illegal immigration
Biden/Harris made empty promises to stop migrants in Panama — but the flood continues
A sign at the end of the notorious Darien Gap in Panama — where 1.5 million migrants have traveled since 2021.Photo by LUIS ACOSTA/AFP via Getty Images
From the New York Post
By Todd Bensman
On July 1, Panama’s new President José Raúl Mulino took office on an unprecedented promise to close a major route of illegal immigration — through which at least 1.5 million foreign nationals have poured through since 2021.
Mulino said he would close the infamous Darién Gap, a 70-mile roadless jungle wilderness that South American migrants traverse on their way north to the United States.
He secured a promise from the Biden-Harris administration to help accomplish this: money and possibly even planes to carry illegally arriving migrants back to their countries.
A map of the 70-mile route that migrants take on the Darien Gap while passing through Panama.
But nearly two months after the US pledged a “removal flights program” to support Panama, the aid is nowhere to be found and the immigrants, after sheltering in place at home or in Colombia to see if Panama might actually deport people, are starting to flow once again through the Darién Gap.
‘We need support’
“We’re waiting,” said a senior Panama government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the topic. “We are [ready] to do our part of the agreement but we need the resources. We don’t have the airplanes to move the big numbers we need to.”
The official said the lack of American follow-through is probably “political” but has become more urgent to counter a new wave of Venezuelans — long among the most numerous nationalities crossing through Panama — who are now fleeing a fresh round of political violence.
Panama wants to dramatically increase air expulsions of Venezuelans back to Colombia to “change their mindset” so that fewer will want to make the dangerous trek.
But the Panamanian official said his country can’t afford to go it alone much longer.
Migrants boarding a boat in Colombia to head to the Darien Gap.CIS.ORG
A group of migrants sailing from Colombia to Panama.CIS.ORG
Migrants arriving in Panama.CIS.ORG
“We understand that we need logistical support to reinforce the expulsion of migrants . . . so we can avoid the movement and the normal flow to the United States,” the official said. “We need to change the migration politics of the border of the United States so we can send a very clear message to the migrants.”
His comments follow a similar public nudge from Panama’s presidential palace.
“The ball is in their court; we have done everything we can do,” President Mulino said at an Aug. 9 press conference in Panama City, referring to the Biden-Harris White House. “The border is in Panama, not in Texas.”
Catch-&-release logic
The American delay in following through, given the latest Venezuela unrest — and also the paltry $6 million the White House reportedly offered Panama for air expulsions — is inexplicable, given that Panama’s newfound willingness to reduce US-bound immigration on its territory represents a golden opportunity for the administration.
Polling shows the border crisis figures large as a political liability for Harris.
But it is in keeping with a Biden-Harris administration that has worked overtime to increase illegal-border crossing.
Rather than discourage passage through the Darién Gap, the US worked with the previous Panamanian government to make it easier to get through.
Migrants walking along a jungle path while traveling from Colombia to Panama on May 9, 2024.AP Photo/Ivan Valencia
Migrants riding a small boat on a river in Panama’s Darien province on Oct. 6, 2023.AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco, File
In 2022, for instance, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pressured the Panamanian government to open a shorter sea and river route, built larger and new hospitality rest camps, and arranged for dozens of United Nations and nonprofit migrant advocacy groups to provide all manner of aid and assistance.
These moves induced hundreds of thousands more border crossers per year to make the trip.
As a direct result of Biden-Harris catch-and-release policies, the Darién Gap passage became a major factor in the worst mass migration crisis in US history, funneling millions of illegal immigrants north.
A woman carrying a child as she crosses the Acandi River in Colombia on Sept. 15, 2024.AP Photo/Fernando Vergara
A migrant camp at the Reception Center for Migrant Care in Lajas Blanca, Panama on June 27, 2024.Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images
Election pressure
Fewer than 20,000 economic immigrants per year ever passed through the Colombia-Panama passage before the Biden-Harris administration, yet 250,000 passed through it in 2022, 520,000 last year and a projected 800,000 by the end of 2024.
With the election looming, Biden did pressure Mexico to try to reduce the all-time-record border crossings of 10,000-to-14,000-a-day.
Panama’s then-president-elect Jose Raul Mulino visiting the Reception Center for Migrant Care on June 28, 2024.Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images
The outreach has helped ebb the tide slightly and avoided some of the more shocking pictures and videos from overwhelmed border checkpoints.
So why the delay with Panama?
Perhaps it’s because the border has been “solved” just enough for optics sake ahead of the election. But Kamala Harris has absolutely no intention of following through with tougher border policies if elected.
If Harris wins in November, she won’t have to unravel a commitment to actual deportations in Panama that neither she nor her progressive liberal base authentically support or want, and the Darién Gap superhighway that they support can remain wide open.
Todd Bensman, a senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, is the author of “Overrun: How Joe Biden Unleashed the Greatest Border Crisis in U.S. History.” Follow his progress through the Dairen Gap and Panama at CIS.org.
Daily Caller
Los Angeles Passes ‘Sanctuary City’ Ordinance In Wake Of Trump’s Deportation Plan
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
The Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday designating the city as a “sanctuary city” following President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan.
This measure prevents the use of local resources for immigration enforcement and prohibits city agencies from sharing information about undocumented residents with federal immigration authorities, according to The Associated Press. The council voted unanimously, aligning Los Angeles with numerous cities across the U.S. that have adopted similar policies.
The ordinance will undergo a second council vote for procedural reasons as Mayor Karen Bass, who has expressed support for the initiative, holds veto power but is unlikely to use it, AP reported. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez pointed out the city’s firm stance against cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
🚨 President-Elect Trump has named Tom Homan as Border Czar. pic.twitter.com/XNfp4to0Ev
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 11, 2024
“We’re going to send a very clear message that the city of Los Angeles will not cooperate with ICE in any way,” Soto-Martinez said. “We want people to feel protected and be able to have faith in their government and that women can report domestic violence crimes.”
Soto-Martinez also noted that many immigrants without legal status are integral to the community, working in roles such as housekeepers, nannies, and cooks, AP reported. While the ordinance highlights the city’s values, critics argue that Los Angeles already refrains from cooperating with federal immigration agencies, suggesting the policy may not bring significant operational changes.
Trump announced that former acting ICE Director Tom Homan will take on the role of border czar in his upcoming administration. Homan will oversee border operations, including deportations, security at land and sea entry points, and aviation safety measures.
Trump revealed Monday that he plans to declare a national emergency and deploy military resources to execute his mass deportation agenda. He confirmed reports from Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton, who claimed the administration is ready to use emergency powers to address what he called the “Biden invasion.”
Daily Caller
“I know three families that have gone to Canada.”: Locals Say Haitians Are Hoofing It Out Of Springfield After Trump Win
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
‘They Are Afraid’
Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio appear to be fleeing the city in droves after President-elect Donald Trump was declared the winner of the election, according to reports from locals.
The national spotlight shined on Springfield, a city of roughly 60,000 residents nestled in central Ohio, for weeks following unverified viral online claims that Haitians migrants had been spotted butchering a pet for consumption. The subsequent uproar about Springfield sparked further media debate about mass migration and its consequences, as Springfield has been dealing with an influx of Haitian migrants in a relatively short amount of time.
“The traffic situation seems to be better now,” longtime resident Barron Seelig said to the Daily Caller News Foundation, referring to widespread accounts from city residents in past months that Haitian drivers are causing mayhem on the roads.
While Seelig did speak about local rumors of impending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids possibly scaring Haitians away, he also mentioned recent crackdowns by highway patrol officers and added that some migrants are leaving because they don’t enjoy the Ohio winters. Another Springfield local told the DCNF that he heard it was virtually impossible to rent a U-Haul truck because so many Haitians are currently renting them — presumably to leave town.
Those who provide services to immigrant services in the city have also said that Trump’s election victory has prompted Haitians to flee en masse.
“Some folks don’t have credit cards or access to the internet, and they want to buy a bus ticket or a plane ticket, so we help them book a flight,” Margery Koveleski, who helps Haitian migrants manage government bureaucracy, told The Guardian. “People are leaving.”
“People are fully aware of the election result, and that is why they are leaving; they are afraid of a mass deportation” Jason Payen, a co-founder of the Haitian Community Alliance, said to the Guardian.
“Several of my customers have left. One guy with his family went to New Jersey; others have gone to Boston,” Payen continued. “I know three families that have gone to Canada.”
Trump, for his part, has vowed to embark on a border enforcement agenda that will apply to the entire country.
During the campaign, Trump pledged to continue building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, revive the Remain in Mexico program, hire more border patrol agents and conduct the “largest deportation program in American history,” and end birthright citizenship for those born on U.S. soil to illegal migrant parents.
Trump said in October that he would revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals and “bring them back” to the country. The Biden-Harris administration has provided TPS — which temporarily gives deportation protections to its designees — to hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals currently living in the U.S.
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