The Daily Signal - ‘We Warned Them’: Trump Immigration Official Talks Border Crisis

Starting point is 00:00:05 This is the Daily Signal podcast for Wednesday, March 24th. I'm Virginia Allen. And I'm Rachel Del Judas. It's no news that the situation at the border has rapidly deteriorated since President Joe Biden took office. The Department of Homeland Security recently said that illegal border crossings are on pace to reach the highest level in two decades. What is actually going on at the border? Did the Biden administration inherit a broken system at the border as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claims. Mark Morgan, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and formerly an acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Trump administration,

Starting point is 00:00:45 joins me on the Daily Signal podcast to discuss. And don't forget, if you're enjoying this podcast, please be sure to leave a review or a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and encourage others to subscribe. Now, onto our top news. A 21-year-old man is being charged by Colorado law enforcement for a show. room page that left 10 people in Boulder dead. Ahmad al-Aliwi Alisa, who has been identified as the suspect, was shot in the leg, according to Boulder Police Chief Maris Harold.

Starting point is 00:01:24 He was expected to be released from a hospital Tuesday and then booked into the county jail, authorities said, for USA Today. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, says the Senate is going to take action to combat gun violence following the deadly shootings in Boulder, Colorado, and Atlanta, Georgia. The Senate is going to debate and address the epidemic of gun violence in this country, Schumer said on the floor of the Senate Tuesday, adding that he has already committed to bringing universal background checks legislation to the floor of the Senate. Earlier this month, the House passed legislation that would expand gun background checks, but the bill is expected

Starting point is 00:02:05 to face an uphill battle if brought to the Senate floor, as it will require 60 votes to pass. Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, was critical of Democrats' rush to institute universal background checks and other reforms after the shootings. During the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence Tuesday, Cruz had this to say, per Blaze TV. Senator from Connecticut just said, it's time for us to do something. I agree, it is time for us to do something. And every time there's a shooting, we play this ridiculous theater where this committee gets, together and proposes a bunch of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders. Senator from Connecticut just said the folks on the other side of the aisle have no solutions.

Starting point is 00:02:55 Well, the Senator from Connecticut knows that is false. And he knows that's false because Senator Grassley and I together introduce legislation, Grassley Cruz, targeted at violent criminals, targeted at felons, targeted at fugitives, targeted at those with serious mental disease. disease, to stop them from getting firearms, to put them in prison when they try to illegally buy guns. What happens in this committee after every mass shooting is Democrats propose taking away guns from law-abiding citizens, because that's their political objective. But what they propose, not only does it not reduce crime, it makes it worse. Cruz added that to prevent more

Starting point is 00:03:35 senseless killings, it is the murderers who need to be targeted, not law-abiding citizens. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had harsh words for Democrats attempting to overturn freshman Republican Representative Marionette Miller Meeks, who won her election by six votes over Democrat Rita Hart. The House Administration Committee is investigating the election for Iowa's second congressional district, which Hart maintains that 22 ballots were wrongly thrown out, and had they been counted, she would have won the election by nine votes. Of the attempt to overturn the results, McConnell said, sounds like they were preaching that in November and December, That state certification was Sacrosanct.

Starting point is 00:04:16 I guess it's Sacrosanct except when it isn't, McConnell said. Every time I don't think they can reach a new low, they do. They seem to be on the cusp of setting aside a certified winner. Admittedly, it was a close election and seating that Democrat instead. That's where they seem to be headed. Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cake Shop in Colorado, found himself back in court on Monday. Colorado officials targeted Phillips in 2012 after he refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The case rose to the Supreme Court and in 2018, the High Court ruled in Phillips favor.

Starting point is 00:04:55 Shortly after the justices ruled in favor of the Christian baker, Colorado attorney Autumn Scardina sued Phillips for refusing to bake a cake celebrating Scardina's gender transition. On Monday, Colorado State Court heard arguments in Skardina's case against Phillips. Christian Wagner, General Counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, who represents Phillips, said in a tweet Tuesday that Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cake Shop is being targeted again for his religious beliefs. No one should be forced to create expression that violates their conscience. This culture of coercion needs to stop. Now stay tuned for my conversation with Mark Morgan on what is really going on at the border. I'm Zach Smith.

Starting point is 00:05:45 And I'm John Carl O'Conaparo. And if you want to understand what's happening at the Supreme Court, be sure to check out SCOTUS 101, a Heritage Foundation podcast. We take a look at the cases, the personalities, and the gossip at the highest court in the land. Be sure to subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you find your podcasts. It's SCOTUS 101. I'm joined today on the Daily Signal podcast by Mark Morgan, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and formerly an acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Trump administration. Mark, it's great to have you back on the Daily Signal podcast. Thanks for having you, Rachel.

Starting point is 00:06:25 Well, it's great to have you with us. Well, it's no news to anyone who's actually following the situation at the border right now. The border has been rapidly deteriorating since President Joe Biden took office. Can you tell us about what's happening on the ground right now? Yeah, well, I think everyone's familiar with what has transpired with how just with a stroke of the pen, President Biden has dismantled and removed almost every effective tool, authority, and policy that we had that was effectively managing the crisis along our southwest border, specifically on the illegal immigration side. And what we've seen is a skyrocket in the numbers.

Starting point is 00:07:02 Let me give you a few stats, I think, are very important. last month and month of February, they saw over 100,000 apprehension people trying to illegally enter the border. I think in March, you're going to see that number skyrocket to 120, $130,000, if not reaching the numbers at the height of the crisis that we saw in 2019. And what we're seeing daily averages, anywhere from 4,500 a day to 6,000. Right now, they've got over 10,000 individuals in their custody. As a frame of reference, by November of 2020, we had less than 800 in our custody. But some of those numbers that I share of like the in-custody number, oh, and let's keep in mind that they've released over 20,000 illegal immigrants since January.

Starting point is 00:07:45 But the American people doesn't know that because this administration is hiding that information from them. Well, on that note, Mark, on the Department of Homeland Security recently said that the migrant border crossings are on pace to reach the highest level in two decades. whose fault is this? This is a clear, clear answer for me. It is 100% at the feet of this administration. Look, Rachel, we were very clear. Look, you can play news clips of myself, and I wasn't the only one that prior to the election,

Starting point is 00:08:16 we said that any administration that implements what the Biden administration said they were going to do during their campaign, that you would create a crisis that would compel in comparison to what we saw in 2019. We sent it over and over again. We gave them fact after fact, reality after reality. Then when the election came and Biden won, look, we provided exhaustive briefings to the Biden administration transition team.

Starting point is 00:08:41 We warned them that if they removed the effective tools, like they said, they were going to do all one fell soup with the executive order, that they would cause a crisis. We told them that the border control facilities could not handle it. We said HHSS bills could not handle it and that you would absolutely cause crisis two point. They let their ideological cubors get in the way. They refused to listen to border security experts, and they did what they wanted to do, and now we have a crisis. We basically answered this next question, but I didn't want to ask you how Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, said on Sunday that the Biden administration inherited, quote, a broken system at the border. Is that the case? Yeah, so it's the same mantra that they used for COVID vaccines, right?

Starting point is 00:09:24 In this the same administration to say they had to start from scratch on the vaccines, although, warp speed. Every medical expert in the world says that the Trump administration came up with a vaccine faster than a history of mankind almost. And it's the same thing with the same mantra that they're trying to put on the immigration. No, they inherited a system that work. They inherited a system like with cooperation with Mexico, the Northern Triangle countries, the Remain in Mexico policy, the asylum cooperating agreements with the Northern Triangle countries. We ended catch and release. countries together to really look and act and work together as the regional crisis that it is. And we saw a significant reduction in the flow as well as we had eliminated an incredible incentive

Starting point is 00:10:11 catch and release. No, they inherited a system that was working. They, they are now navigating a system that is completely dismantled, but they're the ones that dismantled it. They ended MPP. They reinstated catch and release. They rescinded the asylum cooperative agreements. And they have absolutely told if you're an unaccompanied minor, the border is wide open for you again, and they refuse to apply Title 42 under while we're still navigating the COVID. It's an absolute lie what's being said. We've mentioned the situation of how minors are being allowed in, and something that I've talked with different law enforcement officials about at the border when I visited, and I know something that you all talk about is the situation of human trafficking.

Starting point is 00:10:55 And so when you have something like this happen where the border is open, really no questions are being asked, how does that facilitate or, I guess, help in way, I mean, does it help human trafficking? Yeah, so Rachel, I really appreciate you asking this question because your listeners really need to understand how critically important is this. So the straight answer is, of course it does, right? I know it's somewhat of rhetorical question, but we need to keep highlighting the talking about it. Look, they continue when to talk about cruel and inhumane policies, which is just another flat out lie. This is what I will submit to your listeners. What is cruel and humane is any country that encourages, incentivizes, and facilitates illegal immigration, where individuals are putting their loved ones in the hands of cartels,

Starting point is 00:11:39 where independent studies, say, up to 30 percent of them are abused on the journey. In the middle of COVID, they're traveling through COVID hotspots. When they get to the border, they're kept in unsanitary, overcrowded stash houses for days and weeks and shoved in tractor trailers where the temperatures reach 120 degrees where people have died. And as they cross the border, the coyotes leave in the middle of the Rio Grande River are in a desert, isolated area to oftentimes die or have to be rescued by Border Patrol. If anything is cruel and in Maine, it's policies that actually incentivize, encourage that behavior. And then on top of that, as the numbers are skyrocketing, of course, the number of individuals

Starting point is 00:12:16 being trapped are also skyrocketing. They don't talk about that. And Rachel, real quick, I know we're probably running out of time, but this is also important aspect as well. And this is another dirty little secret that they will tell you. Everybody wants to talk about, you know, the seven, eight-year-old tender age individual that, you know, that's coming across the border. Of course, we should all, our heart should go out to that. And we should be doing everything we can to stop it instead of incentivizing it. But here's the reality, 75% of the so-called unaccompanied minors are 15, 16, and 17 years old. They are older teenagers. In the West of the Hemisphere, a lot of countries, that's military.

Starting point is 00:12:54 working age. They're not being ripped from their parents. They're making this on their own. And because, and the sole reason is to get a job. Because when they're in Guatemala right now, they're texting their buddy in Los Angeles that's telling them, hey, come now. Biden is letting you in. And that's the truth. Well, both Fox and NBC have reported that illegal aliens being released into the U.S. without court dates. But on Monday, White House Press Secretary Jansaki said that was not true that it's not the case that they're being released without court dates. What is true? Once again, you can put another, Check mark, another lie.

Starting point is 00:13:26 She says, you know, I've lost track the number of lies that she's told as well as the DHS secretary. Like, for example, a DHS secretary saying the borders are secure. That's a joke. That's a lie. And it's actually, you know, it's insulting to the men and women on front lines, risks in their lives to defend our borders when the secretary says they're secure. But with the specific comment, yes, it's being released. Look, they have the border toll has no choice, Rachel.

Starting point is 00:13:50 Their facilities are jammed and overcrowded. There's a couple that are five, 600% over the COVID restriction capacity. And you've got HHS that is broke and they don't have the facilities to take the unaccompanied kids. You've got ICE that their ability to detain people have all been removed. And so the border toll is say, hey, look, this is ridiculous. And besides that, we know notice to appear under this administration is completely irrelevant. Because even if you give somebody a notice to appear, they're telling ICE, don't enforce it. And so that will relieve Border Patrol from hours and hours of processing.

Starting point is 00:14:22 time and just to help relieve the pressure of their overcrowded facilities. But make no mistake, they're still being released. They don't have legal status. They know they don't have legal status, and they're told to contact the ICE office to get a court date and et cetera. It's just horrendous, and all of this could have been preventing. Well, also on Monday, going back to White House Press Secretary Jansaki, another reporter had asked her, will you allow the press to cover these overflowing child detention centers at the border? And she said that, quote, I don't pull the lovers here. Do you think the Biden administration is hesitant for the media to go to the border? And if so, why? So two, two, another lie. I've been there, right? I've been at the highest levels of government in the middle of this divisive issue.

Starting point is 00:15:07 And I'm telling you right now, the White House is absolutely unequivocally having discussions with the DHS Secretary about whether they should let people in or not. So that's just another blatant lie and misdirection that she's telling American people. Look, I saw a quote the other day, and one of the reasons they gave the reporter was because of privacy and COVID reason. That's all a bunch of hogwash. I was there. We addressed the privacy concern. That can be easily done. You don't use names.

Starting point is 00:15:36 You blur faces. We did it under the Trump administration. It worked effectively. The media and journalists abided by those rules. And COVID, look, I'm sure every single reporter that gave access, they do the same. same thing the nurses, the doctors would do, give them a Tyvex suit and a nice face shield, keep distance, and there's no issue. So this is, look, you know, they talk about being unified and being transparent.

Starting point is 00:15:59 One of the best things you can do for the American people to get trust and confidence in the government is to be absolutely transparent. We did that under the Trump administration, this administration doing exactly the opposite. And we know why, because what they see doesn't fit their narrative and the stats does not fit what they're telling the people. Well, do you think it's possible for the crisis at the border to be fixed? And what would you recommend the Biden administration to do? No, it's not going to be fixed under this administration, at least not my definition of fixed.

Starting point is 00:16:27 Because, look, this is important. A lot of people have said, oh, look what they did. They dismantle every effective tool and policy that was there to manage the crisis effectively, and they didn't have a strategy. I respectfully disagree. They are implementing their strategy. Their strategy, look, it's hard to have a strategy where you are trying to prevent, apprehend, detained, and lawfully remove. That's tough. But when your strategy is to release

Starting point is 00:16:49 people who illegally cross as fast as humanly possible and do nothing else, that's pretty easy to get a handle on. That's their strategy. It's just happened faster that they anticipated because they didn't listen to the experts. And at the end of the day, though, our last resort, our last defenders are the states. We need a state's attorney generals. We need governors, we need state legislators to step up and to challenge the unconstitutional, unlawful, dangerous policies of this administration. The AG of Texas and the governor of Texas is doing it. They're doing it effectively and we need more states to step up and do the same thing. And lastly, what will the long-term consequences be if the crisis at the border is not addressed?

Starting point is 00:17:30 Look, we're seeing the consequences every single day and it's going to have long-term consequences. Right now, we've got millions and millions of people that are in the country illegally. We have no idea who they are. Right now, we are interjecting more illegal aliens into the country, which, again, won't show for the court hearings. So you have the courts that are further being backlogged. The last time I checked, we had over 800,000 people that are here illegally waiting for their court hearings.

Starting point is 00:18:01 You're going to add to that. You're also going to add, and you're also going to jeopardize our NASA security. Look, as border-to-agals are being pulled away to address the humanitarian issue, there are wide swatches of the border that are wide open and unmonitoring. You're going to stay in a chance of an increased number of illegal criminal aliens entering as well as drugs. It killed 60,000 people last year, the drug overdoses. Right now, they're estimated between 800 to 1,000 immigrants are godaways across the southwest border every single day. And the last comment real quick is think about it. The majority of people illegal enter, they're unskilled, they're uneducated, don't speak the language.

Starting point is 00:18:36 and they don't have a strong familiar connection and no job opportunities. They're going to become welfare recipients upon their first days that are arriving to the United States. That's going to have an economic impact for years and decades. Well, Mark, thank you so much for joining us on The Daily Signal podcast. We appreciate having you with us. Thanks, Rachel. Appreciate it. Anytime. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thanks for listening to The Daily Signal podcast.

Starting point is 00:19:02 You can find the Daily Signal podcast on Google Play, Apple Podcast, Spotify, and IHeartRadio. Please be sure to leave us a review and a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and encourage others to subscribe. Thanks again for listening and we'll be back with you all tomorrow. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you

Starting point is 00:19:21 by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. It is executive produced by Kate Trinko and Rachel Del Judas, sound design by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. For more information, visitdailySignal.com.

The Daily Signal - ‘We Warned Them’: Trump Immigration Official Talks Border Crisis

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