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Congress must return immediately to address migrant caravan

Congress Must Return to Washington Immediately to Address Migrant Caravan

Press Release from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, October 24, 2018, Washington, D.C.

President Trump must urge lawmakers to return from the campaign trail and address the glaring loopholes in our asylum and immigration laws that are being used to promote an organized assault on our nation’s border. Ignoring the current crisis to focus on reelection would amount to a complete abrogation of their duty to secure our borders and a huge breach of the public trust.

The “caravan” of an estimated 7,000 Central American migrants has now crossed into Mexico with the declared intention of reaching the U.S. border where the migrants intend to seek political asylum. The impetus for this latest caravan is not a humanitarian crisis in Central America, but rather, as accurately described by the Wall Street Journal, an organized stunt by political agitators who are intent on using migration as “a political weapon to foment border chaos.”

“This assault on the sovereignty of the United States demands the immediate attention of Congress,” declared Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). “This staged caravan of migrants meets the definition of an invasion of our nation, even if the organizers’ foot soldiers are unarmed.”

Caravan organizers and participants are openly seeking to take advantage of loopholes in our policies that allow people to seek asylum even when there is no prima facie evidence of political persecution, and court settlements that, for all practical purposes, allow adults to use children as get out of jail free cards.

“Quite frankly, Congress has not done its job. Congress has known for a long time that people have been lodging specious asylum claims for the expressed purpose of gaining entry to the United States. Congress is well aware that judicial limits on the amount of time minors may be detained is an engraved invitation for people to arrive at the border with children in tow. Congress can fix these loopholes anytime they are prepared to uphold their constitutional responsibilities, and with a looming crisis at the border it is time to come back to the Capitol and act,” said Stein.

The United States has no humanitarian obligation to allow its asylum and immigration laws to be abused by those seeking to use migration as political weapon:

The vast majority of caravan participants, by their own admission, indicate that they are heading to the United States for economic, not political reasons.
The Mexican government has offered the migrants the opportunity to seek political asylum in their country, but their offers have been largely refused by participants.
Political organizers on both sides of the border are openly coaching migrants about what they need to say to establish a “credible fear” claim and gain their release into the United States.

“If the political operatives behind this caravan succeed, it will quickly be followed by more and larger migrant caravans. Even construction of a border wall – which could take years to complete – would be ineffective in preventing these organized incursions so long as our asylum and immigration laws can be so easily abused,” Stein concluded. Read more about Congress must return immediately to address migrant caravan

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Trump to Cap Refugees Allowed Into U.S. at 30,000, a Record Low

WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to cap the number of refugees that can be resettled in the United States next year at 30,000, his administration announced on Monday...

Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, announced the limit at the State Department, saying it reflected the “daunting operational reality” of addressing what he called a “humanitarian crisis” involving people claiming asylum in the United States.

The number represents the lowest ceiling a president has placed on the refugee program since its creation in 1980...

The move is the latest in a series of efforts the president has made to clamp down on immigration to the United States.

It is also the culmination of a quiet but successful effort by Stephen Miller, the president’s senior policy adviser, to severely restrict the number of refugees offered protection inside the country....

Others inside the administration, including in the Department of Defense and, initially, the State Department, had supported maintaining the 45,000-refugee ceiling.

Mr. Pompeo had privately advocated last month for keeping the number where it was. He was pivotal to the decision, and kept his final recommendation under wraps until Monday afternoon, when he announced it from the Treaty Room of the State Department.

In doing so, he adopted an argument made privately by Mr. Miller: that the United States needed to prioritize hundreds of thousands of people who have arrived at the United States border, claiming a credible fear of returning home, rather than refugees overseas who are by definition already in need of protection and resettlement in another country.

“Some will characterize the refugee ceiling as the full barometer of America’s commitment to vulnerable people around the world,” Mr. Pompeo said. “This would be wrong.”

“This year’s refugee ceiling reflects the substantial increase in the number of individuals seeking asylum in our country, leading to a massive backlog of outstanding asylum cases and greater public expense,” he added.

Mr. Pompeo said refugees had to be weighed against a backlog of 800,000 asylum seekers — people in the United States who claim a “credible fear” of returning home — who are awaiting a decision by immigration authorities about whether they will be granted status to remain...

About 730,000 additional immigrants were waiting for their cases to be resolved by American courts, according to the Justice Department, including people who had asked for asylum after being apprehended. But that number also included people in deportation or other immigration proceedings.

Immigrant and advocates condemned the cuts to the refugee program, calling it a callous decision that would also undermine American national security and foreign policy priorities.

The cap does not require the Trump administration to resettle 30,000 refugees; in years past, governments have accepted far fewer than what is legally permitted.

During the administration of President George W. Bush, for example, the program’s ceiling accepted up to 70,000 refugees annually; it was raised to 80,000 during his final year in office. But the government only resettled about 27,000 refugees in 2002, immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and accepted 28,000 the following year.

Mr. Trump, who campaigned promising a “Muslim ban,” and argued for a halt to the admission of Syrian refugees because he argued that they could be a danger to the country, has targeted the refugee resettlement program for cuts since his first days in office.

His travel ban, imposed a week after he was sworn in, temporarily halted the program and limited the number of refugees that could be resettled in the United States to 50,000. That slashed the program from the 110,000 cap that President Barack Obama had put in place before he left office.

Last year, Mr. Miller led an effort, with the support of John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, to cut the program even more, to as low as 15,000.

But pushback from Defense and State Department officials, as well as the Joint Chiefs of Staff and members of the United States mission to the United Nations, who advocated for maintaining the 50,000 level, resulted in a ceiling of 45,000...

Gardiner Harris contributed reporting.

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EXCLUSIVE: DRIVER WHO ALLEGEDLY KILLED OREGON COUPLE IN DUI CRASH IS ILLEGAL ALIEN, ICE SAYS

The man suspected of killing an Oregon couple in a high-speed drunk driving collision earlier in August is an illegal immigrant from Mexico, The Daily Caller News Foundation learned.

Eduardo de la Lima Vargas, 39, allegedly ran a red light on a state highway in Salem, Oregon, on Aug. 19, striking a motorcycle being driven by Logan Wilson, 34, and his wife Jessi, 32. The collision tossed the Wilsons from the motorcycle, fatally injuring both.

Vargas blew a .10 blood alcohol level on a breathalyzer roughly two hours after the crash, according to a Salem police report. Investigators believe he was probably driving at twice the legal alcohol limit at the time he crashed into the Wilsons, who are survived by four young children. (RELATED: Suspect In DUI Killing Of Colts Player Is Twice-Deported Illegal Immigrant)

Following the wreck, Vargas was booked into the Marion County jail on two counts of manslaughter, as well as one count each of reckless endangering, reckless driving and driving under the influence. He remains in state custody on a $500,000 bond.

Additionally, Vargas is now the subject of a federal immigration detention request. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed the detainer Aug. 24 in a statement to Salem-based crime researcher David Olen Cross, who shared it Thursday with TheDCNF.

“On August 23, 2018, ICE deportation officers lodged an immigration detainer with the Marion County Jail on Eduardo De la Lima Vargas, following his arrest for DUI resulting in death,” agency spokesperson Lori Haley said in a statement, according to Cross. “Mr. De la Lima Vargas is a citizen of Mexico illegally residing in the United States.”

Cross inquired about Vargas’s immigration status as a part of his research into criminal activity by noncitizens in Oregon. On behalf of Republican state Sen. Kim Thatcher, he creates monthly reports using data from ICE and the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) in order to document the cost of incarcerating foreign nationals in the state prison system, where one in 15 inmates is a criminal alien.

Cross’s research has shown that about three-quarters of all criminal aliens in Oregon’s prison system are serving time for what the FBI defines as violent crimes — murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault — or sex crimes under the Oregon criminal code.

Of the 943 Oregon state prison inmates with active ICE detainers as of July, 731 — 77 percent — have been convicted of those violent crimes or sex offenses, according to Cross’s latest report. That compares to about 60 percent of “domestic” inmates who were convicted of the same offenses. (RELATED: Suspected Oregon Nail Gun Attacker Is Previously Deported Illegal Alien From Mexico)

Oregon is one of the nation’s most active states when it comes to limiting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. It has had a sanctuary law on the books since 1987 that prohibits state and local law enforcement resources from being used to enforce federal immigration law. Oregon expanded its sanctuary protections in 2017 with a law that forbids schools, courts and other public agencies from sharing information with immigration authorities unless required to do so by federal law.

The move to strengthen protections for illegal immigrants easily passed Oregon’s Democratic-controlled legislature, but it was also met with pushback from Republican lawmakers and grassroots conservative groups. A ballot initiative to overturn Oregon’s sanctuary state law garnered more than 97,000 signatures in July, well above the 88,000 needed to qualify for the Nov. 6 general election. Read more about EXCLUSIVE: DRIVER WHO ALLEGEDLY KILLED OREGON COUPLE IN DUI CRASH IS ILLEGAL ALIEN, ICE SAYS

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Another innocent American girl murdered by an illegal alien

Posted by Cynthia Kendoll on Tue, 08/21/2018

An illegal alien who should have never been allowed to remain in the United States has taken the life of yet another US citizen - this time in Iowa - 20 year old Mollie Tebbitts. Cristian Bahena Rivera, presumed to be a citizen of Mexico, was charged on August 21 with her murder. How many more innocent American families will suffer the anguish of losing a precious family member because of our dangerous sanctuary policies?

Currently there are 137 illegal aliens JUST in the Oregon State Penitentiary serving time for homicide. That means that 137 families will be separated forever because Oregon is a sanctuary state that protects illegal alien criminals. There is a significant cost to taxpayers, as well. Josh Marquis, the recently retired Clatsop County District attorney estimates that each murder trial in Oregon costs about $ 1 million dollars to prosecute. That means Oregon taxpayers are out $137 million just for court costs plus millions more for the incarceration of individuals who had no right to be here in the first place.

We must Vote YES on Measure 105 and end the insanity of Oregon’s sanctuary law.

Read the full article.
Read more about Another innocent American girl murdered by an illegal alien

Who stands up for immigration law enforcement?

Posted by E Van Staaveren on Thu, 07/19/2018

On Wednesday, July 18, the public got a clear picture of which among Oregon’s U.S. Representatives support enforcement of immigration laws and which do not. The House voted on H. Res. 990, “Supporting the officers and personnel who carry out the important mission of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

The Resolution was introduced in response to the current national campaign for abolishing ICE and immigration law enforcement. The text of the Resolution lists many specific reasons why ICE is necessary and has served our country well.

It comes as no surprise that Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, and Rep. Peter DeFazio chose to avoid disclosure of their positions. In the roll call vote, they answered only “Present.”

Thanks to Rep. Kurt Schrader and Rep. Greg Walden for voting YEA.

Control over the entry of non-citizens is essential for the survival of any nation. It’s useful for citizens to know where our legislators stand on this fundamental issue of national sovereignty.

We now know for sure that Rep. Blumenauer, Bonamici and DeFazio put the interests of illegal aliens and the employers that hire them, above the best interests of citizens. Their records of betrayal are detailed further at NumbersUSA.com, which has tracked Congressional actions on immigration since 1997, and issues grades for all members of Congress, including Senate and House.

Oregonians, please vote to repeal Oregon’s sanctuary statute this November when IP 22 will be on the ballot. A Measure number for IP 22 will be available soon, and if passed, it will free up local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE as they should. Read more about Who stands up for immigration law enforcement?

Open-borders immigration policies have consequences

Posted by E Van Staaveren on Sun, 07/01/2018

Many of the calls for open borders and to abolish ICE come from people who don’t understand the consequences of such policies. Unfortunately, some do understand – perhaps most of the leaders of this new movement not only understand, they deliberately seek the end of the U.S. as a nation.

How did we reach such a state of affairs? Negative Population Growth’s latest report explains what happened to cause immigration, human capital and economic development in the U.S. which thrived in the mid-20^th century, to spin out of control in recent decades.

They suggest what to do about it now. See Immigration, Population and the Labor Market: Toward a Fair System for American Workers. The issue is urgent because “If global population trends unfold as forecast, hundreds of millions of persons from Africa and the Middle East are likely to try to enter the country as unlawful migrants or as refugees or asylum seekers.”

The overcrowding, housing shortages, traffic congestion, environmental degradation, etc. which are already serious problems today, will become unlivable chaos for all, immigrants as well as citizens.

Instead of flinging accusations of racism and callousness to the sufferings of “immigrants,” we need to think about the old fable of killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. The U.S. cannot continue to be a safe, law-abiding country with freedom of thought and speech, scientific and technological advancement, acceptable quality of life, unless we respect, observe, and strictly enforce reasonable laws limiting immigration.

The way to help the poor of other nations is through financial and technical assistance, a course we have followed for over 50 years, when the federal Agency for International Development began. Besides governmental programs, we also have many philanthropic organizations which directly aid countries in need.

We cannot invite the world to come in without limits – that’s a suicidal policy for the nation and the people living here. Read more about Open-borders immigration policies have consequences

13 Facts the Media 'Pros' Don’t Want You to Know About 'Family Border Separation'

The fire hose of fake news from the establishment media this week on the issue of illegal immigrant families separated at the border is designed to mislead the American people — and to distract from Trump’s recent successes.

Here are the facts — 13 truths the media do not want you to know about President Trump’s legal, humane, and moral handling of adults and children who enter our country illegally.

1. Trump Is Only Enforcing the Law

... In truth, Trump is only complying with and enforcing the law, which is his constitutional duty and responsibility.

When the media claim Trump has a “choice,” what they mean is he has a choice to ignore the law as Obama did when he illegally released untold numbers of illegals into America....

2. Trump’s Only Choice Is to Separate Illegal Alien Families

When an illegal alien crosses the border into the U.S., he is a lawbreaker, and, like any lawbreaker (including American citizens), he is put into the criminal justice system.

This is the law.

Obviously, when an illegal alien is in custody, he is housed in an adult detention center. For obvious reasons, it would be illegal for Trump to “reunite” this family by allowing children to live in adult detention centers....

Keep in mind that when we are this early in the process, we do not even know if this is a real family unit. It is not uncommon for illegal aliens (including criminals) to pretend the children they are traveling with are their own....

3. The Left Wants Illegal Aliens to Enjoy Privileges Denied to American Citizens

If an American citizen breaks the law and is funneled into the justice system, he is separated from his family and children. This American citizen is not allowed to keep his family with him in a detention center....

4. Asylum Seekers Not Breaking the Law are Not Being Separated...

5. Trump Is Correct About the Loophole

In 1997, a consent decree called the Flores Settlement made it illegal for America to hold migrant children for longer than 20 days. Meaning, in order to keep the family together after 20 days of detention, we can either reunite the family by letting them loose to live illegally in America, or we can keep the parent in detention and place the child in a foster home or with a relative who lives in America.

Trump is wisely choosing to do the latter ...

6. "Reuniting" Families Would Be a Disaster for Countless Children

Again, the only way to “keep a family together” is to allow illegals to pour into our country....

7. Obama and Democrats Incentivized This ‘Family Separation’

Until Obama came along, illegal border crossings primarily involved young, single men. Obama incentivized the idea of dragging minor children along on this dangerous journey (where many children are sexually assaulted) through his policy of “catch and release.”...

8. Barack Obama Separated Illegal Alien Families, Media Said Nothing

Under Obama, when illegal border crossers were put into the criminal justice system, families were indeed separated. Obama, of course, rarely prosecuted, even though the law calls for it.

Neither Democrats nor the media cared about family separation then, which proves this manufactured and coordinated uproar is only about politics....

9. IMPORTANT: The ONLY Way to Unite Families Is to Release Them into America

... But when you hear the media call for these families to be reunited, remember that is coded language that means only one thing: releasing illegal aliens into our country with nothing more than a court summons....

10. Incentivizing the Act of Bringing Minor Children Across the Border Is Evil

... Evil people want these children dragged across the border, want this abuse incentivized by “keeping the family unit together,” because flooding the country with future indebted voters is more important to them than the safety and well-being of small children....

11. Those Who Come to America Legally Face ‘Family Separation’

12. “Family Reunification” Is an Invitation to Human Traffickers

Because of “catch and release,” because of this dumb and destructive loophole carved out for families, the number of illegal aliens using children to enter the U.S. increased by 315 percent between October 2017 and February 2018.

Trump understands what is happening and this is why he has moved to a zero tolerance policy....

13. Media Do Not Give a Shit About American Families Separated by Criminal Illegal Aliens

Illegal alien families are choosing to be separated by voluntarily engaging in lawbreaking. These illegal alien families, if they so choose, can stay together, simply by obeying the law.... Read more about 13 Facts the Media 'Pros' Don’t Want You to Know About 'Family Border Separation'

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Here's the real story on migrant children separated from parents

As is usually the case, the latest Trump outrage as presented to you by the self-righteous media is not an accurate reflection of what’s really going on.

If you’ve been listening to the scandalized reports from the press and the outraged howls of Democrats and celebrities, you have the impression the Trump Administration is seizing migrant children, separating them from their families and banishing them to dark dungeons – never to see their parents again. And they’re doing all of this because they’re racist xenophobes ...

Is this even close to what’s really going on?

.... National Review’s Rich Lowry explains the truth about how this works, and under what circumstances, and why:

Separation happens only if officials find that the adult is falsely claiming to be the child’s parent, or is a threat to the child, or is put into criminal proceedings.

It’s the last that is operative here. The past practice had been to give a free pass to an adult who is part of a family unit. The new Trump policy is to prosecute all adults. The idea is to send a signal that we are serious about our laws and to create a deterrent against re-entry. (Illegal entry is a misdemeanor, illegal re-entry a felony.)

When a migrant is prosecuted for illegal entry, he or she is taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals. In no circumstance anywhere in the U.S. do the marshals care for the children of people they take into custody. The child is taken into the custody of HHS, who cares for them at temporary shelters.

The criminal proceedings are exceptionally short, assuming there is no aggravating factor such as a prior illegal entity or another crime. The migrants generally plead guilty, and they are then sentenced to time served, typically all in the same day, although practices vary along the border. After this, they are returned to the custody of ICE.

If the adult then wants to go home, in keeping with the expedited order of removal that is issued as a matter of course, it’s relatively simple. The adult should be reunited quickly with his or her child, and the family returned home as a unit. In this scenario, there’s only a very brief separation.

Where it becomes much more of an issue is if the adult files an asylum claim. In that scenario, the adults are almost certainly going to be detained longer than the government is allowed to hold their children.That’s because of something called the Flores Consent Decree from 1997. It says that unaccompanied children can be held only 20 days. A ruling by the Ninth Circuit extended this 20-day limit to children who come as part of family units. So even if we want to hold a family unit together, we are forbidden from doing so.

The clock ticking on the time the government can hold a child will almost always run out before an asylum claim is settled. The migrant is allowed ten days to seek an attorney, and there may be continuances or other complications.

This creates the choice of either releasing the adults and children together into the country pending the adjudication of the asylum claim, or holding the adults and releasing the children. If the adult is held, HHS places the child with a responsible party in the U.S., ideally a relative (migrants are likely to have family and friends here).

The media coverage tells you none of this, of course....

The truth is that when there is separation, it’s very brief, and every family that wants to come to the United States can easily avoid it happening by a) going to a legitimate port of entry instead of sneaking across the border illegally, and by telling the truth about who they are....

But much of America, including almost all of the media and just about every member of the Democratic Party, has stopped taking illegal immigration seriously as a crime. But the law says it is, and the border patrol is charged with treating it like it is....

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A Civil Rights Commissioner Weighs In On Children at the Border

On Friday, U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner Peter Kirsanow wrote to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on the subject of separating families who enter the country illegally at the southern border. Peter’s letter is as clear an explanation of the issue as I have seen. It is so cogent that I am duplicating it here...

The reason parents and children are separated is the law: When an adult illegal alien is prosecuted for unlawful entry, that person is taken into the custody of the U.S. Marshals and the children are taken into custody by HHS. Nonetheless, unless the adult applies for asylum, the unlawful entry is resolved relatively quickly and the separation is brief. But if the adult applies for asylum, the process–-and separation–is lengthier. ...

The bottom line is that the Commission majority is opposed to enforcing almost any immigration laws pertaining to illegal entry. ...

People who have potentially valid claims for asylum can present themselves at ports of entry and request asylum. They will be processed normally and will not be separated from their children because they are following the law....

It is unwise to release detained individuals into the United States, because they are then very likely to abscond into the interior and fail to appear for their immigration hearing. “Over the past 20 years, 37 percent of all aliens free pending their trials – 918,098 out of 2,498,375 – never showed for court.”...

Separating children from their parents is regrettable. It is not, however, unique. American parents are separated from their children every day when they are arrested or incarcerated. According to HHS, during Fiscal Year 2016, 20,939 American children entered foster care because their parent is incarcerated. This is more than ten times the number of children who have been separated from their parents due to entering the United States illegally. People who cross the border illegally have committed a crime, and one of the consequences of being arrested and detained is, unfortunately, that their children cannot stay with them. ...

View the letter on ScribD Read more about A Civil Rights Commissioner Weighs In On Children at the Border

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Children used as human shields against immigration enforcement

“We will not apologize for doing our job,” declares DHS Secretary Nielsen.

There is a coordinated effort now by some Democratic Party leaders and their allies to stop any immigration enforcement involving children. Oregon’s Senators and Reps. Bonamici and Blumenauer participated in a demonstration in Sheridan OR this past week-end.

In a statement released today (6/18/2018), Mark Krikorian, Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, analyzes the media hysteria created thus far and exposes the deceit and misrepresentation being used in the campaign. Read the entire article, 'We will not apologize for doing our job' .

Below is an excerpt:

The manic wave of "concentration camp" accusations and Hitler comparisons is reminiscent of the atrocity propaganda that helped propel us into World War I (stories of Germans "bayoneting Belgian babies", raping nuns, and the like). Democratic politicians are weeping on television, staged photos are widely retweeted, and even former President George Bush's wife has penned an op-ed calling for a "kinder, more compassionate" means of enforcing our immigration laws.

The reality is more mundane. Border apprehensions of adults bringing children with them skyrocketed during the Obama administration, from about 15,000 in Fiscal Year 2013 (the first time separate statistics were reported) to more than 75,000 in FY 2017. Before the Obama years, it was rare for a parent to bring children with her when trying to infiltrate the U.S. border. No parent, after all, would subject her children to such risks unless there was an incentive to do so.

And that incentive was not flight from gang violence; research has shown almost everyone leaving Central America is motivated by economic reasons. Instead, the prospect of being released into the United States if you brought a child with you was what has caused the spike in arrests of what he Border Patrol calls "family units" at the border.

As the New York Times reported earlier this year:

Some migrants have admitted they brought their children not only to remove them from danger in such places as Central America and Africa, but because they believed it would cause the authorities to release them from custody sooner.

Others have admitted to posing falsely with children who are not their own, and Border Patrol officials say that such instances of fraud are increasing.

Children have served as get-out-of-jail-free cards for border infiltrators, ensuring the whole family's release with a notice to appear in immigration court some months or years in the future, and when they failed to appear, the Obama administration's prioritization rules meant no one would track you down.

When you reward something, you can expect to get more of it. …

These problems could be fixed with legal changes present in both immigration bills expected to be voted on this week, as my colleague Andrew Arthur explained earlier today. The alternative is to surrender to the use of children as human shields against immigration enforcement, which will only invite even more widespread use of children as tickets to America, not only for Central Americans but also for illegal immigrants from around the world using Mexico as a springboard to sneak into the United States.

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