on condition of anonymity to provide a more accurate picture of monthly apprehension data.

The busiest sector at the northern border is the Swanton Sector, which includes all of Vermont, six upstate New York counties and three New Hampshire counties.

The sector spans 295 miles of international boundary with the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and is the first international land boundary east of the Great Lakes.

In fiscal 2023, Swanton Sector Border Patrol agents broke previous records by apprehending the greatest number of illegal border crossers in history of more than 6,700 foreign nationals from 76 countries, The Center Square exclusively reported.

They continue to break records.

“In less than 9 months, Swanton Sector Border Patrol Agents have apprehended more than 10,000 subjects from 83 countries,” Chief Border Patrol Agent Robert Garcia said. The total so far this fiscal year, as of June 10, was more than the sector’s entire record-setting fiscal 2023 year, he said. “We continue to see an unprecedented increase of illegal entries across eastern New York and Vermont.”

This is after northern border apprehensions reached their highest level in U.S. history in the first six months of fiscal 2024, with Swanton Sector agents apprehending in one week more than they did in fiscal 2021, The Center Square reported.

Border Patrol agents at the northern border are also apprehending the greatest number of known or suspected terrorists (KSTs), according to CBP data. In the first six months of fiscal 2024, they apprehended 143 KSTs, The Center Square reported, including an Iranian with terrorist ties.

That number is now up to 199, according to CBP data as of June 20. By comparison, 117 KSTs were apprehended at the southwest border over the same time period.

The U.S.-Canada border is the longest international border in the world of 5,525 miles. Unlike the U.S.-Mexico border, there are no border walls or similar barriers separating the U.S. from Canada and most of the northern border is unmanned and unpatrolled.

Numerous reports indicate that lack of operational control at the northern border poses a serious national security threat, The Center Square first reported.

“The northern border is under-resourced by far compared to the southwest border,” former Border Patrol chief Mark Morgan told The Center Square. “But at the same time, it still represents significant threats. Cartels are expanding their operations, flying people into Canada, which doesn’t require a visa, presenting an opportunity for terrorist watch-listed individuals to exploit. It’s much easier to get to Canada to come across.”

The Swanton Sector is currently hiring, Garcia says, offering up to $30,000 in incentives for new recruits, up from $20,000 hiring incentives offered in February.

Garcia also emphasizes how the local community plays a vital role supporting Border Patrol efforts. “Agents rely on the vigilance of our community,” he said. “Swanton Sector received more than 1,000 suspicious activity reports in 2023 and we are grateful for every call. We cannot effectively do our job without assistance from the public.”

As record numbers continue to pour through the northern border, he’s appealing to the public, saying, “We need your help now more than ever. YOUR call matters! 1-800-689-3362.”

Great Reset

More than 12 million illegal border crossers since fiscal 2021

Published on June 29, 2024

Todayville

Border Patrol agents inspect a potential landing spot for illegal immigrants along the Rio Grande River in Texas.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

From The Center Square

By Bethany Blankley

Illegal border crossers total more than population of 44 states, 155 countries

More than 12 million people have illegally crossed the border into the U.S. since 2021, data obtained and analyzed by The Center Square show.

That includes the more than 241,000 apprehensions of illegal border crossers in May. The total number who’ve illegally entered the U.S. nationwide in fiscal 2024 through May is more than 2.2 million, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

The majority of illegal border crossers are overwhelmingly single adults. In fiscal 2024 through May, they totaled over 1.35 million.

CBP’s fiscal year goes from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. Under the current administration, each fiscal year breaks a new record for apprehensions and encounters and outnumber U.S. state, city and country populations.

Fiscal year through May totals are potentially on track to surpass last fiscal year’s record of more than 3.2 million apprehensions, the highest on record in U.S. history, according to CBP data. They surpassed more than 2.7 million apprehensions in fiscal 2022, which surpassed more than 1.9 in fiscal 2021.

From fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2024 through May, the number of illegal border crossers apprehended or encountered total 10,147,015, according to CBP data.

The official data excludes “gotaways,” the official term used by CBP to describe foreign nationals who illegally enter the U.S. between ports of entry and don’t return to Mexico or Canada. CBP does not publicly report this data. The Center Square first began obtaining it from a Border Patrol agent on condition of anonymity to provide a more accurate picture of monthly illegal crossings.

For example, CBP’s official apprehension data for fiscal 2023 totaled 3.2 million, but when gotaway data obtained by The Center Square was added, the total reached nearly 4 million.

An estimated minimum two million gotaways have illegally entered the country under the Biden administration, The Center Square first reported.

Officially reported internal gotaway data totals are considered by border agents “a best guess” and believed to be underreported by between 10% and 20%, authorities have told The Center Square. They also say they have no idea how many, who or where these gotaways are.

Including the most up-to-date CBP data and gotaway data obtained by The Center Square, the estimated total number of illegal borders crossers exceeds at a minimum more than 12 million through the end of May.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, recently said the total number was closer to 16 million.

Using the estimated 12.1 million figure, from fiscal 2021 through May in fiscal 2024, illegal border crossings total more than the population of 44 U.S. states.

They also total more than the population of all individual U.S. cities, including New York City, and are greater than the populations of roughly 155 countries.

Illegal border crossers (from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2024 through May) total more than 20 Wyomings, 18.6 Vermonts, 16.4 Alaskas, 15.3 North Dakotas, 13 South Dakotas, and nearly 11.5 Delawares, President Joe Biden’s home state.

Put another way, they total 31% of California’s entire population, 39% of Texas’ population, and 52.6% of Florida’s population, the country’s three most populous states.

They total 62% of New York’s population, 93% of Pennsylvania’s population, and nearly 97% of Illinois’ population, the fourth, fifth and sixth-most populous states, respectively.

If their total were a country’s population, they’d be the 80th largest country in the world, totaling more than the populations of roughly 155 countries.

They total more than double the populations of Finland, Norway, Lebanon, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Ireland, Panama and Kuwait. They total nearly half of Australia.

The Center Square first reported on the number of illegal border crossers totaling more than the population of individual states. In the first six months of 2021, 1.1 million illegal border crossers totaled enough to create the tenth largest city in the U.S. and more than the individual population of nine states.

By June 2022, the 1.1 million had increased to more than three million, totaling more than the individual populations of 23 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

By August 2022, that number had increased to be greater than the individual population of 25 states and more than 100 countries and territories.

Illegal entries into the U.S. exponentially increased after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas implemented policies to create a “legal pathway” for millions of foreign nationals who otherwise would be prohibited entry. His actions resulted in the U.S. House impeaching him in February and more than half of all U.S. states suing to block his policies, arguing they are illegal.