Biden Border Policies Defy Law

The Biden Administration has done far more than normalize the practice of illegal immigration, in open defiance of U.S. law. It has created an environment in which the needs of those entering the nation illegitimately have priority over citizens. In some jurisdictions, Funding for essential services is jeopardized due to the fiscal strain resulting from the influx of border crossers.

Not long after taking office, the newly elected Administration limited arrests and deportations carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Colorado Rep. Douglas Lamborn notes that President Obama’s reckless immigration policies and unlawful executive amnesty orders have led to a staggering increase of 2.5 million illegal immigrants nationwide. The American people understand what a dangerous precedent this is. Each year, hundreds of thousands of aliens deliberately violate our nation’s laws by unlawfully crossing U.S. borders. Today, there are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States.

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has emphasized that President Biden has the authority to address the crisis at the southern border, but he has simply chosen not to act. … the crisis at the border from becoming a full-blown catastrophe.

Rather than address the challenges of illegal immigration, the Administration has done all it can to encourage the practice. The Federation for American Immigration Reform reports that Former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott has testified that the Biden Administration’s priority [is] to release aliens as quickly as possible. He stated, “During my tenure as Chief, the Biden administration’s team at DHS was laser-focused on expediting the processing and flow of migrants into the U.S. They downplayed or completely refused to accept the significant vulnerability this creates for terrorists, narcotics smugglers, human traffickers, and even hostile nations to gain access to our homeland.”

Not satisfied with ignoring U.S. law regarding illegal immigration and encouraging more border crossing, Biden has attacked those who have attempted to deal with the problem. His Administration has criticized Border Patrol Agents for merely doing their job, and has now attacked the State of Texas for implementing water-borne barriers. It has abandoned material already purchased by the prior Administration meant to be used for border wall construction.

A Heritage study found that “The list of lies administration officials have told regarding their handling of illegal immigration is extensive and still growing. When asked why the administration was flying illegal immigrants in the middle of the night, press secretary Jen Psaki belittled the reporter and then lied. By failing to detain or remove single adult males, the Administration has removed the last disincentive to illegal immigration.

In August, CBS reported that the White House has allowed 200,000 migrants to enter the U.S. in just the prior10 months.

The President’s tilt towards illegals at the expense of the citizenry is a nod towards his party’s preferences. Democrats in the House have recently filed legislation to issue green cards to illegals.

In 2022, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody took legal action against the Biden administration for ignoring federal immigration law. She noted that “According to federal law, arriving immigrants, including those claiming asylum, are required by law to be detained while immigration courts determine if there is a valid basis to enter the United States. As a result of the Biden administration’s illegal abdication of duty, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has already released more than 225,000 illegal border crossers this year… The Biden administration’s brazen disregard for federal immigration law is jeopardizing the safety and security of our state and nation…Biden’s border policy is an open invitation to dangerous criminals, human traffickers and drug traffickers to enter the United States—creating a crisis at the Southern Border like we have never seen. Because Biden is not requiring those crossing the border to go through the legally mandated channels, they are coming into our country without being properly processed…The federal government cannot simply ignore federal laws because it does not agree with them politically.”

Photo: U.S. Mexican border (Pixabay)

Quick Analysis

Part 3: AMERICA’S STRATEGIC POSTURE

We conclude our summary of the urgent recommendation of the Congressional Committee on the nation’s Strategic Posture NON-NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES The Commission recommends: The United States urgently deploy a more resilient space architecture and adopt a strategy that includes both offensive and defensive elements to ensure U.S. access to and operations in space. The United States and its Allies take steps to ensure they are at the cutting edge of emerging technologies – such as big data analytics, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) – to avoid strategic surprise and potentially enhance the U.S. strategic posture. The United States prioritize funding and accelerate long-range non-nuclear precision strike programs to meet the operational need and in greater quantities than currently planned. x America’s Strategic Posture The United States develop and field homeland IAMD that can deter and defeat coercive attacks by Russia and China, and determine the capabilities needed to stay ahead of the North Korean threat.4 The Secretary of Defense direct research, development, test and evaluation into advanced IAMD capabilities leveraging all domains, including land, sea, air, and space. These activities should focus on sensor architectures, integrated command and control, interceptors, cruise and hypersonic missile defenses, and area or point defenses. The DOD should urgently pursue deployment of any capabilities that prove feasible. The Secretary of Defense and the Military Departments transfer operations and sustainment responsibility for missile defense to the appropriate Military Departments by 1 October 2024. This will allow the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to focus on research, development, prototyping and testing. ALLIES AND PARTNERS The Commission believes it is in the U.S. national interest to maintain, strengthen, and when appropriate, expand its network of alliances and partnerships. These relationships strengthen American security by deterring aggression regionally, before it can reach the U.S. homeland, while also enabling U.S. economic prosperity through access to international markets. Withdrawing from U.S. alliances and partnerships would directly benefit adversaries, invite aggression that the United States might later have to reverse, and ultimately decrease American, allied, and partner security and economic prosperity. Further, the Commission believes that our defense and the defense of the current international order is strengthened when Allies can directly contribute to the broader strategic posture, and the United States should seek to incorporate those contributions as much as possible. The Executive branch should recognize that any major change to U.S. strategic posture, policies, or capabilities will have great effect on Allies’ perceptions and their deterrence and assurance requirements. As a result, any changes should be predicated on meaningful consultations. RISK REDUCTION The Commission believes it is of paramount importance for the United States to work to reduce strategic risks. This involves activities and programs across the U.S. government, including in nonproliferation and arms control, as well as maintaining strong, viable, and resilient military forces. The Commission recommends that a strategy to address the two-nuclear-peer threat environment be a prerequisite for developing U.S. nuclear arms control limits for the 2027-2035 timeframe. The Commission recommends that once a strategy and its related force requirements are established, the U.S. government determine whether and how nuclear arms control limits continue to enhance U.S. security. The Commission recommends that the United States continue to explore nuclear arms control opportunities and conduct research into potential verification technologies in order to support or enable future negotiations in the U.S. national interest that seek to limit all nuclear weapon types, should the geopolitical environment change. Where formal nuclear arms control agreements are not possible, the Commission recommends pursuing nuclear risk reduction measures to increase predictability and reduce uncertainty and the chances for misperception and miscalculation. The 2009 Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States reported that the United States was at “a moment of opportunity, . . .but also a moment of urgency” – because the security environment had improved and the threat of nuclear proliferation was the principal concern. Since 2009, the security environment has dramatically worsened and new existential threats have emerged. This Commission concludes that the United States now faces a highstakes challenge that requires urgent action. Nevertheless, the Commission has not seen the U.S. government demonstrate the urgency and creativity required to meet the challenge. Nothing other than synchronized steps taken by the Executive and Legislative Branches will craft the strategy and build the posture the nation requires. The challenges are unmistakable; the problems are urgent; the steps are needed now. Photo: An Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during a test at Vandenberg Space Force Base (DoD)