Migrants sit in a queue outside of The Roosevelt Hotel that is being used by the city as temporary housing, Monday, July 31, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) John Minchillo/AP
The Biden border crisis rages on
Washington Examiner August 22, 12:01 AM August 22, 12:01 AM Video Embed
What little progress President Joe Biden made in bringing a semblance of order to the southern border in June was wiped out by a huge surge of immigrants in July, numbers released Friday by the Department of Homeland Security show.
The latest border encounter numbers reveal that the border crisis Biden created is not abating at all. It can be no surprise that Democratic cities and states — eight so far — are declaring emergencies because they are feeling the pain inflicted by Biden’s border policies that they supported.
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There were 183,503 total encounters at the border in July, 27% more than the 144,566 encountered in June. June’s number was an improvement from 206,701 in May. All three numbers dwarf the 25,019 encountered in July 2017.
Former President Barack Obama’s DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson once testified that anything more than 1,000 encounters a day represented a “crisis.” President Joe Biden has overseen 29 straight months higher than the highest month under the previous administration.
It is no longer just Republicans sounding the alarm. Democratic mayors and governors have declared states of emergency in their jurisdictions to deal with the flood of immigrants overwhelming their communities.
“This influx of migrants, the unanticipated nature of their arrival, and our current space and staffing challenges have put an immense strain on city resources to the level where they’re on the verge of reaching a breaking point at this time,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said in December.
“State employees and our partners have been miracle workers throughout this crisis,” Gov. Maura Healey (D-MA) said earlier this month. “But in recent months, demand has increased to levels that our emergency shelter system cannot keep up with, especially as the number of families leaving shelter has dwindled due to a lack of affordable housing options and barriers to securing work.”
Other Democrats declaring states of emergency include former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser, Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Each of these Democrats has reached out to the White House in hope of securing money to house, clothe, feed, educate, and provide healthcare for their unwanted (but not uninvited) guests. The Biden administration has met many of these requests and they are even coming to Congress to ask for more money to provide housing services to immigrants.
Under no circumstances should Republicans authorize a single dime to help Democratic cities and states deal with Biden’s migrant crisis until the president agrees to change his policies and fix the debacle he delivered to the nation.
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That means no more illegal parole programs, no more catch and release of immigrants arrested at the southern border, and most importantly it means the resumption of the effective “Remain in Mexico” program.
Millions of immigrants from around the world are traveling to the United States because they know Biden is letting them in and allowing them to stay. Until that policy changes, millions more will keep coming.
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Outstanding feature
Excellent write-up