In the seemingly unending saga of illegal immigration, the end of a COVID-era measure has resulted in chaos at the U.S. border. Now authorities will have to deal with a previous law known as Title 8. However, with such a large wave of humanity coming at once, it will be impossible to follow the measure as written. What will this mean for those crossing, as well as for Americans who have been handling the in-country illegal population that has exploded during the Biden administration? This morning, May 12, authorities are scrambling to fix a mess of their own making.
The notion that America does not have an immigration policy is patently false. Title 8 says in part that those with “communicable disease of public health significance” as well as those with “physical or mental disorders” that could pose “a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the alien or others” are “inadmissible.” Also on the list are those determined to be drug abusers or addicts. The measure additionally covers many more restrictions that would exclude those involved in prostitution and individuals convicted of certain crimes. Such as it is, the law is clear – but will it be followed? Perhaps more important: Can it be followed?
The answer is patently clear as well: It can’t.
Processing this wave of humanity is, in practical terms, an impossibility and renders Title 8 useless. An unenforceable law is no law at all. Considering the massive influx of people determined to get across the border any way they can, there appears to be no process in place to comply with immigration laws, so authorities are stumbling and bumbling their way along. El Paso is no Ellis Island. State authorities are bumping up against federal authorities, and it seems no one is in charge.
U.S. Border Overwhelmed
(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents told Fox Digital yesterday, May 11, that they apprehended 10,000 migrants. And that was for the third day in a row. CBP “has approximately 26,000 migrants in federal custody. Capacity across the southern border is about 19,000, and multiple sectors are well over capacity right now.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a stern warning to hopeful migrants in what many are saying is a message two years too late. “I want to be very clear: our borders are not open. People who cross our border unlawfully and without a legal basis to remain will be promptly processed and removed,” Mayorkas said.
The left often talks about the inhumanity of closed borders. Still, one should also consider the inhumanity of letting thousands of people into the country with no plan to deal with them. Where do they go? Where will they be clothed, housed, and fed? People who have nothing also have nothing to lose, and many will do anything to find a way to survive. This will mean American communities are flooded with people living on the edge. Although it sounds untenable, this is precisely what is happening because “mass street releases” were given the go-ahead earlier this week.
A mass street release is exactly what it sounds like. Once federal and non-governmental organizations reach capacity, it will be every man for himself. The Biden administration has the audacity to call these “safe” releases. Safe for whom? Certainly not the migrants, nor the community in which they are summarily dumped.
A Federal Intervention?
Just hours before the expiration of the Title 42 public health measure – which superseded Title 8 – a federal judge blocked the implementation of the Biden administration’s plans to deal with the so-called “street release.” The scheme would have allowed for the release of migrants without a set court date and merely a promise to appear before a court after two months for further vetting. This unchecked “parole” would have been implemented if capacity at holding centers breached 125% – a situation that is as close to a certainty as one can expect.
Judge T. Kent Wetherell II issued a two-week restraining order on the policy.
Other efforts to stem the impending wave are underway courtesy of Congress. The GOP-controlled House on Thursday passed a border security bill in a 219-213 vote. The Secure the Border Act “includes measures to restart border wall construction and significantly increase the number of Border Patrol agents,” Fox News is reporting. It also “would expand the type of crimes that make someone ineligible for asylum, limit the eligibility to those who arrive at ports of entry, would mandate a system similar to the E-Verify employment eligibility verification system and would create additional penalties for visa overstay.”
Meanwhile, the administration is warning migrants that they will face stiff penalties if they illegally cross over the U.S. border. Either the illegals aren’t listening or they don’t believe the president will do what he says. It is a situation unfair to the illegal population and a betrayal of the American people who will have to pay to keep these folks above the poverty level – if that’s even possible. Today is just the continuation of this American-made nightmare that has now reached historic levels. It is a palpable dereliction of duty to permit these people to enter our homeland, and it’s likely to change the face of America for decades to come.
