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  • Senate will convene the Mayorkas impeachment trial as Democrats plot a quick dismissal

    Senate will convene the Mayorkas impeachment trial as Democrats plot a quick dismissal

    Senate Democrats could end the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday before arguments even begin.Video above: GOP lawmakers hold presser after Mayorkas impeachment articles sent to SenateSenate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to call votes to dismiss two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas after senators are sworn in as jurors midday, a move that could scuttle the trial and frustrate Republicans who have demanded that House prosecutors be able to make their case. Democrats appear to be united in opposition to moving forward.Mayorkas said Wednesday that he’s focused on his work running the massive department.”As they work on impeachment, I work on advancing the mission of the Department of Homeland Security. That’s what I’ve done throughout this process,” he said during an appearance on CBS’ “CBS Mornings” show to discuss the department’s new campaign to help children stay safe online.The House narrowly voted in February to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing in the two articles that he “willfully and systematically” refused to enforce immigration laws. House impeachment managers appointed by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., delivered the charges to the Senate on Tuesday, standing in the well of the Senate and reading them aloud to a captive audience of senators.The entire process could be done within hours on Wednesday. Majority Democrats have said the GOP case against Mayorkas doesn’t rise to the “high crimes and misdemeanors” laid out as a bar for impeachment in the Constitution, and Schumer probably has enough votes to end the trial immediately if he decides to do so.Schumer has said he wants to “address this issue as expeditiously as possible.”“Impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement,” Schumer said. “That would set a horrible precedent for the Congress.”Video below: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urges Democrats not to dismiss Mayorkas’ impeachment caseAs Johnson signed the articles Monday in preparation for sending them across the Capitol, he said Schumer should convene a trial to “hold those who engineered this crisis to full account.”Schumer “is the only impediment to delivering accountability for the American people,” Johnson said. “Pursuant to the Constitution, the House demands a trial.”Once the senators are sworn in on Wednesday, the chamber will turn into the court of impeachment, with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington presiding. Murray is the president pro tempore of the Senate, or the senior-most member of the majority party who sits in for the vice president.Exactly how Democrats will proceed on Wednesday is still unclear. Impeachment rules generally allow the Senate majority to decide how to manage the trial, and Schumer has not said exactly what he will do.Senate Republicans are likely to try to raise a series of objections if Schumer calls votes to dismiss or table. But ultimately they cannot block a dismissal if majority Democrats have the votes.In any case, Republicans would not be able to win the support of the two-thirds of the Senate that is needed to convict and remove Mayorkas from office — Democrats control the Senate, 51-49, and they appear to be united against the impeachment effort. Not one House Democrat supported it, either.While most Republicans oppose quick dismissal, some have hinted they could vote with Democrats.Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said last week he wasn’t sure what he would do if there were a move to dismiss the trial. “I think it’s virtually certain that there will not be the conviction of someone when the constitutional test has not been met,” he said.At the same time, Romney said he wants to at least express his view that “Mayorkas has done a terrible job, but he’s following the direction of the president and has not met the constitutional test of a high crime or misdemeanor.”The two articles argue that Mayorkas not only refused to enforce existing law but also breached the public trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure. The House vote was the first time in nearly 150 years that a Cabinet secretary was impeached.Since then, Johnson has delayed sending the articles to the Senate for weeks while both chambers finished work on government funding legislation and took a two-week recess. Johnson had said he would send them to the Senate last week, but he punted again after Senate Republicans said they wanted more time to prepare.House impeachment managers previewed some of their arguments at a hearing with Mayorkas on Tuesday morning about President Joe Biden’s budget request for the department.Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, the chairman of the House Homeland Security panel, told the secretary that he has a duty under the law to control and guard U.S. borders, and “during your three years as secretary, you have failed to fulfill this oath. You have refused to comply with the laws passed by Congress, and you have breached the public trust.”Mayorkas defended the department’s efforts but said the nation’s immigration system is “fundamentally broken, and only Congress can fix it.”Other impeachment managers are Michael McCaul of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ben Cline of Virginia, Andrew Garbarino of New York, Michael Guest of Mississippi, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Laurel Lee of Florida, August Plfuger of Texas and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.At a news conference with a group of Republican senators after the articles were delivered, the impeachment managers demanded that Schumer move forward with their case.“The voice of the people is very clear,” said McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Secure the border and impeach this man, this criminal.”If Democrats are unable to dismiss or table the articles, they could follow the precedent of several impeachment trials for federal judges over the last century and hold a vote to create a trial committee that would investigate the charges. While there is sufficient precedent for this approach, Democrats may prefer to end the process completely, especially in a presidential election year when immigration and border security are top issues.If the Senate were to proceed to an impeachment trial, it would be the third in five years. Democrats impeached President Donald Trump twice, once over his dealings with Ukraine and a second time in the days after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Trump was acquitted by the Senate both times.At a trial, senators would be forced to sit in their seats for the duration, maybe weeks, while the House impeachment managers and lawyers representing Mayorkas make their cases. The Senate is allowed to call witnesses, as well, if it so decides, and it can ask questions of both sides after the opening arguments are finished.

    WASHINGTON —

    Senate Democrats could end the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday before arguments even begin.

    Video above: GOP lawmakers hold presser after Mayorkas impeachment articles sent to Senate

    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to call votes to dismiss two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas after senators are sworn in as jurors midday, a move that could scuttle the trial and frustrate Republicans who have demanded that House prosecutors be able to make their case. Democrats appear to be united in opposition to moving forward.

    Mayorkas said Wednesday that he’s focused on his work running the massive department.

    “As they work on impeachment, I work on advancing the mission of the Department of Homeland Security. That’s what I’ve done throughout this process,” he said during an appearance on CBS’ “CBS Mornings” show to discuss the department’s new campaign to help children stay safe online.

    The House narrowly voted in February to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing in the two articles that he “willfully and systematically” refused to enforce immigration laws. House impeachment managers appointed by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., delivered the charges to the Senate on Tuesday, standing in the well of the Senate and reading them aloud to a captive audience of senators.

    The entire process could be done within hours on Wednesday. Majority Democrats have said the GOP case against Mayorkas doesn’t rise to the “high crimes and misdemeanors” laid out as a bar for impeachment in the Constitution, and Schumer probably has enough votes to end the trial immediately if he decides to do so.

    Schumer has said he wants to “address this issue as expeditiously as possible.”

    “Impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement,” Schumer said. “That would set a horrible precedent for the Congress.”

    Video below: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urges Democrats not to dismiss Mayorkas’ impeachment case

    As Johnson signed the articles Monday in preparation for sending them across the Capitol, he said Schumer should convene a trial to “hold those who engineered this crisis to full account.”

    Schumer “is the only impediment to delivering accountability for the American people,” Johnson said. “Pursuant to the Constitution, the House demands a trial.”

    Once the senators are sworn in on Wednesday, the chamber will turn into the court of impeachment, with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington presiding. Murray is the president pro tempore of the Senate, or the senior-most member of the majority party who sits in for the vice president.

    Exactly how Democrats will proceed on Wednesday is still unclear. Impeachment rules generally allow the Senate majority to decide how to manage the trial, and Schumer has not said exactly what he will do.

    Senate Republicans are likely to try to raise a series of objections if Schumer calls votes to dismiss or table. But ultimately they cannot block a dismissal if majority Democrats have the votes.

    In any case, Republicans would not be able to win the support of the two-thirds of the Senate that is needed to convict and remove Mayorkas from office — Democrats control the Senate, 51-49, and they appear to be united against the impeachment effort. Not one House Democrat supported it, either.

    While most Republicans oppose quick dismissal, some have hinted they could vote with Democrats.

    Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said last week he wasn’t sure what he would do if there were a move to dismiss the trial. “I think it’s virtually certain that there will not be the conviction of someone when the constitutional test has not been met,” he said.

    At the same time, Romney said he wants to at least express his view that “Mayorkas has done a terrible job, but he’s following the direction of the president and has not met the constitutional test of a high crime or misdemeanor.”

    The two articles argue that Mayorkas not only refused to enforce existing law but also breached the public trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure. The House vote was the first time in nearly 150 years that a Cabinet secretary was impeached.

    Since then, Johnson has delayed sending the articles to the Senate for weeks while both chambers finished work on government funding legislation and took a two-week recess. Johnson had said he would send them to the Senate last week, but he punted again after Senate Republicans said they wanted more time to prepare.

    House impeachment managers previewed some of their arguments at a hearing with Mayorkas on Tuesday morning about President Joe Biden’s budget request for the department.

    Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, the chairman of the House Homeland Security panel, told the secretary that he has a duty under the law to control and guard U.S. borders, and “during your three years as secretary, you have failed to fulfill this oath. You have refused to comply with the laws passed by Congress, and you have breached the public trust.”

    Mayorkas defended the department’s efforts but said the nation’s immigration system is “fundamentally broken, and only Congress can fix it.”

    Other impeachment managers are Michael McCaul of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ben Cline of Virginia, Andrew Garbarino of New York, Michael Guest of Mississippi, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Laurel Lee of Florida, August Plfuger of Texas and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

    At a news conference with a group of Republican senators after the articles were delivered, the impeachment managers demanded that Schumer move forward with their case.

    “The voice of the people is very clear,” said McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Secure the border and impeach this man, this criminal.”

    If Democrats are unable to dismiss or table the articles, they could follow the precedent of several impeachment trials for federal judges over the last century and hold a vote to create a trial committee that would investigate the charges. While there is sufficient precedent for this approach, Democrats may prefer to end the process completely, especially in a presidential election year when immigration and border security are top issues.

    If the Senate were to proceed to an impeachment trial, it would be the third in five years. Democrats impeached President Donald Trump twice, once over his dealings with Ukraine and a second time in the days after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Trump was acquitted by the Senate both times.

    At a trial, senators would be forced to sit in their seats for the duration, maybe weeks, while the House impeachment managers and lawyers representing Mayorkas make their cases. The Senate is allowed to call witnesses, as well, if it so decides, and it can ask questions of both sides after the opening arguments are finished.

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  • ‘Migrant influencer’ in custody after videos on legal loopholes

    ‘Migrant influencer’ in custody after videos on legal loopholes

    (NewsNation) — A man who came to the U.S. illegally from Venezuela is now in custody after going viral for bragging about getting free money from America and encouraging other newcomers to take advantage of U.S. laws protecting squatters.

    In one TikTok video, Leonel Moreno, now being called the “migrant influencer,” explained squatting laws and suggested how to take advantage of them. His account has now been removed from the platform.

    “I learned that there is a law that says if a house is not inhabited, then we can take it,” he said. “Here in the United States, terrain deformation also applies, and I think that will be my next business: invade abandoned houses.”

    Moreno crossed into the country illegally in April 2022 in Eagle Pass, Texas and was paroled, but authorities say he never showed up to his initial check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    When Moreno was initially processed, he was placed in the Alternatives to Detention program, where he was given a cell phone as a tracking device.

    But because he didn’t follow the rules, Department of Homeland Security sources told NewsNation he was listed as a preorder absconder and was terminated from the program.

    These sources later confirmed to NewsNation that Moreno was in custody.

    Moreno has an order to appear in a Florida court in February of 2025, but authorities had trouble tracking him down. The address he initially provided was for Catholic Charities in Miami, but sources said he now has a possible address listed in Ohio.

    Also in Ohio, Fermin Garcia-Gutierrez is another man allegedly taking advantage of the system and gaps in intelligence.

    Law enforcement in Butler County, Ohio, said Garcia-Gutierrez has been in Sheriff Richard Jones’ jail 11 times, using seven different names and three different dates of birth. According to Jones, Garcia-Gutierrez has been reported eight times, yet the 46-year-old keeps returning successfully.

    Garcia-Gutierrez’s latest arrest was for possession of drugs and weapons while intoxicated and obstructing. His story is not the only one, with Jones saying since 2021, the county has housed nearly 1,000 immigrant inmates with ICE detainers.

    Ali Bradley

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  • Rachel Mitchell endorses Trump, blames Biden for fentanyl crisis

    Rachel Mitchell endorses Trump, blames Biden for fentanyl crisis


    While President Joe Biden campaigned for reelection in the Valley on Wednesday, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell endorsed Donald Trump for president, pointing to the fentanyl crisis. “I have seen Biden’s own DEA tell us that in 2022 and 2023, over half of the fentanyl seized in the United States was seized in Arizona,” Mitchell said during her regular biweekly press conference…

    Stephen Lemons

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  • Trump Accuses Biden of “Conspiracy To Overthrow the United States of America”

    Trump Accuses Biden of “Conspiracy To Overthrow the United States of America”

    Former President Donald Trump ramped up his attacks on President Joe Biden, baselessly describing the Biden administration’s border policy as “a conspiracy to overthrow the United States of America” in a pair of rallies on Saturday.

    Trump, of course, is himself currently facing 91 criminal charges, including “conspiracy to defraud” the United States for his conduct on January 6, 2021, but on Saturday he cast Biden as a criminal threat to democracy. “He talks about democracy,” Trump said of Biden. “He is a danger to democracy.”

    Trump’s speeches in Virginia and North Carolina—two states that will hold Super Tuesday primary contests this week and that Trump hopes to carry in the general election in November—were laser-focused on the U.S.-Mexico border, which Republicans perceive as an electoral liability for the Biden campaign. Monthly migrant encounters at the southern border reached a record high of nearly 250,000 in December, though that number has since declined.

    In his speech in Richmond, Virginia, Trump floated the baseless claim that Democrats are attempting to bring undocumented migrants into the U.S. and “trying to sign them up to get them to vote in the next election.” In Greensboro, North Carolina, he conjured images of “foreign armies” brought in to do electoral battle for the Democratic Party and “collapse the American system, nullify the will of the actual American voters and establish a new base of power that gives them control for generations.”

    “That’s why a central question in this election is whether the foreign armies Joe Biden has smuggled across our border will be allowed to stay, or whether they’ll be told to get the hell out of here and go back home,” Trump added. “We’ll take them back home.”

    In recent months, Biden has attempted to out-flank Trump on immigration on the issue, backing a bipartisan border bill negotiated in the Senate that would, the administration argued, constitute “the toughest and fairest reforms to secure the border we have had in decades.” Trump, who is seeking to keep immigration front of mind for voters throughout the election season, campaigned vociferously against the bill and successfully rallied Republicans to oppose it.

    Both candidates made dueling visits to the border on Thursday, with Biden accusing Trump of “playing politics on the issue.” Trump, meanwhile, met with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and declared that migrants crossing the border “look like warriors to me.” (Many border officials, “including some who worked for Mr. Trump, have said that most migrants who cross the border are members of vulnerable families fleeing poverty and violence,” The New York Times reported Saturday.)

    Biden campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa responded to Trump’s speeches in a statement: “Once again Trump is projecting in an attempt to distract the American people from the fact he killed the fairest and toughest border security bill in decades because he believed it would help his campaign,” Moussa said. “Sad.”

    Jack McCordick

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  • Dr. Phil Issues Chilling Warning About Chinese Migrants Crossing U.S. Border – Suggests They’re Spies

    Dr. Phil Issues Chilling Warning About Chinese Migrants Crossing U.S. Border – Suggests They’re Spies


    Opinion

    Source: Fox News YouTube

    Dr. Phil McGraw is speaking out this week to suggest that Chinese migrants crossing the U.S. border are actually spies.

    Dr. Phil Sounds Off

    Dr. Phil went on Fox News on Tuesday to talk to host Sean Hannity about his recent trip to the US-Mexico border, which has seen a massive influx of Chinese migrants as of late.

    “We would be incredibly narcissistic to assume that these people are coming in here just because they’re in the neighborhood,” Dr. Phil said.

    “What are they doing? If they’re working in farming, if they’re working in industry, I promise you they are expected to do certain things,” he continued. “Are they spying? Are they sending seeds back from farming to China? Are they getting plans from industries they’re working on?”

    Daily Mail reported that while most of the migrants crossing the border were from central and South America in the past, thousands are now coming from China. During the 2023 fiscal year that ended in September, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 24,048 Chinese citizens were apprehended at the Mexico border, which is more than in the ten previous years combined.

    Related: Dr. Phil Torches Kamala Harris Over Border Crisis – ‘Unlike Anything We’ve Seen Before’

    Dr. Phil Doubles Down

    In this same interview, Dr. Phil said that border officials told him that 13 to 14 million people have entered this country since President Joe Biden took office, which is more than double what his administration has claimed.

    “We hear this number, six million people have come across under the current administration,” Dr. Phil said. “I talked to experts down there that say that number is a myth, that it’s closer to 13 to 14 million that have come across.”

    “I asked them straight up, what is it you need here?” he added. “I was shocked to hear them say, ‘We don’t need more money. We don’t need more resources, we don’t need more officers, we don’t need more legislation. We just need the laws that are on the books to be followed. We need to be allowed to do our job. And we can get this under control right now.’”

    Check out this full interview in the video below.

    Related: Dr. Phil Rips U.S. Colleges As ‘Liberal Woke Hotbeds Fostering’ Antisemitism

    Dr. Phil previously talked about the border situation, which he describes as a “humanitarian crisis,” in a video posted to social media.

    “Texas law enforcement has seized over 454 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this mission. Governor Abbott has said that the federal government has broken the pact between the United States federal government and the states,” Dr. Phil said. “Governor Abbott says President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them.”

    “The result is a humanitarian crisis, unlike anything we’ve seen before, smashing records for illegal immigration by wasting taxpayer dollars to tear open Texas border security infrastructure,” he continued. “Governor Abbott says President Biden has enticed tens of thousands of illegal immigrants away from 28 legal entry points along the Texas border and into the dangerous deadly waters of the Rio Grande.”

    “According to the Department of Homeland Security, since President Biden took office more than 6 million illegal immigrants have crossed [the] Texas southern border in just three years,” Dr Phil added. “That’s more than the population of 33 different states in this country. And what about our Vice President Kamala Harris? Did you know she’s our country’s immigration czar? Guess how many times she’s been to the border? Once.”

    Dr. Phil is one of the only celebrities who has the guts to call out Biden and discuss the border crisis. What do you think about his claims about potential Chinese spies at the border? Let us know in the comments section.

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  • ​​Congress Looks Like Just Another Trump Campaign Arm

    ​​Congress Looks Like Just Another Trump Campaign Arm


    Even Donald Trump understands the economy is getting better under Joe Biden—so much so that he’s taking credit for it. The stock market is surging, he recently said on Fox Business, “because they think I’m going to be elected.” While the president’s poll numbers don’t reflect the improved state of the economy, it’s getting harder to see how Trump can run effectively on the issue in the general election. However, Trump, who campaigned the first time around on building a wall on the southern border, will undoubtedly seize on immigration, which his loyalists in the GOP seem determined not to reform before November.

    Trumpism takes a page from tea party nihilism, essentially; Michele Bachmann walked so Donald Trump could run. “By the 2010s—just before Donald Trump emerges—the tea party had taken the shape of a just-say-no, blow-it-all-up, don’t-cooperate, do-politics-on-Twitter faction,” Harvard political scientist Theda Skocpol told Politico after right-wingers ousted Kevin McCarthy for not letting the debt ceiling expire and crashing the economy. That removal, she said, “is where it leads.”

    Today’s burn-it-all-down GOP caucus has a vested interest in the federal government failing because it proves its thesis that government is bad. In this election year, those in the caucus also have a vested interest in making Biden look bad—and so, by acting almost as an arm of the Trump campaign, they appear willing to torpedo any compromise that could be perceived as helping the president’s reelection chances. Republican congressman Troy Nehls admitted as much last week during a video interview. “Why would I help Joe Biden improve his dismal 33%, when he can fix the border and secure it on his own?” he asked. “He can do it on his own through executive order.”

    But Republicans, who talk endlessly about the southern border, have at least pretended in the past to want to craft legislation to address it. Last December, Republicans who were not anxious to allocate funding for Ukraine—presumably because they knew it would irritate their guy, Donald Trump—decided to tie aid to the country—something that the Biden White House desperately wanted—to border security.

    It looked like an impossible task; America hasn’t passed any meaningful immigration reform in 20 years. It was so unlikely to happen that Republicans decided to run with it. Kansas senator Roger Marshall told NewsNation, “At the end of the day, Republicans aren’t budging [on Ukraine] until we secure the border. That’s the question that all America is asking Joe Biden right now: Why do Republicans have to beg Joe Biden to secure the border? That’s part of his job.”

    Of course, Congress controls the money that Biden would need to secure the border; last year he requested almost $14 billion for the border, to be used for things such as hiring border patrol agents, immigration judges, and asylum officers. But House Republicans, who last month posed for photos at the Texas-Mexico border, seemed determined not to provide resources to fix a problem they’re fixated on. That’s because a crisis at the border provides something for Trump to run on, something for Fox News pundits to obsess over, and something for the news media to cover exhaustively in the midst of a presidential race.

    But what Republicans didn’t count on was the ability of this White House to lean on Senate Democrats to negotiate a border bill. Democratic senator Chris Murphy, independent senator Kyrsten Sinema, who caucuses with the Democrats, and Republican James Lankford were able to agree on something. The $118 billion bipartisan border-security bill unveiled Sunday night includes support for Ukraine ($60 billion) and Israel ($14.1 billion), as well as humanitarian aid for civilians in Ukraine, Gaza, and the West Bank ($10 billion). Biden, majority leader Chuck Schumer, and minority leader Mitch McConnell have also expressed support for the measure.

    It didn’t take long for the MAGA chorus to reject it, with Donald Trump Jr. quickly denouncing the “RINO-Dem immigration deal” and Representative Elise Stefanik saying the “Joe Biden/Chuck Schumer Open Border Bill is an absolute non-starter.” But Trump and company were already bashing the bill before they knew exactly what was in it, with the former president last month calling the compromise a “bad bill” and a “betrayal of America.” And House Speaker Mike Johnson, before seeing the text of the bill, declared it “dead on arrival.”

    You’ll remember that Johnson really does serve at the pleasure of Donald Trump, with the congressman having acted as one of the legal architects of his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Johnson’s election denial and fealty to Trump helped propel him to the Speaker’s job, whereas the former president targeted another Republican contender, Tom Emmer, who didn’t try to block the certification of Biden’s victory. Given that just one member can call for a motion to vacate, Johnson is largely controlled by whoever is the most disruptive—and in this case, it’s his party’s right flank.





    Molly Jong-Fast

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  • Dr. Phil Torches Kamala Harris Over Border Crisis – ‘Unlike Anything We’ve Seen Before’

    Dr. Phil Torches Kamala Harris Over Border Crisis – ‘Unlike Anything We’ve Seen Before’


    Opinion

    Source YouTube: CNN, CBS News

    Dr. Phil McGraw visited the southern border last week and called out the Vice President Kamala Harris for her failures as the “border czar.”

    Dr. Phil Sounds Off

    In a video posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Dr. Phil cited Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott’s claim that President Joe Biden “refused” to enforce protection laws and “enticed” thousands of migrants to avoid legal points of entry into the U.S.

    “Texas law enforcement has seized over 454 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this mission. Governor Abbott has said that the federal government has broken the pact between the United States federal government and the states,” Dr. Phil said. “Governor Abbott says President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them.”

    “The result is a humanitarian crisis, unlike anything we’ve seen before, smashing records for illegal immigration by wasting taxpayer dollars to tear open Texas border security infrastructure,” he continued. “Governor Abbott says President Biden has enticed tens of thousands of illegal immigrants away from 28 legal entry points along the Texas border and into the dangerous deadly waters of the Rio Grande.”

    That’s when Dr. Phil shifted to specifically attacking Harris.

    “According to the Department of Homeland Security, since President Biden took office more than 6 million illegal immigrants have crossed [the] Texas southern border in just three years,” he stated. “That’s more than the population of 33 different states in this country. And what about our Vice President Kamala Harris? Did you know she’s our country’s immigration czar? Guess how many times she’s been to the border? Once.”

    Check out Dr. Phil’s full comments on this in the video below.

    Related: MAGA Rep. Jackson Demands Kamala Harris be Removed as ‘Border Czar’

    Border Crisis Escalating

    The Washington Examiner reported that over 10 million immigrants have entered the country illegally since Biden took office, with six million of those crossing the Texas border illegally. This is the most recorded in that amount of time of any administration in American history.

    Governor Abbott just called on Biden to decisively address migrant crossings at the U.S. southern border, saying that the president has “completely abdicated and abandoned his responsibility to enforce the laws of the United States.”

    “Joe Biden, it is your turn now — your obligation, your duty, to follow the laws Congress passed and secure the border, just as Texas has,” Abbott said, according to CBS News.

    Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders also called out Biden, saying that “because of his failures, Governor Abbott is having to step up, governors from across the country are having to step up and do the job of the federal government because they simply won’t.”

    Related: Illegal Immigrant Outside Kamala Harris’ Home Directly Contradicts Her ‘Secure Border’ Claims

    Harris Defends Immigrants

    As for Harris, she issued a statement over the weekend saying, “let us remember: we are a nation of immigrants. Immigrants have always helped strengthen our country, grow our economy, and drive innovation. We know that in America, diversity is our strength. So rather than politicize this issue, let us all address it with the urgency and seriousness it requires.”

    Given how abysmal Harris’ approval rating is, many Americans will certainly agree with Dr. Phil’s assessment of her. What do you think about what he had to say? Let us know in the comments section.

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  • House Republicans Admit They Are Blocking Border Bill To Hurt Biden’s Approval Rating

    House Republicans Admit They Are Blocking Border Bill To Hurt Biden’s Approval Rating


    A House Republican told reporters that the reason why they are blocking a bill to help with the border is because it will keep Biden’s approval rating low.

    Video:

    Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) told CNN, “Why would we do anything right now to help her with that 33%? Do you believe if Joe Biden’s approval rating was at 53%, we would even be talking about the border? We won’t be talking about the southern border, but he has to do something because he’s hemorrhaging. He’s bleeding. So what he’s going to try to do is try to come up with some border security plan bipartisan through the Senate.”

    House Republicans are admitting that the “border crisis” isn’t really about the border. The border crisis is an attempt to keep President Biden’s approval rating low, so that the GOP has a better chance of winning the election in November.

    Republicans view the border bill as nothing, but politics. The motivation to pass the bill because it might be good for the country, which would make it good for them doesn’t exist.

    House Republicans are willing to damage America to hurt Joe Biden’s approval rating, as they seem to have forgotten that they are being paid to govern, not use the Congress as an electoral platform.

    Republicans got everything they wanted reportedly in the border bill and still said no, because the border is really about Biden.

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    Jason Easley

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  • Biden Promises to “Shut Down” Border If Congress Can Pass Bipartisan Deal

    Biden Promises to “Shut Down” Border If Congress Can Pass Bipartisan Deal


    President Joe Biden urged Congress on Friday to pass a bipartisan bill that he argued would address an escalating immigration crisis, vowing to “shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed.”

    “What’s been negotiated would – if passed into law – be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” Biden wrote in a statement. “It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.”

    The president’s statements mark a significant rhetorical escalation on the immigration issue. Undocumented southern border crossings reached record numbers in December, though the number of crossings has declined so far this month. 

    Biden was elected in 2020 promising to roll back some of Donald Trump’s most inhumane anti-immigrant policies, such as his draconian implementation of the asylum restrictions known as Title 42, which Biden ended in May of last year.

    Although the precise contours of the bipartisan border deal have yet to be revealed, sources familiar with the deal have said the bill would include restrictions similar to Trump-era policies, Reuters reported. 

    The agreement would give the Department of Homeland Security the authority to expel undocumented migrants if the number of daily border encounters passes 4,000. That authority would become mandatory if the daily number surpasses 5,000 over the course of a week. 

    Biden’s statement also called for more funding for “an additional 1,300 border patrol agents, 375 immigration judges, 1,600 asylum officers, and over 100 cutting-edge inspection machines to help detect and stop fentanyl at our southwest border.”

    “For everyone who is demanding tougher border control, this is the way to do it,” Biden wrote. “If you’re serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill, and I will sign it.”

    The Democratic president’s statement is already drawing backlash from members of his own party. 

    “President Biden is finally admitting that he’s given up on his campaign promise to enact more humane immigration policies than Trump,” a former Biden immigration official told Politico Friday night. “He would rather adopt Trump’s border rhetoric than continue the work he started as Vice President to fix the border by addressing the root causes of migration.”

    The border agreement will also face serious headwinds from top members of the GOP, hoping to use immigration to galvanize its base in this election year and loath to hand Biden what some might consider a political victory. In a letter to his colleagues Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the bill would be “dead on arrival” in the House.

    The emerging GOP line is that a bipartisan deal is unnecessary, and that Biden can use his current executive authority to crack down on border crossings. “Prove you’re serious about the border crisis by using the authority you already have under current law to secure the border,” Florida Senator Marco Rubio wrote on X Friday. 

    In a video posted to social media on Saturday, recent GOP presidential candidate dropout and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the deal a “farce.” “Joe Biden already has the authority to shut the border down,” he said.

    The loudest proponent of sinking a bipartisan deal has been former President Donald Trump, who has been spending weeks “lobbying Republicans both in private conversations and in public statements on social media to oppose the border compromise being delicately hashed out in the Senate,” CNN reported.

    On Saturday morning, Trump continued to oppose the deal, writing in all-caps on Truth Social: “A bad border deal is far worse than no border deal.”





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  • DeSantis: No One Would Have Ratified the Constitution If Protection for States Was Excluded

    DeSantis: No One Would Have Ratified the Constitution If Protection for States Was Excluded


    Politics

    Office of Governor Ron DeSantis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is among the 25 governors who has expressed support for Texas defending its border. He was one of the first governors to send reinforcements to support Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star border security effort roughly two years ago.

    Trump’s Border Battle Cry: Calls On All Willing States to Deploy National Guard To Help Texas In Border Fight Against The Feds

    DeSantis responded to an ultimatum given Thursday by the Biden administration to Abbott to take down concertina wire barriers it constructed and relinquish control of a park in Eagle Pass, Texas. The president is also demanding that Texas allow access to a 2.5 mile stretch of state land along the Rio Grande River so that Border Patrol agents can allow illegal foreign nationals to enter between ports of entry.

    Doing so is a direct violation of laws established by Congress and the U.S. Constitution, Abbott argues, and he refuses to comply with any demands.

    The conflict escalated after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Border Patrol agents could destroy Texas concertina wire barriers in Eagle Pass. It does not instruct Texas to remove the barriers or to stop enforcing state law.

    The Biden administration argues Texas’ actions are unconstitutional and disrupt Border Patrol operations. Abbott argues the president is facilitating criminal activity, has violated his oath of office, and broken the federal government’s compact with the states.

    RFK Jr. Backs Texas In State’s Battle With Biden Over Border

    The escalation continues as calls for President Joe Biden to federalize Texas National Guard troops raise additional constitutional issues. If Texas troops were to be federalized when they were called up under constitutional authority to secure the Texas border, such a move could constitute an impeachable offense, a constitutional law expert argues.

    On Thursday, DeSantis posted a video asking, “Can the federal government defy the law and force a state to allow a foreign invasion?,” answering the founding fathers would say no.

    The president demanding Texas “remove fortifications along its border to let people come in illegally is just crazy,” DeSantis said. “If the constitution was originally understood to mean that a state could not protect itself against an invasion, that the federal government could force a state to allow an invasion, the constitution would have never been ratified in the first place. Texas would have never joined the union when it did.”

    He also pointed to Federalist 46 in which founding father James Madison described “situations where federal encroachment can be mitigated by state action.” He said Texas is “holding its ground and has every right to fortify the border visa via an invasion,” referring to Article 1, Section 10 of the constitution.

    25 Governors Issue Joint Statement In Solidarity With Texas In Their Fight To Secure The Border

    The clause has been cited in invasion resolutions passed by officials in 51 Texas counties, with more expected to follow. Kinney, Goliad and Terrell counties were the first to declare an invasion in Texas and U.S. history, on July 5, 2022. The constitutional issues playing out today are what they warned about in 2021 when they were also the first to issue disaster declarations, citing the border crisis.

    DeSantis also pointed to situations “where liberal jurisdictions over many years have been sanctuary jurisdictions against enforcing federal immigration law. They will deliberately act to frustrate the laws on the books and somehow that’s viewed as OK” but it’s not OK when Texas is “acting to enforce the laws on the books to ensure that they have a secure state and that we have a secure country,” he said.

    “So all of this is just nonsense what Biden’s doing,” DeSantis continued. “Texas has every right to stand its ground. We in Florida have been sending people to help for many years now because we understand it’s not just the Texas issue it’s ultimately an American issue. If we don’t have sovereignty in this country, then we’re not going to be a country anymore. Texas has every right to hold their ground to stay the course and Florida will continue to be there helping out every step of the way.”

    Reprinted with permission from The Center Square.

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  • Texas National Guard Seizes Control Of Park In Eagle Pass, Prohibits Federal Border Patrol Agents From Entering

    Texas National Guard Seizes Control Of Park In Eagle Pass, Prohibits Federal Border Patrol Agents From Entering

    Opinion

    Screenshot: Griff Jenkins X Video

    Earlier this week, the Texas National Guard took control of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, a city property where mass illegal crossings have been occurring.

    They are restricting Border Patrol from accessing the area, claiming that federal agents “perpetuate illegal crossings.”

    Two US officials confirmed the move to CBS News, which reported that Border Patrol agents had “used the park in recent weeks to hold migrants in an outdoor staging area before they are transported for further processing, including last month, when illegal crossings soared to record levels.”

    “They are denying entry to Border Patrol agents to conduct our duties,” one official told the network, adding that they are not sure “what authority (Texas officials) have over the federal government.”

    RELATED: Governor Abbott Slams ‘Unbelievable’ Video Of Border Patrol Opening Gate For Illegal Immigrants

    Texas National Guard Blocking Border Patrol

    The Texas Military Department has confirmed that the National Guard has deployed armed soldiers and vehicles to block federal government access to the park in Eagle Pass.

    Texas informed federal officials that no Border Patrol agents would be allowed to enter Shelby Park in any operational capacity.

    Fox News reporter Griff Jenkins posted a video showing BP agents being prevented from entering the area.

    “The current posture is to prepare for future illegal immigrant surges and to restrict access to organizations that perpetuate illegal immigrant crossings in the park and greater Eagle Pass area,” a statement from the Texas Military Department reads.

    They’re accusing the federal government of aiding and abetting illegal immigrants from entering the country.

    The Joe Biden administration is responsible for a record-breaking surge at the border even as they insist that “our approach…is working” and that the “border is secure.”

    It’s clear the Texas National Guard disagrees with that assertion, taking matters into its own hands.

    This Isn’t The First Clash Between Texas And The Feds

    This isn’t the first time the Texas National Guard got into a dispute with Biden’s Border Patrol agents, and it likely won’t be the last.

    Texas Governor Greg Abbott was furious after seeing video of Border Patrol agents opening a gate at the southern border and allowing dozens of illegal immigrants into the country after Texas National Guard officers had locked it shut.

    The incident took place in August of 2022.

    Abbott described the footage as “unbelievable.”

    In May of 2023, stunning video footage showed a United States Army soldier reportedly opening a gate and allowing a large crowd of illegal immigrants across the border onto private property in Texas.

    That incident took place in the same location in Eagle Pass, Texas.

    The Political Insider recently covered social media videos showing a sea of illegal immigrants numbering in the thousands waiting to be “processed” in Eagle Pass.

    There were 302,000 encounters along the southwest border in December, marking the highest monthly total ever recorded as Biden’s border crisis rages on.

    Jeffrey Epstein’s Brother Accuses Former Attorney General Bill Barr Of Covering Up His ‘Suicide’

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  • 'Check Back in 8 Years': Illegal Alien Given 2031 Immigration Court Date, Released Into U.S.

    'Check Back in 8 Years': Illegal Alien Given 2031 Immigration Court Date, Released Into U.S.

    Opinion

    Screenshot: Public Social Media Image – Bill Melugin on X/@BillMelugin_

    An illegal immigrant who crossed the southern border into Texas was reportedly released by ICE and given a check-in appointment date of January 2031.

    The notice prompted the woman’s immigration attorney, who claims she’s actually “a legitimate asylum seeker,” to call it one of the most shocking things he’s seen in his three decades practicing in the field.

    Fox News reporter Bill Melugin posted an image of the directive advising of a confirmed appointment date with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The hearing will be held in the New York field office, as selected by the asylum seeker.

    Her attorney, Matthew Kolken, states that a court date eight years into the future casts doubt on whether or not his client would ever get to argue in favor of an asylum claim.

    “It made me realize the Biden administration is basically providing backdoor amnesty for anyone who wants to show up at the border,” he said.

    RELATED: Video Purportedly Shows Illegal Aliens Opening DHS Packets With Smartphones, Some Court Dates Not Until 2035

    Illegal Immigrant Given Court Date In 2031

    A “legitimate asylum seeker” not getting a hearing until 2031 is a sure sign that the court system is being overwhelmed and clogged up with illegitimate asylum seekers.

    Melugin informed followers on X that Kolken, a two-time “Lawyer of the Year” in the practice of immigration, believes that his client has an “airtight case.”

    However, he worries that she’ll never get to prove it “because the system is so backlogged with illegitimate asylum claims.”

    This past spring, the independent journalist Tayler Hansen released video and images on social media purportedly showing illegal immigrants opening up packets from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which included government-issued smartphones and directives to appear at a court date set many years in the future.

    The New York Post reported around that time that illegal immigrants had received “paperwork with designated court dates set as late as 2032 and 2035 in Chicago and Florida.”

    RELATED: Democrat Ted Lieu Accidentally Proves How Bad Biden’s Illegal Immigration Crisis Has Become

    DHS Secretary Who Helped Engineer The Border Crisis Says Securing The Nation Is ‘Violence’

    All of this comes as video after video is posted to social media showing the overwhelming scale of the border invasion of America.

    Yet, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas contends that a desire to secure the border is actual “violence.”

    Border security, he reasons, is “violence to our fundamental values.”

    Mayorkas was referring to constructing barriers, increasing the number of Border Patrol agents, limiting asylum, and narrowing a president’s ability to unilaterally parole illegal immigrants into the country — all commonsense solutions.

    Now, apparently, ICE is watching these people illegally enter the country and handing them a piece of paper, a pat on the back, and the hope that somewhere between 8-12 years from now they’ll check themselves back in.

    That, Mr. Mayorkas, is “violence to our fundamental values.”

    It’s so violent that it borders on treason to allow it to happen to the American people.

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  • Sen. J.D. Vance Embarrasses Reporter – Cover The Biden Border Invasion, Not Trump's Reaction To It

    Sen. J.D. Vance Embarrasses Reporter – Cover The Biden Border Invasion, Not Trump's Reaction To It

    Opinion

    Custom: Screenshots – Forbes Breaking News and CBS Evening News YouTube Videos

    Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) went on the offensive as an Associated Press reporter pressed him repeatedly on comments made by Donald Trump that illegal immigration is “poisoning the blood” of the nation.

    “What do you have to say to the former President’s comments over the weekend about immigrants and saying that they’re ‘poisoning the blood of America?’” a reporter asks in audio obtained by the Daily Caller.

    Vance quickly noted that the journalist had opted not to use the accurate term – “illegal” immigration.

    “First of all, he didn’t say immigrants were poisoning the blood of this country,” he shot back. “He said illegal immigrants were poisoning the blood of the country, which is objectively and obviously true to anybody who looks at the statistics about fentanyl overdoses.”

    Vance added, “And I think just one observation about the press as an organization: You guys seem far more upset about the guy who criticized the problem than you did about Joe Biden who’s causing the problem.”

    RELATED: ‘Straight Up Election Interference’: J.D. Vance Slams Obama-Appointed Judge After She Sets Trump’s Trial Date Near Super Tuesday

    Thinking she had stumbled upon a solid point, the Associated Press reporter continued to note that Trump’s “poisoning the blood” remarks were “language that we heard … during World War II.”

    “You just framed your question implicitly assuming that Donald Trump is talking about Adolf Hitler. It’s absurd. It is absurd,” Vance quickly replied.

    “Why do you think that Donald Trump’s language is targeted at the blood of the immigrants and not at the blood of the American citizens who are being poisoned by the fentanyl problem?” he asked.

    When the reporter questioned his belief that the former President was actually talking about the drug crisis at the border, Vance steered her more toward reality.

    “If you watch the speech in context and you look at what’s going on, it is obvious that he was talking about the very clear fact that the blood of Americans is being poisoned by a drug epidemic,” he insisted. “To take that comment and then to immediately assume that he’s talking about immigrants as Adolf Hitler talked about Jews is preposterous!”

    “You guys need to wake up and actually do some journalism,” he continued.

    RELATED: Senator J.D. Vance: Judge’s Gag Order On Trump An Assault On The First Amendment

    Trying To Take The Focus Off Biden

    Supporters of Donald Trump have seen an uptick in the media’s standby of accusing the former President of using “Nazi rhetoric” in recent weeks. The poll numbers must be dictating the effort.

    We saw it when Trump recently used the word “vermin” to describe his political opponents.

    “What you’re doing is not speaking truth to power,” Vance said to the reporter, though it could be applied to the media as a whole.

    “You’re trying to police the guy who’s criticizing the problem so that Americans don’t pay attention to the guy who caused the problem,” he claimed.

    What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments section.

    Democrat Ted Lieu Accidentally Proves How Bad Biden’s Illegal Immigration Crisis Has Become

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  • Latinos Fed Up With Broken Borders, Moving To GOP: 'I Want Trump Back'

    Latinos Fed Up With Broken Borders, Moving To GOP: 'I Want Trump Back'

    Opinion

    Public Domain/CBP

    America’s broken borders are a problem for all Americans, not just the poor souls who live along the border with Mexico.

    But especially, and understandably, for Latino Americans.

    ‘I Want Trump Back’

    As a trip to El Paso, Texas revealed to reliably left-leaning Politico Magazine:

    The growing appeal of a pro-Trump, hardline immigration mentality was even evident here, in a city where more than 80 percent of the population is Hispanic or Latino, and in a county where Biden pummeled Trump by more than 35 percentage points three years ago…

    “Get the key and lock the gates,” said Rick Delgado, a Navy veteran who told me he leans Democratic and who keeps a U.S. Customs and Border Protection number in his phone.

    He said he thinks Biden is “doing whatever he can.” But it was the state — not the Biden administration — that had strung razor wire on the Texas side of the Rio Grande and passed legislation that would authorize police to arrest migrants .

    Compared to Biden, Delgado said, Texas’ hardline Republican governor, Greg Abbott, “is doing a better job.”

    …

    “It’s getting really bad with a lot of the people coming in,” said Simental, who was born in the Mexican state of Chihuahua and immigrated with her family when she was 12. She didn’t vote for Trump in 2016, she said. But lately, she’s thinking differently about it.

    “Now,” she told me, “I want Trump back.”

    These stories seem to sound quite a bit different than the usual narrative heard from the talking heads on the TV networks or in the angry ramblings of liberals online. There are some obvious reasons for that.

    RELATED: Kellyanne Conway Says For Democrats It’s Always January 6: They Get In Electric Vehicle And ‘Go Get An Abortion’

    Latinos Also Want to Fix Broken Border

    The typical assumption by many Democrats is that Latino voters would reject Trump because of his stance on enforcing the southern border.

    But as it turns out, they want the border enforced too. They feel similar effects as everyone else – hits to wages, fewer available jobs, drugs in their neighborhoods, and more.

    Politico went to El Paso likely looking for a narrative that was decidedly anti-Trump.

    What they found seems to be an entirely different picture.

    Kellyanne Conway Says For Democrats It’s Always January 6: They Get In Electric Vehicle And ‘Go Get An Abortion’

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    is a professional writer and editor with over 15 years of experience in conservative media and Republican politics. He has been a special guest on Fox News, Sirius XM, appeared as the guest of various popular personalities, and has had a lifelong interest in right-leaning politics.

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  • Donald Trump’s titanic triumph

    Donald Trump’s titanic triumph

    Donald Trump could be on the verge of a major immigration policy win; the White House is considering reintroducing some of his administration’s policies in a bid to reduce pressure on the southern border and unlock funding for Ukraine.

    Under President Joe Biden, the number of suspected illegal migrants detained after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has surged to a record high, with the figure hitting 2.4 million in the 2023 fiscal year that ended in September.

    One leading political scientist told Newsweek the Biden administration’s “wholly inadequate” policies have left the president “staggeringly vulnerable to Trump’s more hardline immigration rhetoric.” It comes less than a year before the two men could potentially face off in the November 2024 presidential election.

    Newsweek has contacted the White House press office and a Donald Trump spokesperson for comment by email.

    However, a tightening of restrictions risks angering the Democrats progressive base; many are already smarting from the president’s strong backing for Israel during the nation’s ongoing offensive against Hamas. House Republicans are demanding major concessions on immigration, in return for the passage of a $106 billion package providing additional support to both Ukraine and Israel.

    Earlier this week, political news outlet Politico said Biden is thinking about creating a new version of Title 42. This was a measure introduced by the Trump administration in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic and only lifted in May 2023. It allowed the swift expulsion from the U.S. of migrants coming from countries where infectious disease was present.

    Former president Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the Hyatt Hotel on December 13, 2023 in Coralville, Iowa. Joe Biden is reportedly considering reintroducing a number of Trump-era migration measures in a bid to reduce pressure on the southern border.
    Scott Olson/GETTY

    The White House is reportedly also considering expanding the “expedited removal” of undocumented migrants who either fail their initial asylum screenings, or don’t request asylum, without a full hearing. In a further tightening of existing regulations, migrants could be held in detention while waiting for their U.S. court dates, which can take months or even years.

    In October, the Biden administration committed to building 20 miles of border wall in Starr County, Texas, despite it previously releasing a declaration that such a wall “is not a serious policy solution.” The funding was authorized under Trump, and Biden admitted to reporters that he doubts the wall will actually work. This sparked an angry response from Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He said the construction is “contrary” to what Biden had previously promised, adding: “I understand there is strong pressure from extreme right-wing political groups in the United States.”

    The immigration surge has put a number of Democratic-controlled cities under intense pressure, with New York Mayor Eric Adams warning the issue “will destroy New York City” unless action is taken. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has organized for buses to take tens of thousands of migrants from his state to Democratic-run ‘sanctuary cities.’

    Thomas Gift, a political scientist who heads the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, told Newsweek that reports the Biden administration is considering concessions on migration demonstrate its policies have failed.

    Gift said: “Biden’s capitulations reflect growing concern, particularly among the center-left, at what a disaster U.S. immigration policy remains.

    “It’s too strong to say that the White House is surrendering to Trump-era demands, and Biden is by no means entirely culpable for the current crisis. But it is a recognition that the administration’s efforts to deal with the problem at the U.S.-Mexico border have been wholly inadequate,” Gift added.

    “Unless the White House can make some changes to show it recognizes the scale of the problem, it leaves Biden staggeringly vulnerable to Trump’s more hardline immigration rhetoric.”