Oct 2, 2023Liked by Steve Berman, Chris J. Karr, David Thornton
Honestly if I were Biden and Denocrats, I'd give everything on the border security to Republicans, because in the grand scheme of things, the border security isn't really one of priority issues from Democratic perspective.
I can't understand why Biden and Democrats are so against the border security while insisting we have to give lots of aid to Ukraine.
Generally speaking, supporting Ukraine deters a wider European war. I don’t see it as an either /or proposition. Can support Ukraine and a secure border.
Oct 2, 2023·edited Oct 2, 2023Liked by David Thornton
Probably because the GOP has a myopic focus on the Southern border, while the vast majority of illegal immigration involves visa overstays. Then there's the asylum seekers, for which resolving the issues in their home countries (that we in many cases caused or exacerbated) is a lot more difficult than building a wall.
You might also recall that there was a push to make deeper changes to our immigration system in 2013 in a bi-partisan manner: it passed the Senate, and then the GOP House did not take up the matter. Thanks GOP!
Democrats would be more than willing to update the immigration system in a bi-partisan manner - but that's going to require a willingness on the part of the GOP to both a) engage beyond building a wall to keep brown people out of the USA, and b) giving up a political leverage point.
Let's also look at the dollar amounts that are spent on border security and Ukraine for comparison: total US aid to Ukraine (military and humanitarian aid) thus far equals 1/10th of 1 year of military spending, which itself is ~3.5% of US GDP (and keep in mind a lot of that military aid is old equipment that costs us money for storage/scrapping and sending it to Ukraine saves us money - but on paper it turns a net-negative value item to being worth $300k or $1mil). Meanwhile, the Biden admin has asked for $25bil just for CBP for FY24, and we've spent hundreds of billions in years prior.
During the Trump administration, it was true that visa overstays exceeded illegal border crossings. Trump's administration did a better job of stopping illegal border crossings which are three times more under the Biden administration.
Of course, the Biden administration hasn't done a sterling job of dealing with visa overstays either. There were more than 850,000 overstays in 2022. During Trump's last year, 2020, the numbers was nearly 585,000. No administration has fully enforced the immigration laws, but Biden's policy is open borders, encouraging illegal immigration and deliberate circumventing and ignoring the laws.
Over the past decade visa overstays have exceeded illegal crossings by ~2:1. It's a much larger issue, but it's not as visible - so it's ignored by the GOP.
The problem you have with stating the policy is open borders is the number of encounters. If the borders were open, there'd be none - just as every bit of fentanyl that is captured is evidence that the border is not open. And: Title 42 ended in May, and illegal border crossings are down from last year.
One thing the Biden Admin has done that has reduced illegal crossings is the CBP One app, which allows for asylum seekers to set up appointments to apply for asylum. Providing more avenues for legal migration is one of the best ways to resolve the issue - so let's get back on that.
I'm not impressed that Biden administration legalized criminal asylum scams. I'm not swayed by a decade statistic that only glosses over Bidens abysmal record of seven million illegal crossings and several million more visa overstays. The very best way to deal with illegals is to enforce the law - detain and deport. I'm sure those of you who say we can't deport the 50+ million illegals who are already here are correct, but we can deport several thousand per month. Use E-Verify. Check out all tax returns filed using ITINs. Deport all non-citizen users of other taxpayers' SSNs. Send immigration agents to Atlanta Highway in Gainesville GA where the business signs are all in Spanish and most of the males have no drivers' licenses. Monitor medical emergency rooms. Track visa holders.
It's a matter of prioritizing spending and focusing on law enforcement, border security and national defense.
Fun how you think the Executive Branch can give out free passes - essentially saying they will deal with the problem someday. Of course, none of them will be involved in dealing with it. Talk about can kicking.
Honestly if I were Biden and Denocrats, I'd give everything on the border security to Republicans, because in the grand scheme of things, the border security isn't really one of priority issues from Democratic perspective.
I can't understand why Biden and Democrats are so against the border security while insisting we have to give lots of aid to Ukraine.
Generally speaking, supporting Ukraine deters a wider European war. I don’t see it as an either /or proposition. Can support Ukraine and a secure border.
Agreed.
We can and should. All it takes establishing priorities and enforcing the laws.
I think it may boil down to losing leverage on handling the problem of illegal aliens who are already here and the pathway to legalization.
Probably because the GOP has a myopic focus on the Southern border, while the vast majority of illegal immigration involves visa overstays. Then there's the asylum seekers, for which resolving the issues in their home countries (that we in many cases caused or exacerbated) is a lot more difficult than building a wall.
You might also recall that there was a push to make deeper changes to our immigration system in 2013 in a bi-partisan manner: it passed the Senate, and then the GOP House did not take up the matter. Thanks GOP!
Democrats would be more than willing to update the immigration system in a bi-partisan manner - but that's going to require a willingness on the part of the GOP to both a) engage beyond building a wall to keep brown people out of the USA, and b) giving up a political leverage point.
Let's also look at the dollar amounts that are spent on border security and Ukraine for comparison: total US aid to Ukraine (military and humanitarian aid) thus far equals 1/10th of 1 year of military spending, which itself is ~3.5% of US GDP (and keep in mind a lot of that military aid is old equipment that costs us money for storage/scrapping and sending it to Ukraine saves us money - but on paper it turns a net-negative value item to being worth $300k or $1mil). Meanwhile, the Biden admin has asked for $25bil just for CBP for FY24, and we've spent hundreds of billions in years prior.
During the Trump administration, it was true that visa overstays exceeded illegal border crossings. Trump's administration did a better job of stopping illegal border crossings which are three times more under the Biden administration.
Of course, the Biden administration hasn't done a sterling job of dealing with visa overstays either. There were more than 850,000 overstays in 2022. During Trump's last year, 2020, the numbers was nearly 585,000. No administration has fully enforced the immigration laws, but Biden's policy is open borders, encouraging illegal immigration and deliberate circumventing and ignoring the laws.
Over the past decade visa overstays have exceeded illegal crossings by ~2:1. It's a much larger issue, but it's not as visible - so it's ignored by the GOP.
The problem you have with stating the policy is open borders is the number of encounters. If the borders were open, there'd be none - just as every bit of fentanyl that is captured is evidence that the border is not open. And: Title 42 ended in May, and illegal border crossings are down from last year.
One thing the Biden Admin has done that has reduced illegal crossings is the CBP One app, which allows for asylum seekers to set up appointments to apply for asylum. Providing more avenues for legal migration is one of the best ways to resolve the issue - so let's get back on that.
I'm not impressed that Biden administration legalized criminal asylum scams. I'm not swayed by a decade statistic that only glosses over Bidens abysmal record of seven million illegal crossings and several million more visa overstays. The very best way to deal with illegals is to enforce the law - detain and deport. I'm sure those of you who say we can't deport the 50+ million illegals who are already here are correct, but we can deport several thousand per month. Use E-Verify. Check out all tax returns filed using ITINs. Deport all non-citizen users of other taxpayers' SSNs. Send immigration agents to Atlanta Highway in Gainesville GA where the business signs are all in Spanish and most of the males have no drivers' licenses. Monitor medical emergency rooms. Track visa holders.
It's a matter of prioritizing spending and focusing on law enforcement, border security and national defense.
Fun how everything you don't like is criminal.
Leave the system broken and the proverbial can keeps getting kicked down the road.
Fun how you think the Executive Branch can give out free passes - essentially saying they will deal with the problem someday. Of course, none of them will be involved in dealing with it. Talk about can kicking.
Gaetz has filed a motion to remove McCarthy as speaker.
Get out the popcorn.
One thing to note: the presidential drawdown is still available for Ukraine, their aid is not cut off - yet.
I look forward to seeing how large an aid package the Senate puts together.