President Joe Biden, in his zeal to position himself as the “anti-Trump,” has caused the illegal immigration situation to get even worse. By removing the vast majority of his predecessor’s immigration policies, he has reinstated an approach that will only ensure that the population of illegal aliens grows in the United States.
In late July, Axios reported:
About 50,000 migrants who crossed the southern border illegally have now been released in the United States without a court date. Although they are told to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office instead, just 13% have shown up so far.
This trend is the exact problem that critics of the “Catch and Release” policies of Presidents Bush and Obama highlight. Most of the individuals residing in the country illegally did not sneak across the border. They first went through the legal process, then overstayed their visas or failed to show up for court dates. In this case, the Biden administration isn’t even giving them court dates when releasing them into the country.
Axios noted that it is “unprecedented” to release migrants without giving them an official notice to make a court appearance. The report explained:
The hope has been for migrants to show up at these offices after reaching their final destination, to get work permits.
The situation at the southern border is still getting worse. Earlier this week, it was revealed that the number of Customs and Border Protection encounters with illegals was likely much higher in July than it was in June. The fact that so many migrants are attempting to make the journey to the border — despite the sweltering heat — is not a positive sign. If they are willing to travel in this weather, how many more will come when temperatures cool?
This, combined with the fact that Biden is releasing thousands and thousands of migrants into the country without even pretending to try to ensure they will go through the legal process signals a dire situation in the future. As of this moment, there is no end in sight for the migrant crisis, and it could persist well into next year.
While the Democrats’ mishandling of the border issue will likely play into their defeat in the 2022 midterm elections, the damage will likely already be done. Indeed, the nation will probably not see any real action to curb illegal immigration and address the border crisis until 2024 — if and when Democrats lose the White House.
This raises an obvious question: How much of this is incompetence on Biden’s part and how much is deliberate? It is no secret that Democrats favor both legal and illegal immigration because they seek to use it to gain electoral advantages. By pandering to these individuals, Democrats seek to expand their voter base. They also wish to use immigration to increase populations in blue states to get more seats in the House and more electoral votes. It is for this reason why so many blue states have sanctuary policies designed to shield illegals from deportation.
On the other hand, Biden’s team has to know that haphazardly releasing migrants into the country, without any means of keeping track of them, is not going to play well with moderate Democratic voters – especially those living in border states like Arizona and New Mexico. It is not farfetched to imagine that these individuals might be willing to pull the lever for Republicans as the situation becomes worse.
So, is this a deliberate attempt to import voters or yet another example of Biden’s ineptitude? At this point, it’s not easy to tell. But one thing is clear — the actions of this administration have essentially given the green light to anyone wishing to enter the United States illegally.
The message is clear: Come on over, and we will roll out the red carpet for you.
As we used to say in 2016, “This is how you got Trump.” This might be how they will get him – or someone like him – again in 2024.
