OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden promised that he would secure the border with Mexico during his State of the Union address, but not everyone believes him.
“Folks, if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure our border and fix the immigration system,” the president said on Monday.
“And as you might guess, I think we can do both. At our border, we’ve installed new technology like cutting-edge scanners to better detect drug smuggling.
“We’ve set up joint patrols with Mexico and Guatemala to catch more human traffickers,” he said.
“We’re putting in place dedicated immigration judges in significant larger number so families fleeing persecution and violence can have their cases heard faster and those who don’t legitimately here can be sent back.
“We’re screening, we’re securing commitments and supporting partners in South and Central America to host more refugees and secure their own borders,” he insisted.
“We can do all this while keeping lit the torch of liberty that has led the generation of immigrants to this land — my forebears and many of yours.
“Provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers, essential workers,” he said, which is not popular with Republicans,” he said.
“Revise our laws so businesses have workers they need and families don’t wait decades to reunite.
“It’s not only the right thing to do — it’s economically smart thing to do,” he said. “That’s why immigration reform is supported by everyone from labor unions to religious leaders to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Let’s get it done once and for all.”
But some Border Patrol agents who spoke with Fox News after the speech believe that the president does not intend to secure the border.
“Very few people within CBP believe this administration will actually secure the border, they just do not believe in it,” one border agent said to Fox News. “All of their actions, comments and practices are solely about pushing in as many illegal aliens as possible, not just those from the Americas but from around the world.”
But other agents were not as kind.
“F—ing pandering 101, full of sh–,” another agent said.
“I laughed,” another said.
An agent who said he did not even watch the address said, “Figured it would be all lies and smoke…We’re losing so many agents, they’re fed up.”
“We all know he doesn’t care about secure borders,” another agent said.
“Immigration judges usually tend to follow the tendencies or intentions of their appointing administration, that means I and many other agents have little faith in them to actually follow immigration law,” another agent argued. “The vast majority of these illegal aliens have no legitimate claims to asylum but administration-picked and taxpayer-funded lawyers will argue otherwise. Unemployment, inability to buy groceries, domestic violence, bad schools and bad weather are not legitimate claims, period.”
Former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf also did not believe what the president said.
“That mention of border and immigration security was lip service. Nothing more. No vision, no strategy,” he said in a tweet. “Just a wish list and another hollow push for immigration reform legislation. I think the President may have forgotten he has authority to fix the crisis NOW.”
That mention of border and immigration security was lip service. Nothing more. No vision, no strategy. Just a wish list and another hollow push for immigration reform legislation. I think the President may have forgotten he has authority to fix the crisis NOW.
— Chad Wolf (@ChadFWolf) March 2, 2022
Fox News reported:
There were approximately 1.7 million migrant encounters at the border in Fiscal Year 2021 as numbers flooded to the border. The Biden administration has blamed “root causes” like violence and poverty in Central America, but Republicans (and many Border Patrol agents) have pointed to the rollback of Trump-era border protections, reduced interior enforcement and calls from Washington D.C. for amnesty for illegal immigrants as reasons for the surge.
There are signs that the crisis will continue well into FY 2022. An official told Fox News last month that approximately 220,000 illegal immigrants have evaded Border Patrol since October, coming during months that are typically slower for border crossings.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced recently that there were 153,941 migrant encounters in January 2022. In January 2021, there were 78,414 migrant encounters.
