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If We Can’t Stop This Invasion, We No Longer Have a Sovereign Nation

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You might not have heard the news overnight, but our national government has been shut down. Yes, that long-dreaded government shutdown is upon us. No, there was no appropriations lapse of 18 percent of the bureaucracies, nor was there a three-inch snowstorm in the nation’s capital. A single district judge thinks he can violate all rules of standing, 130 years of Supreme Court precedent on sovereignty up to and including Trump v. Hawaii, and shut down any effort to secure our border, including the administration’s half-baked plan on bogus asylum.

Despite spending $892 billion on the military and defense, we refuse to assert our rights over our own border because the ACLU and judges evidently control our borders. We continue to allow lawfare to incentivize and actually allow the entirety of Central America to cross our border, along with drugs, gangs, violence, poverty, and possibly diseases.

In every media interview I’ve given, when asked about the future of the caravan, I emphatically said that there was no way Trump would allow any of them to submit “asylum” claims, because if he couldn’t stop such a brazen invasion, it would be the end of his presidency. Nonetheless, I expressed concern that we’d still ignore the dangerous invasion of roughly 1,000-2,000 coming over every day independently smuggled in by coyotes.

Now it appears I was too charitable. We are not even categorically blocking the caravan, and that was before last night’s illegal, lawless injunction from an Obama judge in San Francisco. It appears that the people in the caravan are being allowed to submit claims, 100 a day. I guess slow-motion catch-and-release is better than a mass rush, but why should we be “managing” an invasion rather than repelling it, as required by the Constitution’s Guarantee Clause, Article IV, Section 4? Slow-motion admission is not what Trump promised before the election:

If we can’t stop a belligerent group of economic migrants carrying flags of their “persecutors” and will instead indulge them as questionable asylees, we no longer have a sovereign nation. Mexicans in Tijuana are now vigorously protesting the caravan’s illegal occupation of their own country. The migrants are reportedly smoking weed and throwing garbage in their neighborhoods, after rejecting Mexico’s own offer of asylum, which in itself is a violation of international asylum law.

Here is a video of a Honduran man in the caravan threatening to kill Mexicans and burn Tijuana after residents of Playas de Tijuana demanded that the caravan leave.

Folks, a functioning government would send our military to the San Diego border, not as “confidence builders” for Border Patrol, as Defense Secretary Mattis suggested, but locked and loaded. This is an invasion, plain and simple. Why are we even discussing how many of these applications we should process? What ever happened to the promise to use Trump’s inherent and delegated authority to shut down all border migration for the time being?

The Trump administration deserves credit for its decision yesterday to shut down all northbound lanes and half the pedestrian crossings into the San Ysidro crossing at Tijuana. That will slow down the pace, but still, why are we taking in invaders at any pace? And why is the DOJ even showing up in two separate lawsuits lodged by the ACLU on behalf of invaders, when the most unassailable case law says that A) the president controls who comes into the country; B) foreign nationals have no standing to sue; and C) courts have no jurisdiction to second-guess the executive on exclusions? If after 130 years of settled law on this issue, we are going to allow California judges to destroy our border, that is the ultimate government shutdown.

And this is just the problem with the caravan at the points of entry. The larger problem is the invasion of hundreds of thousands between the points of entry who are helping the drug cartels prosper. In just two days last week, over 650 illegals were apprehended in the Yuma sector. This is just one sector, which means that the pace of the broader border invasion has intensified to well over 1,000 apprehensions a day. And that means there are at least as many we don’t apprehend.

I spoke with Sheriff Leon Wilmot of Yuma County yesterday, and he was frustrated that everyone is missing the point about the lawfare. “We already have a fence here, and it worked fine during Operation Streamline last decade, when we prosecuted 100 percent of the border crossers rather than processing them. But now they are just hanging off the fence and surrendering themselves to border agents.” He told me about women “dropping babies off the fence” and breaking limbs. His sheriff’s deputies must deal with the medical emergencies. “None of these folks are being prosecuted. My deputies are the ones who have to take those rape and robbery reports because the feds refuse to do their jobs.”

Meanwhile, drugs continue to pour over the Arizona border. While most of the drug operations in recent years have been in the Tucson sector, Sheriff Wilmot, who is also the chairman of the Southwestern Border Sheriff’s Coalition, has seen an increase in drugs in Yuma in recent months. “Cartels are exploiting the situation in remote areas by backpacking in meth while border agents are busy dealing with the family units hanging off the fence. They are also exploiting juveniles – both the unaccompanied aliens and the American citizens who have family in Mexico but cross over to go to school on our side of the border.” He lamented that the feds will do nothing about the teenage drug smugglers and that the cartels are fully aware of that.

Now, if the jailbreak bill passes, the traffickers will enjoy multiple leniencies. And a number of sanctuary cities are giving taxpayer funding for “free” legal counsel for illegal aliens. If you or I were attacked by illegal aliens, we’d need to marshal our own resources to seek justice, yet they can invade for free.

Rather than waste the final month of GOP control of the trifecta of government on promoting a bill that releases these very drug traffickers from prison, Trump should shoot for the moon on immigration in the December budget bill. Unless he demands not just full funding for the wall and border patrol, but clarity in statute on asylum, UACs, sanctuary cities, and interior enforcement, his presidency is done, and we will face the ultimate government shutdown: the end of our sovereignty. Unless Trump leverages his veto until Congress reiterates existing law – that courts have no jurisdiction over border security – he should just step down and allow the ACLU to run our border. (For more from the author of “If We Can’t Stop This Invasion, We No Longer Have a Sovereign Nation” please click HERE)

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What You Need to Know About the Lawsuit Against Trump’s New Asylum Policies

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This morning a federal judge will hear a challenge to the Trump administration’s recently announced changes to the rules governing asylum.

The changes came mere days after the midterm election and in response to the Central American caravan’s continued approach to the U.S. border. On November 9, 2018, Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen jointly issued new regulations governing asylum claims. Those regulations provide that individuals who enter the United States in contravention of the presidential proclamation suspending entry of aliens through the southern border with Mexico, other than at a port of entry, are ineligible for asylum. The following day, President Trump issued the referenced proclamation.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) responded immediately, filing suit in a San Francisco-based federal court on behalf of four nonprofit organizations that assist asylum applicants: East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, Al Otro Lado, Innovation Law Lab, and Central American Resource Center in Los Angeles. In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that the Trump administration’s newly issued asylum regulations violate the Administrative Procedure Act’s requirement that regulations be published 30 days prior to their effective date. The nonprofit organizations also argue that the regulations violate the Immigration and Nationality Act by barring those who illegally cross the southern border from qualifying for asylum. . .

The Department of Justice argued in its brief that the plaintiffs lack standing to challenge the regulations at issue. The Trump administration is correct. To sue, a plaintiff must suffer a cognizable injury and, in this case, the changes to the rules governing asylum do not harm the nonprofit organizations. . .

The ACLU’s third-party standing argument fares no better, though, for three reasons. First, the plaintiffs did not make this argument in their initial court filing and such belated arguments are waived. Second, even if the plaintiffs had not waived the argument, in order to assert third-party standing Al Otro Lado and the other nonprofit plaintiffs must still suffer an actual injury. It is not enough that the regulations harm third parties not before the court. (Read more from “What You Need to Know About the Lawsuit Against Trump’s New Asylum Policies” HERE)

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Troops at Mexico Border to Begin Heading Home as Thousands of Migrants Arrive

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The thousands of military troops that were deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to incoming migrant caravans from Central America will begin withdrawing this week and should all be home before Christmas, according to Politico.

President Donald Trump ordered 5,800 troops to the border to support U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in its efforts to prevent the illegal entry of migrants into the U.S., but it appears their work is mostly done even as thousands of migrants begin arriving in Tijuana, Mexico.

“Our end date right now is 15 December, and I’ve got no indications from anybody that we’ll go beyond that,” said Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, who is in charge of the troops at the border.

What this means: Most of the deployed troops are in Texas, and most of the migrants — about 6,000 as of early Monday — are arriving in Tijuana, which is about 20 miles south of San Diego, California.

According to the Military Times, 2,800 troops are in Texas, 1,500 are in Arizona, and 1,300 are in California. As military personnel cannot perform law enforcement duties, the troops have been setting up barriers along the border and supporting border patrol operations.

(Read more from “Troops at Mexico Border to Begin Heading Home as Thousands of Migrants Arrive” HERE)

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Central American Caravan Has Arrived at the Southern Border. Here’s Their Plan Moving Forward.

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The caravan traveling from Central America to the United States has officially arrived at the United States-Mexico border in Tijuana, just south of San Diego, California, The New York Times reported. The illegal aliens on the caravan have survived the dangerous trek thus far but now they’re in for real trouble: figuring out how to get into the United States, especially now that the military was deployed.

President Donald Trump has promised to make it impossible for illegal aliens to seek asylum so caravan riders are considering their options. Some are setting up appointments with border patrol officials in hopes of pleading their case, others are contemplating staying in Mexico while another section will probably cross the border illegally. . .

According to César Anibal Palencia Chavez, Tijuana’s director of migrant services, 2,800 illegal aliens not associated with the group are currently waiting for asylum in the United States. They, too, are waiting in local shelters.

Chavez said Tijuana and Baja Mexico pleaded for the Mexican federal government to help the city with the influx of people – something they consider a “humanitarian crisis” – but they have not received a response.

“The federal government is not accompanying us,” he said. “It’s worrisome for a city to be left alone.” (Read more from “Central American Caravan Has Arrived at the Southern Border. Here’s Their Plan Moving Forward.” HERE)

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Record Border Crossings in October. What Is the Administration Doing?

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Just when we thought the border invasion couldn’t get any worse, we set a new record in October for border crossings of family units. In September, a total of 16,658 family units were caught entering between the points of entry, an all-time record. New data from Customs and Border Patrol show that this number increased 39 percent to 23,121 in October. Given that the numbers have increased among those coming here with children, this should put to rest once and for all any myth that migration is due to “push” factors in Central America rather than judicial and executive amnesty “pull” factors in America.

Overall, in October, 50,957 individuals were apprehended at the southern border between points of entry, while another 9,770 were apprehended at the points of entry. The 60,745 total is the highest single-month total of Trump’s presidency. I believe this is only the fourth time since the Great Recession that the monthly apprehensions topped 60,000. While the number of unaccompanied teenagers has remained relatively steady after the initial rise last year, the number of family units apprehended skyrocketed by almost 2,000 percent since the rock-bottom numbers of the Trump effect in the spring of 2017. That is all because of the catch-and-release policies of the Left and the courts, yet Republicans did not make this the top issue of the campaign.

One trend that is particularly disturbing is the 600 percent increase in apprehensions in the El Paso sector, which, until now, has been dormant. While the Rio Grande sector remains the busiest corridor, and while other sectors, such as San Diego, Tucson, and Yuma, have seen large increases in apprehensions, El Paso is the hottest trafficking spot in recent months. This is very concerning because Middle Eastern immigrants have been known to cross this part of the border, and the influx of bogus asylum-seekers that is now occupying the Border Patrol in the region will strategically distract them from interdicting some of the more problematic migrants.

One other interesting trend from the CBP data is that the lion’s share of both unaccompanied teenagers and family units are from Guatemala and, to a lesser extent, from Honduras. Family or UAC migration from El Salvador has dropped sharply, as has migration from Mexico. This is a complete refutation of those who say the migrants are fleeing violence, because Guatemala is, by far, the least violent of these countries, and homicide rates are plummeting, while El Salvador is the most violent country in Central America. Also, violence in Mexico is increasing every year, yet migration is down. Hence, there’s an inverse relationship between migration and violence.

So, what is the Trump administration doing about our uncontrolled border?

Last week, the administration took my advice and invoked the president’s broad powers to shut down all forms of immigration, including refugees and asylum, under 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The problem is that while the president invoked the statute that would justify a broad shutdown, he used it to implement a relatively narrow policy that doesn’t shut down our border. Rather than shutting down all border migration and requiring any asylum seeker to apply in our consulates in Mexico, which is designated as a safe third-party country by the U.N., the Trump administration is explicitly inviting all of them to apply at our points of entry. As we’ve clearly seen from the past two years, whenever you invite in illegal immigrants, they will come in droves.

To be fair, there is a clear benefit to at least shutting down asylum to those who come in between the points of entry. As noted above, having hordes of bogus asylum seekers come in through the smuggling routes empowers the drug and human smuggling cartels, is more likely to bring in dangerous people, and drains the resources of the Border Patrol.

However, Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, expressed her concern to me that this order would not dissuade cross-border migration even between the points of entry, much less at the points of entry:

This new rule is a pretty lukewarm response to the festering problem of hundreds of faux asylum seekers crashing the border daily, which will turn into a real crisis when the caravan of thousands arrives. Granted, it could make it a little harder for illegal entrants who might be covered under a potential proclamation barring them from entry, but even these entrants still will have asylum-like loopholes to exploit, including the form of relief known as withholding of removal, which is like asylum, but with a somewhat higher standard to pass the initial screening.

In other words, the entire point of using 212(f) should be to shut down all border migration and refuse to process anyone until the crisis subsides. Vaughan does not see the administration doing that. And given that detention facilities are already at record capacity, if we continue processing them rather than blocking their entry by force altogether, they will just be released.

Moreover, the points of entry are a huge loophole. Let’s not forget that the caravans always come to the points of entry anyway, and an increasing number of the more low-key migrants are surrendering themselves at the points of entry as well. Vaughan tells me:

The new rule is another giant invitation on a silver platter for arriving migrants to ask for asylum at the legal ports of entry, where they will be processed and released in somewhat slower motion, under the same standards that have been in place all along, which result in 90 percent of those asking for asylum being allowed to enter – despite the fact that only about 10 percent ultimately will be given asylum by a judge.

The problem is that the administration seems to be following the philosophy of DHS Secretary Nielsen – that somehow illegals have a right to enter, although they should do so in a controlled fashion. Again, there is merit to trying to demagnetize the border between the points of entry, but why have any illegal immigration once we know none of them are legitimate asylum seekers? “The biggest problem with the rule is that it is a surrender to the open-borders doctrine that the United States is somehow obligated to allow entry to almost anyone who shows up on our doorstep, legally or otherwise, who says they fear return, even if the claim is likely to be bogus,” said Vaughan.

Either we are a sovereign nation or not. And if the administration plans to go broad with its legal justification, it should go broad with the actual policy.

With illegal immigration skyrocketing, legal immigration continuing to soar, and the courts continuing to shut down our interior (and border) enforcement with no pushback from the other branches, one has to wonder if we lost an election all for nothing. (For more from the author of “Record Border Crossings in October. What Is the Administration Doing?” please click HERE)

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LGBT Members of Migrant Caravan First to Reach U.S. Border, Received Anonymous Help

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A group of LGBT migrants arrived in Tijuana this weekend after reportedly breaking off from the larger U.S.-bound caravan due to verbal harassment and poor living conditions.

About 76 LGBT members of the caravan, which has about 3,600 members, described inter-caravan persecution and poor planning interfering with the members’ ability to eat and bathe on a regular basis, according to Telemundo 20 in San Diego. . .

An anonymous group paid for the small group of LGBT migrants to take a bus to the border. They said just like in their native country, they endured verbal abuse while they traveled with the large migrant group, which is expected to reach the U.S. border in about 2-3 weeks. . .

Sunday night, the rest of the caravan spent the night in Guanajuato, with plans to head to Guadalajara on Monday. The caravan continues to be spread out, with young men 100 miles or so ahead and women, children and families following behind.

A second caravan of 1,800 people is in Puebla, three days behind the main caravan, according to Mexican media reports. A third caravan of 2,000 people is about four days behind the main caravan. (Read more from “LGBT Members of Migrant Caravan First to Reach U.S. Border, Received Anonymous Help” HERE)

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Triple Murder Suspect Is a Illegal Alien Released Despite Detainer Request

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A Mexican illegal immigrant who has been charged with three murders in Missouri was released from a New Jersey jail earlier this year even though Immigration and Customs Enforcement was seeking to detain him, according to an ICE press release.

Luis Perez, a 23-year-old who is charged with killing his two roommates and a woman who was with him for the first two murders, was released from Middlesex County Jail in February, as the jail did not cooperate with an active detainer request from ICE.

“This tragedy might have been avoided had it not been for the reckless policy required of the Middlesex County Jail by their county officials,” John Tsoukaris, a Newark field office director, said. “Despite such policies, ICE [Enforcement and Removal Operations] will continue to enforce federal immigration law and prioritize public safety in the community.”

From New Jersey to Missouri: Perez was in Middlesex County Jail in December 2017 on domestic violence charges. Middlesex County is a sanctuary county, so the jail did not notify ICE when Perez was being released at the conclusion of his criminal proceedings. Perez moved to Missouri once he was released, and the triple murder occurred in Springfield.

Brutal murders: According to police documents, Perez shot and killed roommates Steven Marler and Aaron Hampton at their home on Nov. 1, and wounded two other people. The next day, Perez allegedly fatally shot Sabrina Starr, who had accompanied Perez to his home when the first two murders occurred. (Read more from “Triple Murder Suspect Is a Illegal Alien Released Despite Detainer Request” HERE)

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Pair of Illegal Aliens Arrested for Trafficking Meth, One Wanted for Murder in Mexico

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In another apparent act of love, as some politicians may describe it, two illegal aliens have been arrested in Utah for transporting more than 2 pounds of meth. One of these men has been previously deported and is currently wanted for murder in Mexico, according to authorities.

According to Fox 13, Fabian Barriga-Mendez and Mario Gomez-Cuevas were arrested during an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Weber-Morgan County Narcotics Strike Force in Ogden, UT.

According to Utah’s Attorney General’s office, “a controlled purchase of methamphetamine was conducted at an Ogden business and 563.18 grams of meth was located. While investigators were looking through a suspect’s phone, the press release stated that a text message regarding a large sum of money was observed, which authorities said they recognize as consistent with drug activity.”

The text exchange led authorities to Barriga-Mendez “who was also wanted for a narcotics investigation out of Colorado and had a warrant out for his arrest.” Authorities then staked out Barriga-Mendez’s home and waited for him to leave in a car that was believed to belong to him. Police ran a routine traffic stop and located 2.33 pounds of meth insides Barriga-Mendez’s vehicle as well as another passenger. (Read more from “Pair of Illegal Aliens Arrested for Trafficking Meth, One Wanted for Murder in Mexico” HERE)

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Here’s How Many Migrants Have Abandoned the Migrant Caravan

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By Washington Examiner. Nearly 3,000 migrants who had been a part of caravans moving from Central America to the United States’ southern border have abandoned the group to either stay in Mexico or return to their home countries in Central America, according to Mexican government officials.

Mexico’s Interior and Foreign Ministries reported, as of Thursday, 2,934 people originally traveling to the U.S. have stopped and applied for asylum in Mexico.

Of those, 927 have canceled their asylum claim with the Mexican government and returned to Guatemala and Honduras, where the caravans originated, according to a government news release.

The two Mexican departments said federal police and immigration officers are helping transport those who chose to return home.

For the estimated 2,000 people who remain in Mexico as they wait over the next 45 to 90 days to learn if their asylum requests have been granted, 1,553 have been put up in shelters in the southern state of Chiapas. (Read more from “Here’s How Many Migrants Have Abandoned the Migrant Caravan” HERE)

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Migrant Caravans Swell to 12,000, Get Some Help Along the Way

By Fox News. In the small town of Veracruz, Mexico, at a gas station and truck stop, two nuns began stopping big rigs Sunday to fill the trailers with waiting migrants from the caravan.

The caravan is trying to make 116 miles, a record for them, considering the first day walking in Mexico they traveled just 20 miles.

The Catholic nuns at the scene are from Guadalajara’s Misioneras de Christo Resuscitado, and as a big red 18-wheeler approached, they flagged down the driver, stepped on the running board on the passenger side and spoke for about 5 minutes. The driver then gave a reluctant wave of the hand, one of the nuns spoke and dozens of young men ran to the rear to open the two tall metal doors.

An organizer appeared with a bullhorn, and loaded dozens of women and children and strollers inside. As soon as that truck left, with one door tied open, another approached. And again the nuns convinced him to fill his empty trailer with migrants. (Read more from “Migrant Caravans Swell to 12,000, Get Some Help Along the Way” HERE)

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President Trump Announces End to Catch and Release, Says Military Will Fight Back If Illegal Aliens Throw Rocks

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Speaking from the White House Thursday afternoon, President Trump announced illegal aliens who are detained after crossing the southern border with Mexico will no longer be released into the interior of the United States. Instead, they will be detained until deportation.

“We’re stopping people at the border,” Trump said. “This is an invasion…We are building massive numbers of tents and we will hold them in tents.”

According to current law, illegal aliens from Mexico can be detained and immediately deported. Illegal aliens from Central America are required to be released after 20 days in detention if they are traveling with children. Because the processing for illegal aliens — claiming asylum or otherwise — is lengthy, these individuals are released into the United States. Afterward, they rarely show up for court dates and start building their lives in neighborhoods across the country. Trump said that policy ends today and illegal aliens will be detained until they are fully processed to deportation.

President Trump’s announcement comes as a number of caravans make their way from Central America, through Mexico and to the United States. It has been repeatedly confirmed violent actors make up some parts of the traveling population.

“These illegal caravans will not be allowed into the United States and they should turn back now because they’re wasting their time. They should apply to come into our country. We want them to come into our country,” Trump said. “No nation can allow itself to be overwhelmed by uncontrolled masses of people rushing their border.” (Read more from “President Trump Announces End to Catch and Release, Says Military Will Fight Back If Illegal Aliens Throw Rocks” HERE)

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