The Future - Today & Tomorrow's Immigration Policy Series - Just the Truth Part One
America is an Immigrant Nation. This is a fact, period, full stop. The only actual Native Americans are the Indigenous Native Americans who's land was forcibly taken from them. The conversation and related actions regarding immigration policy has been disjointed, muddled, purposefully weaponized against Non-White Immigrants, Jewish Immigrants and Southern/Eastern European immigrants and has rarely been structured to work in positive ways for the benefit of America. Taking an honest assessment of our past is mandatory to create a functional, effective and fair policy system moving forward.
The Future - Today & Tomorrow believes in driving policy solutions along with the support of candidates to achieve elective office. Immigration is an area where a functional, effective and fair system can be created, with an understanding of how we got here and how not to make policy based upon lies, fear and discriminatory inputs to adopt new legislation. The following series that we're creating from The Future - Today & Tomorrow, will address our actual legal structure of our immigration system, what are the different paths for immigration, addressing the lies that are enveloping our immigration policy decisions and offer our version of a comprehensive immigration and border security proposal, with budgetary and staffing recommendations and impact analysis that will hopefully drive the discussion moving from this point. We will present our series in a question and answer format model to hopefully make it easier to follow. Our first edition will focus on background of what are the underpinnings of our legal immigration system and address the vetting process for immigrants who come through either legal ports of entry or via illegal crossings.
Immigration - Why is it difficult to upgrade these laws?
To create sound, effective and proactive immigration structure, we have to deal with the following realities and barriers within our Congressional body, which starts with MAGA Dictatorship Republicans (including the previous Tea Party Nationalists Republicans). Since the last major immigration reform law, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) passed with Non-MAGA Republican and Democratic support and was signed into law by Republican President Ronald Reagan, Democratic and Non-MAGA Republican elected members of Congress have introduced legislation to:
Despite these concerted efforts which would have invested trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands in personnel additions over the past 37 years, Nativist Republicans of all iterations, especially MAGA Republicans, have opposed these efforts by killing legislative efforts to improve the situation and giving President Biden (and previous President's Clinton, Bush 43 and Obama) and the Administrative Agencies the tools to work in real time realities, not 1986 conditions. Any efforts to address immigration and the Border require this first step of understanding the MAGA Republican unwillingness to vote for common sense legislative proposals or to comprise on bills with Democratic, Independent and Non-MAGA Republican/MAGA Republican support. ?
The second impediment to a practical solution is getting past MAGA Republican Racist, Sexist Fear Based Perception lies about Immigration and providing you, the American voters, with the real facts on how our immigration system works, the level of collective personnel at the border, who the immigrants really are and what happens when immigrants come into our communities.
What is our Immigration law history, in addition to the 1986 IRCA??
Our existing Immigration laws and complex and frustrating, but they exist, nonetheless. Primary immigration law rests in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)[1], which was enacted in 1952. The INA collected many provisions and reorganized the structure of immigration law and has been amended many times over the years. The INA is contained in the United States Code (U.S.C.). The U.S. Code is a collection of all the laws of the United States. Title 8 of the U.S. Code[2] covers "Aliens and Nationality.".??
Our Immigration policies have never been rooted in the idealistic vision of Ellis Island and the poem written on the Statute of Liberty. We must be truthful with ourselves, like the Detroit Lions Football team was when they finally hired Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes after 65 years of consistent failure, but that's another article. America has a history of racist and discriminatory immigration policies, even discriminating against Southern and Eastern Europeans and Jewish Europeans trying to escape from Nazi Germany’s ethnic genocide on the Jewish population. Initially, the 1790 Naturalization Act limited citizenship to "free white persons." Over time, various laws, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the creation of an "Asiatic Barred Zone" in 1917, directly restricted immigration based on race and nationality. The 1924 National Origins Act further imposed quotas favoring immigrants from Western European countries, which discriminated against those from other European regions, South and Central America. ?
The history of U.S. immigration policy is marked by a series of laws that reflect the changing attitudes and circumstances of different periods, particularly regarding race and ethnicity:
It wasn't until the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act that the U.S. abolished the national origins quota system, and the 1980 Refugee Act and the 1986 IRCA, that our laws started leading towards a more diverse immigrant population. These laws reflect a history of racial and ethnic considerations significantly shaping U.S. immigration policy. Overall, U.S. immigration laws have evolved from racially and ethnically discriminatory policies to more inclusive ones, yet the MAGA White Nationalist Driven Republicans (Non-MAGA Republicans are separate and apart from this majority within the party) is seeking to return to America’s racist and exclusionary policies.
?
What is the real situation regarding border security and enforcement of our immigration laws?
While MAGA Dictatorship Republicans lie about our current border situation, we will give you statistical and objective facts to help you make your own conclusions.
Do we have an “open border”? No, we don’t have an open border. We apprehend, collect information and process people who come seeking asylum, as refugees and migrants who are all hoping to become American citizens and we deport, stop and return those who may wish to do harm to our country. We have apprehended, expelled and deemed inadmissible. Despite the global conditions that have driven a significant increase in migration (climate disasters, wars, gang control over South and Central American Since President Biden has been in office through September 2023, Custom & Border Patrol and ICE Enforcement & Removal Officers have arrested (apprehensions) over 6.29 million people crossing our border outside of legal ports of entry and has expelled or removed over 3.657 million people back to their country of origin or a third country. In addition to these removals by CBP, another 1.09 million persons arrested for unauthorized entry are transferred to either ICE or the Department of Health and Human Services for additional processing. Of those deported, the Biden Administration has deported or stopped over 509,000 persons with criminal records from entering the United States.?
In absolute terms, the Biden DHS is removing 3.5 times as many people per month as the Trump DHS did. These figures fly against the MAGA lies about enforcement of our border and how Democratic elected officials and administration officials respond to enforcing our laws.
?
How many law enforcement officers work at the U.S. Southern Border? We currently have the following number of Federal, State, County and Local sworn law enforcement officers working at or near the U.S. Southern Border:
That’s a combined law enforcement deployment of 53,973 Federal, State, County and Municipal Law enforcement officers at the border. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) includes the 287(g) program, which allows state and local law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement roles. In California, Arizona and New Mexico, this has allowed for more proactive coordination between Federal, State and Local law enforcement agencies. Texas has taken a more antagonistic position on working with President Biden’s administration on these matters but nevertheless, the facts demonstrate that America has a protected border, not an open border.?MAGA Dictatorship Republicans, MAGA White Nationalist Republicans will lie to you about our border situation,? but the facts, staffing and enforcement actions don’t lie.
?
What about those persons who are arrested and released into the U.S. Why are they released, and do we know who they are?
A combination of the number of persons coming to make immigration claims or are arrested between legal border crossings, the backlog of cases within the Immigration court system and the lack of requisite Federal funding to match housing, shelter and detention facility needs, are the factors that lead to why apprehended migrants are released. However, they aren’t released without conditions and immigration proceedings.?
Section Title II: Immigration, §1226. Apprehension and detention of aliens Sec. 3(B)(ii) of our current Immigration laws allow the Attorney General and/or designed official (Secretary of Homeland Security) provides the ability to release arrested immigrants from Federal custody if the there is no custodial space to detain them while awaiting their scheduled case proceedings, they pose no danger threat to the U.S. and persons or property within the U.S. and is likely to return for their immigration hearing. Under U.S.C. 1226, 8 U.S.C. 1229, and U.S.C. 1229a, any released migrant has been assessed and screened and is only released once they are deemed a non-threat, they have a scheduled date for their next immigration hearing or related proceedings and a growing number have geo-location tracking tools provided for tracking purposes. Despite MAGA Donald Trump, the MAGA Dictatorship Republicans and their MAGA Conservative Mainstream Media says, no one is released without proper legal vetting consistent with required dates for further legal proceedings to determine their final legal status for admission or deportation status.
Don’t most released migrants ignore their summons or warrants for appearance?
Over 80% of non-detained immigrants return for their immigration hearings and proceedings, MAGA John and the MAGA Anti-Immigrant Republicans lie about this fact, but there is order in the system. One example of this evidence is the January 2021 report “Measuring?In Absentia?Removal in Immigration Court” conducted and published by the American Immigration Council. This report analyzed the U.S. Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) own court records in immigration cases. AIC reviewed 2,797,437 non-detained removal proceedings from the period between fiscal years 2008 and 2018. These proceedings included both individuals who were never detained and those who were released from detention. The following outcomes disabuse the myth by MAGA White Nationalists Think Tanks and MAGA NGO’s that released migrants don’t return for their cases to be adjudicated:?
The MAGA Dictatorship Republicans say that noncitizen immigrants, especially those who are arrested and released pending an immigration hearing are committing rising and out of control crime sprees in America, is that true?
No, this is not true. There are many independent studies and law enforcement incident reports that show that immigrants coming to our Southern Border don’t increase crime and aren’t terrorizing cities. MAGA John, MAGA Racist Republicans, MAGA Conservative Republican Media, Traditional Media and even some of my Democratic Colleagues are lying and misleading you on this subject.
The U.S.-Mexico border extends 1,954 miles, spanning four states and about 26 land Ports of Entry (POEs). CBP must interdict illicit substances across this vast and sometimes rugged expanse, both between and at POEs. CBP data indicates most illicit drug substances are smuggled through POEs, contrary to common belief that they are smuggled between ports of entry, particularly in areas without fencing or other physical barriers. The data also indicates that most illicit fentanyl encountered by CBP is smuggled through POEs at the southern border.
The Border Patrol and OFO seized a total of 241,000 pounds of illicit drug substances along the southern border, both at and between POEs, in FY 2023. In FY 2023, OFO seized 176,000 pounds of illicit drug substances at POEs, accounting for about 73 percent of the total amount seized at the southern border. The Border Patrol, which covers areas between POEs, seized the remainder 65,000 pounds, or 27 percent. The trend at the southern border mirrors the nationwide trend: seizures at the southern border by pounds are down compared to previous years, including 16 percent below FY 2022 and 66 percent below FY 2020. Overall, seizures at the southern border in FY 2023 account for 44 percent of Border Patrol and OFO seizures nationwide.
Where Are Drugs?Seized?
Share of seized drugs by weight in fiscal year 2023
At ports of entry or between ports of entry
Heroin
92% At ports of entry
8% Between ports of entry
Fentanyl
89% At ports of entry
11% Between ports of entry
Methamphetamine
88% At ports of entry
12% Between ports of entry
Cocaine
86% At ports of entry
14% Between ports of entry
Marijuana
72% At ports of entry
28% Between ports of entry
Note: Percentages reflect seizures along the southwestern border by the Office of Field Operations, which generally confiscates drugs at ports of entry, and by Customs and Border Protection, which generally seizes drugs between ports of entry.
From January 21, 2021 through September 30, 2023, CBP arrested 35,433 illegal aliens with criminal convictions nationwide, including 598 known gang members. In addition, 294 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist have been apprehended at the Southwest border between ports of entry since the beginning of FY 2021.?
Various studies have found that undocumented immigrants have no tangible impact on increases in crime in the United States. For example, a 2020 study (Comparing Crime Rates Between Undocumented Immigrants, Legal Immigrants, and Native-born US Citizens in Texas[1]) using uniquely comprehensive arrest data from the Texas Department of Public Safety compared the criminality of undocumented immigrants to legal immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens between 2012 and 2018. Texas DPS 2012 through 2018 arrest data for violent, property, drug, and traffic arrest rates of native-born citizens, legal immigrants, and undocumented immigrants found that native-born citizens and legal immigrants, undocumented immigrants have the lowest felony arrest rates across all four crime types. US-born citizens are over 2 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and over 4 times more likely to be arrested for property crimes than undocumented immigrants.
Separately, the report analyzed Texas DPS 2012 through 2018 arrest rates for homicide, assault, robbery, sexual assault, burglary, theft, and arson. Undocumented immigrants are roughly half as likely as native-born citizens to be arrested for homicide, felonious assault, and sexual assault. The gaps for robbery, burglary, theft, and arson are considerably larger, whereby native-born citizens are between 3 and 5 times more likely to be arrested for these criminal offenses.
Additionally, an Axios analysis[2] of eight U.S. border communities that reported crime data to the FBI in 2021 found they have lower violent crime and homicide rates than the national average. On average, the eight cities?—?Brownsville, McAllen, Laredo, Eagle Pass and El Paso in Texas, Sunland Park in New Mexico, Yuma in Arizona, and San Diego?—?had a violent crime rate of 333.6 per 100,000 residents, compared to 388.57 for the national average, a difference of 54.97 crimes per 100,000 residents and 16.5% lower crime rate for these border cities. The same cities also had a homicide rate of 4.5 per 100,000 residents in 2021, compared to 6.8 in the nation. (The homicide rate in the same cities was 4.2 in 2020). Yuma was the only community near the border in 2021 that had violent crime and murder rates higher than the national average. Comparing border cities to other similar sized U.S. Urban cities, Eagle Pass, a city of 29,500, had a violent crime rate of 179.6 per 100,000 people vs Jackson, Michigan, a city of 32,250, had a violent crime rate of 1,094.5 per 100,000 people, an Axios analysis found. Additional studies that have identified similar findings include:
Do Immigrants Threaten U.S. Public Safety? https://www.dallasfed.org/-/media/documents/research/papers/2019/wp1905.pdf
Is There a Connection Between Undocumented Immigrants and Crime? The Marshall Project has compared with local crime rates published by the FBI. For the first time, there is an opportunity for a broader analysis of how unauthorized immigration might have affected crime rates since 2007. A large majority of the areas recorded decreases in both violent and property crime between 2007 and 2016, consistent with a quarter-century decline in crime across the United States.
No crime or criminal activity is to be dismissed or minimized, yet we believe in providing you, our fellow Americans with the objective data driven facts and the facts show that noncitizen, non-resident immigrants are not the causes of the majority of crimes in our communities.
Part Two of our series will provide an overview of the detailed vetting process for immigrants who reach our Southern and Northern borders. Spoiler alert, it’s extremely long, complicated and detailed.?
[2] Aliens and Nationality - https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8 and https://www.uscis.gov/laws-and-policy/regulations