Already this fiscal year, the U.S. has seen record-breaking numbers of illegal immigrants crossing the border. So far, over 2.1 million encounters with one month to go.
We’ve seen border states attempt to shame the Biden administration into doing something about it by sending illegal immigrants to northern, liberal areas.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has another idea. He’s introducing a bill that would allow individual states to enforce federal immigration laws, and deport illegal immigrants.
Senator Josh Hawley unveils bill that would allow states to enforce federal immigration law, deport migrants https://t.co/rIdPHLBNws
— ImmigLawProfBlog (@immprof) September 28, 2022
Granting More Power To States
Hawley’s bill, the “Empowering States to Deport Illegal Immigrants Act,” would:
- Let state prosecutors bring charges for immigration violations
- Allow states to deport illegal immigrants
- Allow border states more leeway in actually closing their borders with Mexico
Conservatives have been pushing for such changes for some time.
During a recent appearance on the Fox News Channel with host Laura Ingraham, Hawley talked about the legislation and said:
“If Joe Biden isn’t going to enforce immigration laws why don’t we let the states enforce immigration laws? The State of Texas would love to, the states of Florida, Arizona, they’d love to enforce immigration laws. Let them do it, let’s let them secure the border, let’s let them deport illegal immigrants according to our laws. Let’s take the gloves off here, let’s enforce the law, let’s restore order to the border.”
Joe Biden is getting what he wanted: an open border and the destruction of the US immigration system. And the American people are paying the price. Secretary Mayorkas must go – enough is enough https://t.co/7W3JXuKAFL
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 21, 2022
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Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands
While the Biden administration continues to insist that the southern border is “closed,” governors like Greg Abbott in Texas and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey have begun taking matters into their own hands.
Back in July, both Abbott and Ducey began transporting busloads of illegal immigrants to self-declared “sanctuary cities” like New York City and Washington D.C. It didn’t take long for the whining from sanctuary city mayors to begin.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams begged the federal government for help as the city’s homeless shelters were being overrun. Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser asked the federal government to deploy National Guard troops to her city, and claimed that immigrants were somehow being “tricked” into getting on busses headed for New York and Washington D.C.
While calling for National Guard troops, Bowser also added that “local taxpayers are not picking up the tab.”
But perhaps the best illustration of how sanctuary cities don’t really mean sanctuary, is of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sending two planeloads of illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard.
Left-wing pundits accused DeSantis of “human trafficking,” and it sent the residents of the tony liberal enclave into a tizzy, declaring they had no way to house and feed just 50 migrants. In less than 48 hours, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker had activated 125 National Guard troops and the migrants were deported off the island to nearby Joint Base Cape Cod.
Aptly named The #EmpoweringStatestoDeportIllegalImmigrantsAct by Sen. Josh Hawley, on Tues would allow states to "enforce" federal immigration law, incl the deportation of illegal immigrants – as Hawley calls for the U.S. to "take the gloves off" to fight illegal immigration.
— Elaine (@lainey116) September 27, 2022
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No End In Sight
As Americans listen to Biden administration officials repeatedly tell them that the border is closed and secure, The Political Insider’s own Kat Anderson recently looked at the numbers. The results are pretty alarming.
In August, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) reported 203,598 “encounters” with migrants at the border. That we know of, because there is no way to track how many “gotaways” avoided Border Patrol Agents and entered the country.
With one month left in Fiscal Year 2022, the total number of encounters is a staggering 2,150,370. The total for Fiscal Year 2021 was 1.7 million, marking an increase of 450,000 this year. Getting a bit anxious yet?
More people have crossed illegally into the United States than the populations of both Chicago and Houston. It is more than the population of 15 states combined. And what should really send a collective chill down the collective American spine, it is more than the total number of active military personnel in Russia, China, and the U.S.
If Josh Hawley’s bill becomes law, border states will truly be the front line against what some in those states are rightly calling an invasion.
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