Apprehended: 2,000 Migrants, 3 Days, 1 Border Crossing

Agents from the U.S. Border Patrol detained more than 2,000 people illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border during a single three-day period in one area.

McAllen Station, a border control point near McAllen, TX, is being “inundated with migrant families and unaccompanied minors.” Though the agents do the best they can to apprehend and process these people, the situation remains dire. Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Patrol Agent Manuel Padilla, Jr. says the conditions are “an unsustainable situation.”

Pawns to the Cartel

Border Patrol has long known the Rincon Village area as a vulnerable site for border crossings and human trafficking. Cartels approach this strategically. They send families and children across the border, telling them to surrender to the first Border Patrol agent they see. With the Border Agents busy handling families and kids, the cartels use the unsecured border as a route for trafficking in drugs and in persons.

Padilla says this isn’t a case of parents sending their children to a better life in America.

“The transnational criminal organizations exploit family units and unaccompanied children populations and create diversion for agents, leaving areas along the Rio Grande vulnerable,” he said in a written statement.

When Border Patrol agents are entering people into the system, they cannot also be patrolling the border. The cartels know this, and they purposefully send waves of people over the border at strategic times. When agents are busy dealing with people who crossed the border, the cartels know the border is less secure. The cartels choose those times to send human traffickers and drug shipments across the border.

Without a physical barrier at the border near Rincon Village, the area remains a hot spot for human smuggling operations. The only deterrent to crossing is the Border Patrol.

No End in Sight to Illegal Border Crossings

In July of 2018, almost 35,000 people were arrested while trying to cross the southern U.S. border. While that figure decreased from over 40,000 in June, no one knows how many people entered the country undetected.

It is unknown whether those arrested at Rincon Village were part of a caravan of Central Americans that was marching toward the United States in April.

Sanctuary Cities Hide Gang Members

The Department of Homeland Security released a report indicating several city and county governments have ignored federal “detainer” requests. They released 142 suspected members of MS-13 and other gangs between November 2016 to June 2017.

Many of the suspects were members of the street gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13. It originated in Los Angelos neighborhoods heavily concentrated with immigrants. These immigrants fled civil wars from a variety of countries including El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua during the 1980s. MS-13 members have been convicted of everything from murder to drug trafficking while living in the US.

California, the biggest offender

A majority of the cities and counties ignoring the detainer requests were from California. They include:

• Santa Clara County, who released 22
• Los Angeles, who released 16
• and Orange County, who released 12.

Texas, Washington, and Maryland also released possible gang members. Several cities provide ongoing sanctuary to illegal immigrants, despite the potential threat to their communities.

Maryland and California have both recently passed sanctuary state laws. Several of California’s cities have been fighting against their state law. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan vetoed the sanctuary state bill, yet it has been retintroduced in the House again this year.

Immigration reform was a focal point of President Trump’s campaign. Since the election, his administration has taken action by ordering enhanced border enforcement, banning nationals of eight countries from entering the United States, and even reversing the decline in arrests of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S.

During Trump’s State of the Union address, he stated,

“Many gang members have taken advantage of “glaring loopholes and our laws to enter the country as illegal, unaccompanied, alien minors.”

Newport Beach Fights Back Against California ‘Sanctuary State’ Law

A California city is considering a resolution that defies the state’s new sanctuary state law.

Newport Beach, a city of 85,000 in Orange County, is considering a resolution that would exempt the city from compliance with a new law. This state law bars police from reporting to federal immigration authorities detainees who are subject to deportation.

A Safe Haven for Illegal Immigration

SB 54 was signed into law in October 2017 by Governor Jerry Brown. It prohibits law enforcement from asking the immigration status of people they arrest. This controversial law made California a true sanctuary state. Illegal immigrants can live without being held accountable for breaking U.S. immigration law.

Newport Beach’s resolution states the city “respects and supports the United States Constitution” and is “committed to protecting the city of Newport Beach’s residents through the enforcement of local, state, and federal laws.”

The council also calls the state law a “conflict between state and federal law.” They say it is now difficult for California residents to be protected by local law enforcement.

This is not the first time Newport Beach has fought this law. In August 2017, before Governor Brown signed SB 54 into law, Newport Beach sent a letter to the state legislature strongly opposing the bill.

However, some cities do support the new law. Santa Ana voted in favor of SB 54, and Fullerton is staying neutral.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against California under the Supremacy Clause. A sanctuary state law obstructs standing immigration law, thus violating the Constitution.

Newport Beach is not the only city fighting this sanctuary state law. Several cities, including Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach, have either joined the federal lawsuit or filed a suit of their own. San Juan Capistrano, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo and Yorba Linda are also opposed to the law.

Newport Beach’s council will hear the matter on Tuesday.

Arizona Border Officer An Illegal Immigrant Who Lied About Citizenship

An officer with the United States Border Patrol in Arizona was recently exposedto be an illegal immigrant.

Marco Antonio De La Garza, Jr. was hired to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency in April of 2012. At that time, he told the hiring officials he had been born in Brownsville, Texas. This was not true. De la Garza was born in Matamoros, Mexico, across the Rio Grande from Brownsville.

More questions than answers

In October of 2017, De la Garza lied about his status again, this time as part of a background check update. An indictment filed Wednesday accuses him of lying to obtain a U.S. passport as well.

The truth was discovered as part of the background check update. The midwife who claimed he was born in Texas was convicted of conspiring to make false statements on birth certificates in 1984. This was just three years after De la Garza was born. Records obtained from Mexico show that De la Garza was registered for school in that country with a Mexican birth record.

While the officer was arrested in February and now faces felony charges, questions are swirling about how a Mexican national became a border patrol officer for the United States. CBP isn’t answering questions about De la Garza’s job status. Reportedly, he has been fired. Cosme Lopez, the spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office, refused to comment on how De la Garza could have been hired to begin with.

It’s not the first time that the Border Patrol has come under fire for less than stringent background checks. Also under scrutiny will be cases that De la Garza handled while on duty on the Mexican border.

Democrats Cave on Government Shutdown, but DACA Isn’t Going Away

On Monday morning, Senate Democrats voted to end debate and schedule a vote to terminate the government shutdown, after the GOP promised to address immigration reform soon.

The federal shutdown started Friday night at midnight after Democrats refused to support a funding bill. They refused to vote in favor of any funding unless they got a guarantee from the Republicans that Dreamers, or illegal immigrants who came here as children, won’t be deported.

Democrats tied immigration to the appropriations bill to force discussion. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reassured them that the debate “will have a level playing field at the outset and an amendment process that’s fair to all sides.”

The Fight Over Immigration Continues…

The vote passed by a wide margin of 81-18, with only two GOP senators voting no: Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-UT). Other senators voting no were Democrats looking at a possible presidential run, such as pro-sanctuary city advocate Kamala Harris (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ).

Tonight’s vote will fund the government for the next month and end the current shutdown. However, the greater issue of the Obama-era protections for illegal immigrants shows no sign of a resolution anytime soon.

A memo recently revealed that Democrats view illegal immigrants are “critical” to the left’s “future electoral success.” Some Republicans have also defended DACA, asking for amnesty for those who are already here.

This resolution also funds the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a program that protects families who earn too much to apply for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance plans. CHIP is funded for the next six years.