Month: March 2021

The speedy re-opening of mothballed detention facilities and new construction projects along the border show the Biden administration knows exactly what is on the horizon. In a press conference on Monday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas clearly invites illegal border crossers to come to the United States, with one caveat — not now, but soon.

“We are not saying don’t come, we are saying don’t come now because we will be able to deliver a safe and orderly process to them as quickly as possible,” Secretary Mayorkas stated when answering a question related to how long it might take to rebuild the United States’ immigration system.

The re-opening of a facility in South Texas designed to accommodate an influx of unaccompanied migrant children and soft-sided detention facilities in the Texas Rio Grande Valley serve as telling signs of things to come. Primarily, that Secretary Mayorkas understands what the future holds as a result of the administration’s recent actions on border security and messaging. The recent revocations of the Trump administration’s tough measures to deter illegal migration is a clear invite.

It should come as no surprise that DHS’s efforts to “deliver a safe and orderly process” resulted in complete disorder along the U.S. border with Mexico. The situation at the border indicates they are preparing for the onslaught.

According to law enforcement sources, a soft-sided facility to accommodate 500 detainees will be constructed in Eagle Pass, Texas. The project is slated to begin next week. This facility will allow for the processing and temporary detention of asylum seekers that DHS is inviting to come to the United States. The facility is expected to open in April.

In previous years, detention facilities were designed to detain migrants in order to swiftly return them to Mexico or their home country.  Existing immigration law affords few migrants to legally qualify for relief under asylum rules.

In light of that, Trump-era policy changes afforded for the speedy return of illegal migrants to await their asylum hearings. Through executive orders, President Joe Biden worked swiftly to undo those policies and agreements.

The detention facilities being re-opened and constructed under this administration are not for the purpose of swift removal. Instead, they are for the purpose of facilitating swift release into the United States. The facilities will only serve as welcoming centers to quickly process illegal migrants entering the United States.

On Monday, trucks delivered construction materials to the re-opened Health and Human Services detention center for minors in Carrizo Springs, Texas. This is a clear signal DHS is continuing to prepare for the inevitable — an onslaught of unaccompanied migrant children. Signage outside the facility clearly spells out the purpose of the facility, “Youth who have traveled to the US alone are being placed in this shelter while case managers find family or sponsors in the US.”

According to senior-level law enforcement sources, Biden-appointed DHS officials in the beltway seemed perturbed when discussing the deportation process. “Why are we deporting anybody?” was the question posed by a new, high-level DHS appointee during a recent meeting.   The mood at the highest levels of Customs and Border Protection management and ICE law enforcement officials is sullen. Many are expressing concern for what their field officers will be soon dealing with as a new, self-induced crisis is building.

The migrant’s hope of being allowed to enter the United States and gain release rises with each message from the Biden administration. The messengers, including Secretary Mayorkas, fail to consider the atrocities suffered by the migrants along the entire journey to the United States. They seem numb to the plight of thousands that are abused at the hands of human traffickers and the hundreds that die each year.

The migrants will still have to brave the hazards of an illegal crossing to take advantage of Secretary Mayorkas’s invitation. The border communities will continue to bear the financial burdens of caring for the migrants once released. Community leaders expressed little hope of reimbursement from the federal government. In addition, COVID-19 concerns still abound.

Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol.  Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas Sector.

The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) wrote an analysis Monday which found nearly 50 opportunities to win five districts for Republicans to gain a majority in the House during the 2022 midterm elections.

CLF President Dan Conston wrote that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) had targeted nearly 50 seats held by Democrats to help win the House majority. Given that Republicans only need to flip a net of five seats to regain the House majority, the party has a strong chance of taking back the majority during the 2022 midterm elections.

Conston wrote that Democrats hold seven Trump seats and that 24 Democrats received only 52 percent of the vote or less during the 2020 congressional elections, making the Democrats’ job of holding their majority a “difficult task.”

The CLF president found that by targeting rural and working-class districts, key suburban districts, and districts with heavy Latino and Asian minority populations, Republicans have a strong chance of taking back the House.

“Six of the seven Trump-won districts held by Democrats fit” the first group, “as do an additional ten districts that Biden narrowly won in 2020,” Conston wrote.

Republicans can target Reps. Ron Kind in Wisconsin’s third district, Jared Golden in Maine’s second district, and Matt Cartwright in Pennsylvania’s eighth district to win over rural and working-class districts.

CLF contended that Republicans outperformed expectations in key swing suburban districts and that Republicans won 18 out of the 25 districts in which CLF invested resources.

Republicans also made considerable advances in districts with major Latino and Asian populations, flipping four seats with high representations of those demographic groups in 2020.

Democrats also face major headaches as many swing district Democrats, such as Reps. Cindy Axne (D-IA), Tim Ryan (D-OH), and Conor Lamb (D-PA), look to run for higher offices.

“It’s probably more appealing to run for higher office than face likely defeat in Pelosi’s House,” Conston wrote.

Conston noted that, since WWII, presidents had lost 27 seats on average in their first midterm election.

“Only twice in the last 100 years has the President’s party picked up seats in a midterm,” Conston emphasized. “With a hard-left single-party agenda coming out of Washington, there is no reason to believe the backlash against President Biden would be any different.”

During his remarks, DeSantis paid tribute to the 30,000 Florida residents who lost their lives due to coronavirus and touted his state’s vaccine distribution efforts.

“We thank the health care professionals throughout Florida who cared for those who became ill due to COVID. This includes frontline doctors and nurses, who provided top-notch care to hospitalized patients, as well as staff at long-term care facilities who worked tirelessly to protect our most vulnerable seniors,” DeSantis said. “Their efforts helped to save thousands of lives and are a major reason why Florida, with perhaps the most vulnerable population to COVID, has per capita COVID mortality that is below the national average.”

“From the outset, Florida has been steadfast in focusing efforts on the protection of the elderly. We rejected the policy of sending contagious COVID patients back into nursing homes; indeed, we prohibited the practice. Florida also established COVID-only nursing facilities so that infections in long-term care facilities could be more effectively contained,” the governor added. “And perhaps most importantly, we are prioritizing our senior citizens for vaccinations. Florida is putting Seniors First because it is the best strategy to save lives and is the best way to honor our elders from whom we draw inspiration. We have vaccinated millions of seniors throughout Florida – parents, grandparents, veterans of the second world war, survivors of the holocaust.”

DeSantis’ address comes as the governor’s star continues to raise, which has prompted buzz about a potential bid for the White House in 2024 if former President Donald Trump does not seek a re-match against one-time Democrat rival President Joe Biden.

Both Trump and DeSantis won the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll, which was conducted in partnership with the Washington Times.

As Breitbart News reported:

The straw poll, often used as a barometer of which candidates are most popular among conservative voters, found that when Trump was included as a 2024 presidential candidate, he won 55 percent of the vote. DeSantis came in second with 21 percent support, followed by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) with four percent. When Trump was excluded from the straw poll, DeSantis took a wide lead among all other 2024 Republican presidential primary contenders, winning 43 percent support. Noem followed with 11 percent and Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., with eight percent.

On Friday, DeSantis kicked off CPAC declared that Florida had become “oasis of freedom” by rejecting lockdown measures adopted by blue states to meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

“We are an oasis of freedom in a nation that’s suffering in many parts of the country under the yoke of oppressive lockdowns,” DeSantis said. “We see schools closed, businesses shuttered, and lives destroyed.”

“And while so many governors over the last year had kept locking people down, Florida lifted people up,” he added. “Florida got it right and the lockdown states got it wrong.”

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) would not rule out campaigning for governorship of New York when asked on Tuesday if he would consider running against Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) by Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow.

Zeldin joined Marlow on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily to discuss calls from some Democrats for Cuomo to resign following new accusations of sexual harassment against the New York governor.

Marlow asked, “Are you considering running [for governor of New York]?”

Zeldin replied, “We shall see what is ahead for us over the course of these coming weeks and this next year and a half. I know for sure one thing, that I will do absolutely everything in my power to make sure that Andrew Cuomo doesn’t get a fourth term. That I can tell you with absolute certainty.”

Marlow responded, “Well, that is not a no, which is very cool.”

LISTEN:

Zeldin described New Yorkers’ growing dissatisfaction with Cuomo’s governorship as an opportunity for conservatives to change the political status quo in the Empire State.

“Every level of [New York’s] government — New York City, Albany, D.C. — is all one-party Democratic rule,” Zeldin stated. “So there might be a big blowback against what we’re seeing [with Cuomo] on many levels in favor of Republicans.”

Zeldin said, “Some Democrats are absolutely fed up with Andrew Cuomo, and you have people who will talk about their loss of freedoms. Maybe their kids aren’t back fully in school, or their small business isn’t open, or their taxes are too much and their family’s moving away, or the public safety has been eroded between cashless bail or the defund the police movement out of New York City.”

In February, Cuomo’s top aide admitted that the governor’s office withheld the number of deaths related to the Chinese coronavirus in New York nursing homes to shield the Cuomo government from federal investigation and political scrutiny.

Regarding the Cuomo administration’s nursing home scandal, Zeldin said, “there was a decision point, and if you’re the governor, you can decide to own up to it, to show remorse, to change policy, very publicly be transparent with information, and try to move on from there, but instead the play call was to cover it up.”

“So many Democrats [and] New Yorkers resoundly across the spectrum are deciding it’s time for [Cuomo] to go,” Zeldin added.

“Democrats have decided that they had enough of [Cuomo],” Zeldin said. “The life expectancy for the bullying, the harassment, the intimidation, and the abuse appears to be about ten years in the governor’s office for him. He never built up any reservoir of goodwill.”

Zeldin continued, “What’s coming to light now feels like it’s just a sampling of what may come in the future, and all of that on top of what was a deadly nursing home policy that resulted in a cover-up. New Yorkers have had enough. There were a whole lot of people who already decided that Cuomo’s got to go, but what’s different now is you have a lot of Democrats [calling for Cuomo’s removal].”