The Reality Behind the Biden Administration’s Talking Points

Today, we are amid the largest border security crisis on record. Although official numbers are still not out yet, Fiscal Year 2021 has set negative record after negative record regarding the number and type of individuals crossing the border illegally. This fiscal year, we will likely reach 2 million illegal apprehensions – this includes over 400,000 “got-aways.” These are individuals that are never encountered by Border Patrol agents and never undergo the appropriate interviews and background checks to ensure they are not a public or national security threat.

Most Americans shake their heads in disbelief at the images and statistics coming from the border over the last several months. They can’t believe the situation has gotten so out of control so quickly, with little end in sight. Recent polling says that 67 percent of Americans disapprove of the Administration’s handling of immigration and border security, which are its lowest marks of any issue.

But what defies common sense and enrages Americans most is that the current response from the Biden Administration is dramatically out of touch with reality. Biden Administration officials underestimate you, the American people. They think you, especially those of you who do not live in a border state, know very little about immigration and so they decide to talk around the issues, use confusing and misleading jargon, and refuse to provide simple data to easily answerable questions.

Instead of talking plainly to you, here’s what they would like for you to believe:

“The border is just a challenge, not a crisis.” That’s right, the Administration cannot admit that it has fueled a crisis that we haven’t seen in over 20 years. The number of illegal apprehensions is at a 20-year high. A challenge along the border does not continue for over 8 months straight. A challenge along the border does not overwhelm the system to the point of having to close ports of entry and Border Patrol checkpoints, redeploy thousands of border patrol agents from other duties in other states, house foreign nationals under a bridge because you have run out of space in DHS facilities, and release others into the U.S. without any paperwork. This is not seasonal or cyclical – this is a manufactured crisis. Period – full stop. The facts don’t lie.

“The border is closed, the border is secure.” We hear this phrase quite frequently from DHS, and it is the one that is the most outrageous and ridiculous. Despite over 200,000 illegal apprehensions a month, 14,000 Haitians walking across the river unimpeded in Del Rio, Texas, and the release of hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals into the U.S., this Administration is unable to admit the obvious to the American people. The border is wide open, and the smugglers, traffickers, and cartels know this and are exploiting it daily. Illegal apprehensions along the border have increased almost every month since President Biden was sworn in and remain at a 20-year high.

“If migrants come to the U.S. illegally, they will be returned.” As a soundbite, this talking point is good. Unfortunately, the reality is altogether something different. Just look at the recent Haitians that crossed illegally. Despite the DHS Secretary saying most would be returned to Haiti, it was recently disclosed that in fact between 10,000-12,000 have been released into the U.S. rather than be deported. That is a pull factor. You can bet this fact is well advertised to others waiting to come to the U.S. illegally. Only a small minority are being removed. Most are single adults. The Biden Administration has stated that families and minors will not be deported and will remain here in the U.S. Guess which two categories of peoples are increasing each month?

“U.S. Border Patrol agents ‘will pay.’” This quote from President Biden is in reference to Border Patrol agents on horseback doing their job and apprehending foreign nationals who were breaking the law. This statement, as well as similar ones by Vice President Harris and Secretary Mayorkas, are reckless and irresponsible. Instead of supporting law enforcement agents, admitting that they work in an almost impossible environment, and waiting for the investigation to conclude, the Administration has lurched even further to the left with baseless assertions that have been debunked. Instead of attacking the crisis, they attack law enforcement.

“Every illegal migrant has the right to file an asylum claim.” While this is true according to U.S. law, aliens do not have a right to remain in the U.S. while that claim is adjudicated. DHS’ Remain in Mexico program was effective at discouraging asylum fraud while delivering protections to those who qualified for asylum in a timely manner. For sure, this program angered far-left non-governmental organizations and activists, whose primary mission is to ensure illegal aliens remain in the U.S. for an indeterminant period, since doing so is very lucrative. These groups can often be found in Mexico and Central America recruiting and coaching foreign nationals on what to say and how to act once they illegally cross the border. So, it is no surprise they disliked a program that was effective, legal, and efficient.

“We must protect vulnerable children and women.” No one disagrees with this statement, but to a point. In designing a system that allows anyone into the U.S., the Biden Administration is encouraging and facilitating one of the largest human trafficking networks we have ever seen. In one of their first official acts earlier this year, the administration announced that any minors illegally crossing the border would be allowed to stay in the U.S. rather than being returned to their home countries. This policy change resulting in a surge of minors, many of whom were smuggled and trafficked into the U.S.

“The border is the result of a broken immigration system.” Unable to explain the ongoing crisis or convince the American people that they have a solution, the Biden Administration has recently resorted to blaming a “broken immigration system” for their crisis. This is after they have tried to convince you that it was seasonal, cyclical, the result of Trump Administration policies, and perhaps the biggest lie of all – claims that the Trump Administration failed to turn over the appropriate documents during the transition period between administrations. These same voices bemoan an allegedly broken immigration system who stopped at nothing to prevent the Trump Administration from enforcing laws that, in some cases, have been on the books but unused for decades. The only thing that is broken about our immigration system is the discretion afforded those who chose not to enforce the laws.

Today’s border crisis is completely the making of this Administration. Instead of continuing effective policies that brought order and the rule of law to the border, the Biden Administration has opted to revert to the policies of yester-year where catch and release is the norm, Border Patrol and ICE officers are not permitted to do their jobs and are demoralized, and where activists and NGOs have more influence over policy than experts and local officials along the border. By choice, the Biden Administration has broken border security, and the American people smartly have taken notice.