The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | June 18th, 2024: Biden's Latest Amnesty Gambit & NATO's Collective Defense Against Russia

Episode Date: June 18, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    In what is almost certainly an election year play, President Joe Biden is moving to put half a million illegal immigrants on a pathway to citizenship if they are already married to a U.S. citizen. With the war in Ukraine raging with no end in sight, NATO countries have significantly increased their annual defense spending in a bid to strengthen their collective security and deter further aggression on the continent from Vladimir Putin. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Own it all. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslot Machine by Aristocrat Gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is giving one person a $1.6 million dream package. The biggest prize in Yamava's history. Club Serrano members can earn daily instant prizes and secure a spot in the finale May 29th.

Don't pass go and own it all. Only at Yamava, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You win? Details at yamava.com must be 21-20. Please gamble responsibly. Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro. Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion. This episode is brought to you by Patriot Gold Group. They've been the top-rated gold IRA dealer for

seven years in a row. Protect your retirement assets. Speak to the experts at Patriot Gold. Go to Patriot Gold Group.com or call 1-888-621-3856 for a free investor guide. It's Tuesday, 18 June. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, if you thought that canceling student debt was a cheap ploy by the White House to buy youth votes, well, for the upcoming November election, Joe Biden says, hold my beer. In the latest chapter of vote buying for dummies, President Biden is moving to put half a million illegal immigrants on a fast-track pathway to citizenship if they're already married to a U.S. citizen. Also, with the war in Ukraine continuing with no end in sight, NATO countries have significantly increased their

annual defense spending in a bit to strengthen their collective security and deter further aggression on the continent from Vladimir Putin. But first, our afternoon spotlight. Despite the so-called border crackdown recently enacted by the White House, it appears the Biden administration is gearing up for one of the biggest amnesty pushes in recent memory. President Biden announced Tuesday a plan to offer a pathway to citizenship for roughly half a million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. provided that they're married to a U.S. citizen and have resided inside the U.S. for at least 10 years. In addition to the estimated 500,000 spouses living illegally in the U.S., the plan will also apply to some 50,000 children under the age of 21 with a parent who's a U.S. citizen,

and that's according to our report from Reuters. Now, with the election fast approaching, the immigration crisis has, of course, emerged as one of President Biden and the Democrats' greatest vulnerabilities, with people. polling in swing states showing Republicans outperforming Democrats on the issue. While President Biden's recent executive order limiting asylum requests at the border was seen as an attempt to burnish his border credentials with voters concerned about mass migration, this latest announcement, well, it appears geared at appeasing as more progressive base and shoring up the Latino vote. Gustavo Torres, a prominent immigration advocate, told the Associated Press,

quote, this is what our communities have needed to rally behind President Biden for re-election, end quote. Those with eligibility will have up to three years to apply for permanent residency, which they can do without leaving the U.S. or facing the threat of deportation. They'll also receive a three-year work permit, and once granted green cards, they'll have the opportunity to apply for citizenship. The White House claims the majority of eligible candidates are from Mexico and have been living in the country, on average for about 23 years. In a statement, the White House said, quote,

these actions will promote family unity and strengthen our economy. Now, it's a dicey political gamble for President Biden, given the current polling as we make our way towards November. The latest poll from Reuters shows that a little more than a half of Americans favored deporting all or most immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. A separate poll from Immigration Hub, however, did find strong support in battleground states, for allowing spouses to stay in the U.S.

Republicans were quick to criticize the move, saying it will simply encourage more mass migration. Republican Senate whip John Thune said, quote, they're increasing incentives for people to come here illegally. As you might expect, the Trump campaign was, well, a little more colorful in their critique, saying, quote, Biden only cares about one thing, and that's power, and that's why he's giving mass amnesty and citizenship

to hundreds of thousands of illegals, who he knows, will ultimately vote for him in the Open Border Democrat Party. As a reminder, the U.S. has seen unprecedented levels of illegal immigration under the past four years of President Biden's leadership. Aside from the millions crossing the southern border and the millions of known godaways who cross without encountering law enforcement, roughly 360,000 migrants are entering the U.S. each year under the Biden administration's mass parole program, which allows migrants from select countries who pass a background.

screening to fly directly to the U.S. and be released with work permits and authorization to remain in the country for two years. We also recently brought you a report that the Biden administration has quietly carried out what is essentially a mass amnesty program that's allowed another 350,000 migrants into the U.S. since 2022. Essentially, the Biden administration has been dismissing asylum cases and deportation orders, claiming the migrants don't have criminal records and don't represent a national security threat. Some, of course, have gone on to commit violent crimes in cities across America. Then there's the Biden administration's controversial CBP-1 cell phone app that's allowed another 530,000 illegal immigrants to apply for asylum since January of 23

from within their home countries before being flown to the U.S. Meanwhile, illegal border crossings have averaged roughly 2 million per year since 2021, and that's the highest levels ever recorded. As one of the country's former presidents was fond of saying, let me be clear, you can have a fair-minded and cohesive immigration policy and at the same time insist on and maintain border security. They can happen at the same time, and there's nothing anti-immigration about saying you want border security and proper vetting. The numbers that the U.S. has seen over the past three years, years are frankly unsustainable in the long term, in terms of the country's resources and abilities to properly process, vet, and care for. That's why mayors from Democrat cities around the country

have been pushing for the White House to do something to tighten controls. The executive action that Biden took a couple weeks ago, well, that was essentially performative art. An attempt to look like the White House is concerned about the immigration crisis. And this week's announcement, granting an expedited pathway to citizenship for illegal spouses of U.S. citizens, well, that's simply pandering to the progressive base and a blatant attempt to win votes. I mean, ask yourself, why now, why this decision now, why not shortly after entering office? I mean, if the White House feels so strongly about this, if they're so passionate about it, why wait until election season?

Okay, well, that was a question of the obvious. All right, and coming up after the break, With the war in Ukraine, raging with no end in sight, NATO countries have significantly increased their annual defense spending in a bid to strengthen their collective security and deter for the Russian aggression. I'll be right back. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right,

so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak. And get your trip right.

Kayak, got that right. This is a Bose moment. You've been there before. Somebody's apartment, small talk that's going nowhere, plastic cup that's almost empty. It's not great. Then someone hits play on a Bose speaker. Heads nod, feet tap,

one person dances than everyone does. Awkward becomes electric. When Bose sound fills the room, you don't just hear the music. You feel it. Your life deserves music. Your music deserves Bose. Find your perfect product at Bose.com. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. In a significant shift driven by Russia's actions in Ukraine, it appears that NATO nations are beginning to take their defense spending obligations seriously, with a record 23 out of 32 member states achieving the alliance's target. That's a nearly fourfold increase from 2021. The surge in

NATO members achieving their defense benchmark is a direct response to the evolving security landscape in Europe. Now, the tension escalated notably with Russia's annexation of Crimea back in 2014, and that was a pivotal moment leading to NATO's unanimous agreement that member countries should aim to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense within a decade. Yet, that year, the 2% target was only met by three nations, the U.S., Greece, and the United Kingdom. and by 2021, it was still only met by six nations. But NATO nations received an obvious wake-up call in 2022 with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Putin's war has led to a significant uptick in compliance. The total increase in defense spending across European allies and Canada is nearly 18% this year,

and that's marking the most substantial rise in several decades. Now, Poland and Estonia are leading the charge in defense spending among the NATO members. Poland is allocating more than 4% of its GDP to defense, while Estonia also surpasses the 2% benchmark. It's not surprising, considering that both countries share a border with Russia and have direct stakes, of course, in bolstering their military readiness. Despite increased spending from member states, the U.S. does remain NATO's top spender and supplies a majority of the funds. In 2023, U.S. military funding for the Alliance reached 68% of the total budget. The critical role of NATO's defense spending includes ongoing military support for Ukraine,

such as providing F-16 aircraft from the U.S. and training Ukrainian pilots. These actions are not only a response to the current conflict, but also part of a broader strategy to ready Ukraine for a potential NATO membership after the conflict ends. However, it's worth noting NATO nations, aren't alone in boosting their defense spending. Yeah, let's go to the other side of the fence. According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia escalated its military expenditures by 24% in 2023, reaching an estimated total of $109 billion. This represents a 57% increase since 2014, and of course, again, that was the year that Russia annexed Crimea.

military spending in 2023 accounted for 5.9% of Russia's gross domestic product. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Tuesday, 18 June. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And if you want to listen to the show ad-free, of course, well, be sure to check out our premium membership at PDB premium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed.

Stay safe. Stay cool. Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile, with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch.

Up front payment of $45 for three-month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com.