Facing impeachment proceedings in the House, failed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visited the border this week, presumably to once again admire the catastrophic consequences of his administration's policies firsthand. The reasons for the ongoing disaster, which reached new depths in December, aren't shrouded in mystery or nuance. They are the undeniable and direct result of President Biden's decisions, as carried out by Mayorkas. The DHS chief used the occasion of his visit to launch a shameless, misleading, dishonest defense of his actions. Among his insulting talking points was this supposedly "very important" context he insisted upon emphasizing:
MAYORKAS: "It is very important to understand that when an individual is released, they are released into immigration enforcement proceedings!"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 8, 2024
(That means they're released into communities and asked to appear in court YEARS from now) pic.twitter.com/EKbiuEYrhY
In an interview with Fox's Bret Baier several days ago, Mayorkas admitted he is aware that more than 70 percent of illegal immigrants encountered at the border are released into the United States (this does not count the throngs of known 'got-aways,' nearly two million of whom have entered the country on Biden's watch). In a piece of updated reporting correspondent Bill Melugin cites sources who say the percentage of releases is actually even higher:
BREAKING: Per three Border Patrol sources who were in the room, while meeting privately with agents in Eagle Pass, TX today, DHS Sec. Mayorkas admitted that the current release rate for migrants caught crossing the border illegally is “above 85%”.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 8, 2024
I’m awaiting comment from DHS.
Melugin had previously noted that Mayorkas' concession of this point contradicted Karine Jean-Pierre's categorical denial that mass releases were happening under the Biden administration. Quite obviously, they are. What Mayorkas is trying to argue here, I think, is that these endless releases don't qualify as mass releases because there is a patina of enforcement in the mix, in the form of pending "proceedings." This is laughable. We've seen documentation that some of these notices to appear are now requiring illegal immigrants to show up in court years from now, as late as 2031. Telling someone that they'll face some administrative event seven or eight years down the line might as well be no enforcement at all. Many of these people will never show up, and the notion that the feds will expend any effort tracking them down or removing them is fanciful.
This is especially true under Democratic leadership, as Biden and Mayorkas have made it official policy to not deport even illegal immigrants who are convicted of any number of additional crimes, beyond illegal presence inside the United States. These are mass releases at an open border, no matter how much this crew tries to dress it up as something else. Meanwhile, CBS News is very concerned about the cost of Texas relocating tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to sanctuary jurisdictions around the country, and they've found someone to highlight who shares their objection to the practice:
Gov. Greg Abbott’s effort to bus migrants to cities run by Democrats has already cost the state of Texas more than $100 million, a CBS News investigation found.
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) January 9, 2024
A woman who worked on the inside is speaking out about why she will no longer participate. https://t.co/R5WLRc64Qh pic.twitter.com/VOZQodhNHp
The Democrat-media stance on the border crisis is that the floodgates must remain open, any efforts by Texas to deter illegal immigration is cruel, any effort to enforce the law is beyond Texas' jurisdiction, and that Texas should just smile and accept wave after wave of illegal immigrants -- and deal with all the resulting problems down there. And, crucially, pro-illegal immigration and "sanctuary" politicians must not be bothered with, or confronted by, the governing outcomes they support. They should be allowed to applaud open borders from afar, without any repercussions rudely delivered to their doorstep by Texas. That is, effectively, their position. It's pathetic and unacceptable and hypocritical. If anything, the Lone Star State should push the price tag to $200 million and redouble its efforts to force sanctuary jurisdictions to shoulder their "fair share" (to borrow a phrase) of the crisis they -- and not Texas -- have invited and exacerbated. Finally, on the subject of sanctuary cities, there's this horrible story, in case you missed it:
‘Illegal Immigrant Deported Four Times Charged With Killing Colorado Mother, Son In DUI Crash’
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 9, 2024
Had been convicted of four previous driving/alcohol offenses & was protected by sanctuary policies. Then he allegedly killed two people in yet another incident: https://t.co/GHDs12EXJA
A man who came to the U.S. illegally and was subsequently deported four times allegedly killed a mother and her son in Colorado, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Jose Guadalupe Menjivar-Alas, who is from El Salvador, was previously deported four times after initially sneaking into the country undetected, ICE said. Menjivar-Alas, 37, was charged with vehicular homicide reckless, vehicular homicide DUI and habitual traffic offender after he allegedly crashed his vehicle and killed 47-year-old Melissa Powell and her 16-year-old son, Riordan, on Dec. 12, according to the Broomfield Police Department. The accused has four convictions from Boulder County Court for alcohol-related driving offenses that occurred between 2007 and 2019, ICE said...“The failures of Colorado’s sanctuary policies allowed a convicted criminal to stay in our local communities on probation, intentionally avoiding notifying ICE. If sanctuary policies were abolished, these unnecessary deaths could have been prevented," [a former ICE official said]...“ICE records show that the subject has been previously removed and has no regard for immigration law," [an ICE spokesperson said].
Highlighting this story is not an effort to paint immigrants -- illegal or otherwise -- as disproportionately dangerous. Data shows that they're not. But every single crime committed by someone who has no right to be in this country is an outrage. Every single death caused by someone who has no right to be in this country is a more serious outrage. This four-time deportee managed to keep getting back into the US (under administrations of both political parties, it seems), and then was protected by "sanctuary" policies that allowed him to remain in Colorado despite a string of alcohol-related driving convictions. He was shielded from further enforcement, which permitted him to continue in his criminal ways, and has now allegedly led to the deaths of two innocent Americans, including a minor.
Politicians who support loose-to-no immigration enforcement and embrace "sanctuary" policies are complicit in these horrible outcomes. And at roughly 10 million illegal crossings since Biden took office, untold numbers of dangerous people have entered this country over the past three years. There will be more horrific incidents like this. Why should any of them be tolerable, or excused? I'll leave you with a reminder of why an illegal immigrant allegedly involved in a deadly car crash while under the influence is particularly personal to me: