Published on Mar 7, 2019
76K Migrants Entered Through Southwest Border in February — Most in 12 Years, Says CBP
By Bob Price
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) reports that 76,103 migrants appeared at ports of entry and illegally crossed between ports in February. This is the largest number of apprehensions and inadmissible migrants for a February reporting period in 12 years, CBP stated Tuesday.
Of the 76,103 migrants who came to the border seeking admission or illegally crossing between ports of entry, 62 percent were family units and unaccompanied minors. This presents both a border security and humanitarian crisis at our southwest border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan said in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
United States Border Patrol Chief of Operations Brian Hastings told reporters that during February, Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 66,000 migrants who illegally crossed the border from Mexico between ports of entry. This is up from nearly 48,000 in January — a nearly 40 percent increase. When compared to the first five months of Fiscal Year 2018, this fiscal year has seen a 97 percent increase, he stated.
“A lot of folks look at that and they say, ‘we have seen numbers like that in the past,” Hastings explained. He said that many people do not understand the “significant change in the demographics of what we are seeing today is what presents us and our partners with a lot of challenges.”
The Border Patrol operations chief said that historically, agents have apprehended about 70 to 90 percent Mexican nationals. “We could apply a consequence to that demographic,” he stated. “We could return them quickly to Mexico.”
“Today, 70 percent of all of those we are arresting are from the (Central American) northern triangle — Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras,” Hastings continued. He explained that under current laws and court rulings there is no consequence to these migrants and they are nearly all released into the U.S. for an indefinite period of time.
“Without being able to deliver a consequence to these individuals for crossing our border, the Border Patrol has no reason to expect that this trend will decrease — in fact, we believe it will increase,” he surmised. “It’s well known at this time that immigrants with children will not be detained during the immigration proceedings. The word of mouth and social media quickly gets back to those in the northern triangle countries that ‘If you bring a child, you’ll be successful.”
Due to these circumstances, the number of cases of people falsely claiming to be family units has increased substantially. “From April 2018 through February 2019 we have had almost 2,400 fraudulent claims of families,” the operations chief explained. “Of those fraudulent claims, some are people who claim they are under 18 and they’re not. Others have actually been fraudulent familial claims.”
So far this fiscal year, Border Patrol agents apprehended 136,150 migrants claiming to be family units and 26,937 people claiming to be unaccompanied minors, according to the February Southwest Border Migration Report released Tuesday afternoon. This is a total of 163,087 family unit aliens (FMUA) and unaccompanied minors so far this year. In all of Fiscal Year 2018, Border Patrol agents only apprehended 157,248, the 2018 Southwest Border Migration Report stated.
Hastings and Commissioner McAleenan explained that these demographics present substantial challenges for the Border Patrol and CBP. In addition to the demographics, they explained that transnational criminal organizations (Mexican cartels) are shifting the crossing points to the most remote areas of the El Paso, Tucson, and Yuma Border Patrol Sectors and are crossing them in much larger groups in order to tie up Border Patrol resources.
The El Paso Sector witnessed a 1,697 percent increase in the number of family units apprehended in remote areas like the Antelope Wells crossing area. The Yuma and Tucson Sectors have both witnessed increases in excess of 230 percent. Other unsecured areas of the border including the Del Rio Sector in Texas saw an increase of nearly 400 percent over the previous February.
Commissioner McAleenan announced the formation of a new migrant processing center for the El Paso Sector to “provide one location for the processing of family units and children.”
The commissioner cautioned that the new facilities for processing migrants “will assist with managing the increased flows … The fact is that these solutions are temporary and this situation is not sustainable. Remote locations of the United States border are not safe places to cross and they are not places to seek medical care.”
Emergency Declaration Drama Mitch Fails to Prevent Revolt as Border Remains Open
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has broken a reported promise to President Donald Trump, admitting Monday that he failed to prevent Republican Senators from passing a resolution blocking a national emergency declaration on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Speaking at an event Louisville, McConnell said that while the resolution will pass in the Senate, it is highly likely the House will vote to uphold the president’s veto. “What is clear in the Senate is that there will be enough votes to pass the resolution of disapproval, which will then be vetoed by the president and then in all likelihood the veto will be upheld in the House,” he said.
The admission comes after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) announced Sunday that he joined three of his fellow Republican senators to vote with 47 Senate Democrats in backing an anti-declaration resolution which passed the House. “I can’t vote to give the president the power to spend money that hasn’t been appropriated by Congress. We may want more money for border security, but Congress didn’t authorize it. If we take away those checks and balances, it’s a dangerous thing,” Paul said, the Bowling Green Daily News reported.
In addition to Paul, Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Susan Collins (R-ME) will also support the measure, while Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) have not made their position on resolution public.
Later this month, the Senate will vote on the resolution to prevent President Trump from reallocating, without Congress, billions of dollars to fund the construction of a Southern border wall. In February, President Trump announced that he would declare an emergency to build the wall after Congress passed legislation providing $1.3 billion for barriers. He plans to divert $3.6 billion from military construction of the wall and transfer another $3.1 billion towards the construction. As the New York Times reported, McConnell promised the president to support the declaration, signaling that he would quell any opposition to the measure.
[A]fter a particularly unpleasant meeting with the secretary of homeland security, Kirstjen Nielsen, the president was threatening to torpedo the deal, according to two people briefed on the exchange. Several hours and several phone calls later, McConnell had persuaded Mr. Trump to once again agree to sign the bill to avert another government shutdown looming at midnight Friday.
But persuasion came at a price: The president would declare a national emergency to try to secure wall funding without congressional approval, he told the majority leader — and Mr. McConnell would have to back him.
Later in his remarks Monday, the Senate Majority Leader said attempted to talk the president out of issuing a declaration, saying that it may set a precedent of abuse by future Democrat administration seeking to prosecute their progressive agenda without Congress. “That’s one reason I argued without success that he not take this route,” McConnell said.
“I was one of those hoping the president would not take the national emergency route,” added the Kentucky Republican. “Once he decided to do that I said I would support it, but I was hoping he wouldn’t take that particular path.”
100 Migrants Swarm French Port, Storm Ferry in “Coordinated Attack”
The French port of Calais plunged into chaos after over 100 migrants stormed a ferry bound for the UK in what police are calling a “coordinated attack.”
A mob of migrants broke through a high-security area, and using dinghies and ladders, managed to charge aboard a DFDS Seaways-owned vessel after its arrival from Dover, with some climbing to the top of the ship’s exhaust funnel and others hiding in the ventilation system, the Daily Mail reports.
The port was temporarily closed, stranding some ships at sea and forcing others to cancel their journeys as authorities embarked on a search-and-rescue mission lasting more than 12 hours.
Emergency response teams reportedly battled difficult weather conditions in an attempt to root out invaders in and around the ship, and were also forced to rescue two who fell overboard.
More than 40 migrants were arrested, with most being released with only a warning, EuroNews reports.
A dozen suspects are slated to appear in court and a 36-year-old man from Mali has been identified as the operation’s “organizer” and sentenced to four months in prison, according to Intelligence Fusion.
“This was a coordinated and simultaneous attack that did not allow the police, who had too few staff, to intervene,” said police union spokesman Gilles Debove.
Officials claim an escalation of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel is due to the looming Brexit deadline, with one source telling the Daily Mail, “this is something we can expect to see more of in the coming weeks.”
UK Border Force apprehended migrants crossing the Channel in boats of their own on four consecutive days last week.
Violent Criminals, Drug Smugglers Exploit Incomplete Border Barriers in Texas
By Bob Price
Violent criminal aliens, gang members, and drug smugglers continue to exploit gaps in border barriers in the Rio Grande Valley Sector to move into the U.S. from Mexico.
Agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station patrolling near Roma, Texas, came upon a Salvadoran national who had just crossed the border illegally last week. The agents transported the man to the station where they conducted a biometric background investigation on the subject, according to information provided by Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol officials.
The background investigation revealed the man to be a previously deported criminal alien who is a member of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). His record includes an extensive history in New York, where police arrested him for criminal possession of a weapon with intent to use and resisting arrest, officials stated.
A few days later, Weslaco Station agents arrested an Ecuadoran man after he illegally crossed the border. After transporting the migrant to the station, agents learned he has an active warrant from Anoka County, Minnesota, for a charge of 3rd degree sexual conduct, Border Patrol officials stated. Deputies with the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office previously arrested the man.
In addition to previously deported criminal aliens exploiting the incomplete border barriers, drug smugglers also take advantage of the weakness in border security and the fact that RGV Sector agents are occupied with nearly 1,000 migrant apprehensions every day.
On Wednesday, Rio Grande City Station agents patrolling near La Rosita, Texas, came upon a group of people carrying large bundles. The suspected drug smugglers were walking north from the Rio Grande River officials reported.
As agents approached the group, the illegal aliens jumped back into the Rio Grande and swam to Mexico. The agents searched the area they found three bundles containing more than 175 pounds of marijuana. The agents stated the value of the seized drugs at approximately $326,000.
Illegal Alien Allegedly Beat Infant to Death in Texas
A father brutally murdered his son.
By
An illegal alien living in Texas is accused of beating his two-week-old son to death last week.
“Luis Angel Pacheco, 27, is charged with injury to a child, but that is expected to be upgraded due to the child’s death,” according to KTRK. “Pacheco is accused of causing severe injuries to his son’s skull, stomach and groin area.”
Pacheco reportedly told authorities that he had accidentally dropped his son on a concrete floor while changing his diaper. He said that he had not told his wife what happened, and waited hours – until his son’s breathing became heavy and labored – to call 911.
Authorities spoke with the child’s doctor, who said that the trauma sustained by the child was not consistent with Pacheco’s claim that he accidentally dropped his son.
The child died on Thursday, after spending several days in the hospital on life support.
Pacheco was released on a $250,000 bond, but also has an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer.
WATCH: Democrat Rep. Compares Border Agents To Nazis ‘Back In Germany’
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) compared federal U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to Nazis “back in Germany” on Tuesday during a hearing on the border in the House Judiciary Committee.
“As I’ve been listening here, I’ve been struck a couple times by the denial of humanity of many of these families and children,” Scanlon said. “When the issue is framed as an invasion by aliens and when we refer to children as UACs, it’s easier to pretend that they’re not human and worthy of compassion.”
“When you say that the cause of migration is legal loopholes or bad judicial decisions, rather than the dire conditions of violence and poverty in these people’s home countries that’s literally driving them from home, I think it’s easier to slam the door against these kids and these families,” Scanlon continued. “This hearing is a recognition and an insistence that on that humanity…a recognition that just following orders is no more an excuse today than it was back in Germany.”
WATCH:
This is not the first time that Democratic lawmakers have demonized federal law enforcement officials to push their open-borders agenda.
In November, The Daily Wire reported that “Democratic California Senator Kamala Harris compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) during a Senate hearing” and “appeared to suggest that they act like a terrorist organization toward foreign nationals who are illegally in the United States.”
“Harris made the comparison during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing to consider the nomination of Ronald Vitello to be the new director of ICE,” The Daily Wire added. “Harris asked Vitiello about comments he previously made in which he referred to the Democratic Party as ‘liberalcratic’ or ‘NeoKlanist,’ in an attempt to publicly shame him. Harris repeatedly pressed him to explain why he made the remark and why the remark was wrong for him to make.”
“The Klan was what we could call today a domestic terrorist group,” said Vitiello.
“Why?” Harris asked. “Why would we call them a domestic terrorist group?”
“Because they tried to use fear and force to change the political environment,” Vitiello responded.
“And what was the motivation for the use of fear and force?” Harris continued.
“It was based on race and ethnicity, “ Vitiello answered.
“Right, and are you aware of the perception of many about how the power and discretion at ICE is being used to enforce the law and do you see any parallels?” Harris asked.
“I do not see any parallels between sworn officers and agents —” Vitiello said before he was cut off.
“I’m talking about perception,” Harris fired back.
“I do not see a parallel between what is constitutionally mandated as it related to enforcing the law,” Vitiello replied. “I see no perception that puts ICE in the same category as the KKK.”
WATCH:
Other Democratic lawmakers, like Sen. Mazie Hirono (HI), have at times been unaware of basic immigration terminology policy and have had to be educated by federal officials during hearings.
In July, The Daily Wire reported that “Matthew T. Albence, Executive Associate Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) at ICE had to inform Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) that illegal aliens face prosecution because they have broken the law.”
“Mr. Albence, would you send your children to FRCs?” Hirono asked.
“Again, I think we’re missing the point,” Albence responded. “These individuals are there because they have broken a law. There has to be a process.”
“They have broken a law but only as deemed so by the president with his —” Hirono replied before being cut off.
“No ma’am,” Albence shot back. “They are there for violation of Title 8 of the U.S. Nationality Act. Okay. U.S.C. 1325. That’s illegal entry is both a criminal and civil violation. They are in those FRCs pending the outcome of that civil immigration process. They have broken the law.”
Rage and puzzlement over Muslim woman in hijab chosen for Swedish municipality’s welcome sign
A Swedish municipality is facing backlash after selecting a local Muslim woman wearing a headscarf to be the ‘poster girl’ for its roadside ‘welcome’ sign. Her past ties to a controversial local imam were also discovered.
The municipality said it was a gesture celebrating the diversity of its community, which counts over 100,000 people of various origins and cultures. But some saw it as a signal of support for suppressing women’s freedoms.
“One should think what this is signaling. Some indeed use this garment, the hijab, voluntarily. But not everyone. This a garment that for millions of women around the world represents a lack of freedom,” said Sweden Democrats MP Roger Hedlund, a member of the municipality council, as quoted by the news website Nyheter Idag.
The Sweden Democrats party has an anti-immigration platform and currently holds 62 seats in the 349-seat Swedish parliament. Samhallsnytt, an online publication reportedly close to the party, was quick to dig Hindi’s past ties to a controversial local imam, who was accused of preaching radical ideas and collecting money for terrorists in Iraq and Syria.
Indeed, in 2009 the woman, who called herself Nizam Hindi at the time, was featured in a story by the left-leaning tabloid Arbetarbladet about the opening of a mosque in Gavle. She explained how having their own prayer house was good for the Swedish municipality’s Muslim community, how aid from Saudi Arabia and Qatar helped to buy and furnish the building, and how listening to the imam is important during the prayer.
The Al-rashideen mosque and its imam, Abu Raad, were involved in a scandal a few years ago, after the leading local newspaper Gefle Dagblad accused him of spreading radical Salafist ideas and collecting money for terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.
The editor-in-chef received death threats over the criticism. The man who issued the threats was sentenced to two months in jail.
It was not immediately clear whether Hindi is still associated with the mosque.
Gavle itself was the scene of a national scandal in Sweden two years ago, when six people were tried for the abduction and murder of 23-year-old Afghan man Ramin Sherzaj over an extramarital affair. Five received life sentences for the crime, while one got a 14-year jail term.
The woman involved in the affair, who was a relative of the defendants, left her husband for a brief relationship with Sherzaj. It apparently ended badly, since the man then sent photos of him kissing the woman to her husband’s family members. This led to them banding together to carry out the honor killing.
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