The President's Daily Brief - September 20th, 2022. The US Border Continues to Leak as Over 2 Million Have Illegally Crossed Border in the Last Year.

Episode Date: September 20, 2022

It’s September 20th. You’re listening to the President’s Daily Brief. Your morning intel starts now. ------ Illegal migration numbers are out for August and we have set a record. Over 2M illegals have crossed into America in the past 11 months. We’ll dive into what that means and what we might do about it. As always, I’m keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put these two on your radar. First, the Pentagon is considering a new plan to keep tabs on Afghanistan. We’ll swap planes for spies.  Second, another warning out of Europe that the lights might go off this winter. This time it’s a warning from Finland. And finally, the last thing before I let you go. A question today about Joe Biden and his assessment on Sunday that the COVID pandemic is over. ------ Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's September 20th. You're listening to the President's Daily Brief. I'm your host and former CIA Officer Brian Dean Wright. Your morning intel starts now. First up, illegal migration numbers are out for August and we have set a record. Over two million illegals have crossed into America in the past 11 months. We'll dive into what that means and what we might do about it. As always, I'm keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put these two on your radar. First, the Pentagon is considering a new plan to keep tabs on Afghanistan. The idea will swap planes for spies. Second, another warning out of Europe that the lights might go off this winter, and this time it's a warning from Finland. And finally, the last thing before I let you go, a question today about Joe Biden

and his assessment on Sunday that the COVID pandemic is over. But first, let's get started with today's main brief. Yesterday afternoon, the Biden administration released illegal migration numbers for August, and I am sorry to say, we have officially crossed into the record books. So far this year, America has arrested more than 2 million illegal migrants on our southern border. That is a record, with the previous record of 1.7 million set just last year. So the data now make clear that we have got back-to-back record-breaking lawlessness on the southern border. And if you dive into the numbers, all of which are available on CPB.gov, it's just a lot of just a disaster, no matter what your party affiliation might be or what your views on immigration

might be. So here's just a sample of the data. The number of known criminals arrested, in other words, those with a criminal record trying to cross into America illegally. That number went from about 15,000 last year, which is awful, to 25,000 this year. The number of known gang members arrested last year, 348, this year, 697. The number of terrorists arrested last year 173, which is nightmarish enough, but this year, 343, or double. Finally, the number of search and rescue efforts. Last year, there were about 12,800 or so operations to save illegal migrants. This year, over 20,000.

Now, to emphasize, these are not the final numbers for this already record setting. year. We have one more month to go this month, the month of September, and then the government's fiscal year will be over. And then those final numbers, well, they should be available at some point early to mid-October. Yesterday's report, though, it really caps off a remarkable past seven days of drama on this immigration issue. And I think it's important to capture that arc of drama and political outrage, because I think that there's a really important set of lessons here. So let's talk about it. Go back to the 11th of September. Vice President Kamala Harris was asked by a reporter whether she was confident that the border is secure, to which she replied, quote, we have a secure

border, end quote. Three days later, on Wednesday of last week, New York City's mayor Eric Adams said that his city of 8 million residents was nearing its breaking point after receiving about 10,000 illegal migrants since May, many of whom were shipped in by the governors of Texas and Arizona as a form of protest. Now that same day, Wednesday, the governor of Illinois declared a state of emergency and authorized National Guard troops to help after 500 migrants made it to Chicago. Also Wednesday, nearly 50 illegal migrants landed in Martha's Vineyard, the liberal island in Massachusetts, very popular with progressives, including Barack Obama, who owns a

$12 million home there. So those nearly 50 migrants that ended up in Massachusetts, as you probably recall, were actually flown in by Florida's governor Ron DeSantis, all to prove a point that the immigration crisis is in fact real. Now, some claimed last week, and in fact this week, too, that the DeSantis flights were illegal. Human trafficking is the allegation. But fact checkers and analysis at the nonpartisan Politifact and Newsweek have both said that the flights were legal. Were they ethically or morally acceptable? That is a separate debate. But regardless, finally, last Friday, Washington D.C.'s mayor, Muriel Bowser, was furious that 7,900 migrants have been shipped by bus from the border to her capital city. She told reporters that, quote,

we're not a border town. We don't have the infrastructure to handle this type of immigration to our city. We're not Texas. And that was a really interesting. interesting response. Her community has 700,000 residents, and if you include the metropolitan area, that's another million or so people, and she was angry about 7,900 illegals. So you compare that number and that burden of 7,900 illegals to what's happening in Yuma, Arizona. According to the mayor Douglas Nichols and CBP data, that border town of 100,000 residents has seen 200,000 and 50,000 migrants arrive into its community. I want to repeat that because it is so incredible to almost defy understanding.

You almost don't want to believe it, but here it is again. The city of Yuma, Arizona, a town of 100,000 residents, has seen an influx of 250,000 migrants this year. It kind of puts the outrage of New York and D.C. and Chicago into perspective, which is the point that these red state governors are trying to, to make for better or worse. One more thing to offer up this morning before we pivot to analysis and opinion, and that is the financial cost of all of this illegal migration.

Nealing down this number can be tricky, but we got an estimate late last week that offered up a pretty good idea. The Federation for American Immigration Reform calculated that the illegal migrants who have entered the U.S. since Joe Biden took office, they will add an extra $20.4 billion per year. That's in addition to the $140 billion that the existing illegal migrants already cost us. That estimate, by the way, was based on 2.3 million illegals this year, each of which cost about $9,000 to support from medical care to education.

So, folks, that's the data, and those are the facts this morning on this always combustible issue of illegal migration. If I were advising you on what to make of all of this and switching our conversation from facts to analysis and opinion, well, here's how I would encourage you to wrestle with this issue. But as always, reasonable people can disagree and we can still be friends. All right, first, I think that most Americans can now agree that we don't have a secure southern border, despite what politicians are saying. Two million people coming here, unvetted and uninvited, to include 10,000. terrorists, that is not the definition of secure. And that's most especially true when considering

that Customs and Border Protection believes that there are another 500,000 Godaways on top of that two million number. Godaways are, of course, those illegals that the folks at CBP were unable to arrest, and they snuck through regardless. But second, there's something else that the past seven days have really shown me, and maybe you too. And that's that we've really seen the authentic hearts of leaders who claim to be sanctuary city advocates. It turns out that they're not as pious and sincere as they've long claimed. At least that's what it appears to be. Here's what I mean. For years, mayors and governors of mostly Democrat cities and states in this country have insisted that their communities would be both safe and welcoming to illegals. They've refused to cooperate with

federal law enforcement officials like ICE to remove these migrants. And let's just say for argument's sake that they've got a point, that we should just allow all folks in who want to come. In other words, give us your tired, poor huddled masses, yearning to breathe free. All right, fair enough. But something over the past week has changed. These sanctuary cities are saying enough, no more. It's an emergency to take so many migrants. or in the case of Martha's Vineyard, they just, well, they just abandon their ideals. The residents of that sanctuary island had all 48 migrants removed within 48 hours of their arrival. And remember, residents of Martha's Vineyard, they have the money.

It's an island of billionaires and millionaires. They also had the hotels and the empty homes to house them all. But they didn't. They shipped them off to a military base. It's somebody else's problem now. Well, that's not a luxury afforded to the people of Yuma, Arizona, is it? That town of 100,000 people, a town with a per capita income of 23,000 a year, and a poverty rate of 15 to 20% according to the Census Bureau. Well, that town doesn't have the luxury of just sending the 250,000 illegals away from their island.

They're stuck to deal with it. On a magnitude that is just jaw-dropping and horrifying and absolutely unlawful. unfair. And I think that's what gets so many people upset. It's the hypocrisy after years of watching them wag their fingers at us, that, well, they are saying they were the beacons of hope, like modern-day statues of liberty. But when the rubber hits the road, they're not. And you know, that's fair to point out. That's absolutely fair game. But after the political score settling is done, at some point, all of that becomes secondary to the fact that this is an issue. that we have to solve or get better at solving because two million illegals and counting is a

problem that needs solving. But how do we do it? Well, first you have to acknowledge that you have a problem so you can come up with the appropriate solutions. But that's really hard to do if you're Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and you refuse to say that you have a problem. They have made clear that the border is secure. They have said that repeatedly. And so two have others in their administration, like the Secretary of Homeland Security. So that's what has to be fixed. Either they start being candid with the American people and then say that, yes, we have an illegal immigration problem

and the border is not secure. Or in November, you all send them a message that their stubbornness is no longer acceptable. And if that's what you choose, polls say that you're in pretty good company. Last month, National Public Radio published their findings that a majority of Americans believe that there is a quote,

invasion, end quote, at the southern border. Now, that's a strong word, but that's what most of your neighbors think. As always, I defer to you on whether that's true, and if so, the extent to which Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris are responsible for it. But what seems very clear is that illegal migration is a problem. In fact, it's a crisis, and we need to fix it, no matter who's in the White House. Coming up, ladies and gentlemen, a closer look at what's on my radar. Two quick briefs for you, One on Afghanistan and the other on Finland. We'll be right back. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein, the new elixir collection, featuring three perfume

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Welcome back to the PDB. As always, I'm watching a few other stories this morning. Put these two on your radar. First up, the Pentagon is considering a new plan to make sure that we keep enough ears and eyes on the ground in Afghanistan to monitor the terror threat. Let me repeat this last sentence. Media reports this morning and some of my old friends in the business are nicknaming this new plan as planes for spies. So to understand this new idea, you have to go back to the final days of our rule. Afghanistan and our retreat in the final hours. As we fled and the Afghan government collapsed,

there were hundreds of pilots and crew members who took off and their American provided jets and helicopters, and they landed safely in the north, specifically in the countries of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. And that was widely reported at the time, both in the press and by the White House. The exact numbers have been in flux, but it's believed to be about 140 pilots and crew who went to Tajikistan. And another 494 or so pilots and crew to Uzbekistan. And now we have a bunch of our airplanes and helicopters sitting in those countries. For example, in Uzbekistan, around 46 or so U.S.-supplied Black Hawk helicopters,

some old Soviet helicopters, and some light attack aircraft. The Taliban has told those countries that actually those aircraft are theirs. but Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have said, nope, we disagree. Those belong to America. So that means that we still technically own these marooned aircraft. And the question then is, what are we supposed to do with them? Well, the latest idea from the Pentagon is, let's make a deal. If Uzbekistan and Tajikistan help us with counterterrorism operations, they can keep the aircraft.

Now, the details are being ironed out very quietly, but the premise, is that the Uzbeks and the Tajik's would do one of two things. First, build up informant networks and seed them into Afghanistan. Or second, simply pass along with their existing networks are already hearing. Now, it's also possible, although much less likely, that we could put some boots back on the ground in those countries, all to conduct sensitive operations on a target-by-target basis. In other words, small numbers of our CIA officers and special forces operators basing themselves in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. They would go into Afghanistan, kill a bad guy when he pops up, and then head back out. Now, those countries probably won't

agree to that. Both of them have pretty good relationships with Russia, and they have economic equities with both Moscow and Beijing. So our presence in those countries might not make their neighbors very happy. Still, it's an interesting proposal that if done right, could give us helpful insight into whether Islamic terror cells are regaining strength, and if so, the intelligence to take them out. Regardless, I will keep you posted on this one. It's a pretty fascinating development. Second, the country of Finland is back in the news, but not for good reasons. So to refresh our memories, Finland and its neighbor Sweden began the process of becoming official members of NATO a couple months back. NATO, of course, is the military alliance of which we are apart, promising to come to

each other's aid if we are ever invaded. Previously, both Sweden and Finland were very reluctant to join NATO. But with Russia attacking Ukraine, now that changed things. They have both started the NATO membership process. But in response, Russia retaliated by cutting off energy supplies, amongst other things, and that's led to a real energy crisis in Finland. The country's electricity grid operator called Fingrid. E-mailed customers yesterday that households should brace for rolling blackouts this winter. They are forecasting shortages because Russia's natural gas is no longer available. And Sweden's extra supply that they normally get, now they can't be counted on because of

maintenance issues. So the grid operator warned their customers that they should conserve energy starting immediately. And as we've seen elsewhere in Europe, residents are supposed to shorten their showers. turn off lights more often and turn down their thermostat. So all in all, a very chilly winter ahead for Finland. I'll keep you posted. With that, one more thing before I let you go, we'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. room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip right. Kayak. Got that right. Welcome back to the PDB, ladies and gentlemen. One more thing before we let you go this morning. Bruce in Durango, Colorado wrote in asking what I thought about an interview that Joe Biden gave on Sunday where he declared that, quote, the COVID pandemic is over, end quote. Well, Bruce, nine months ago,

Mr. Biden said that America was on the verge of a winner of death. So it's a remarkable change of heart in such a short period of time. But what's much more fascinating to me is that the White House COVID response coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha, said the same thing, but he added something very interesting about the flu. So here's the quote that he gave during an interview with a national public radio last Friday. Quote, if you are up to date on your vaccines and you avail your cells of COVID treatments, your chances of dying from COVID are vanishingly small and certainly much lower than your risk of getting into trouble with the flu. It's that last part that's quite something. For several years now, anyone who compared COVID to the flu was absolutely denigrated

on social media and traditional media as well, sometimes even banned from Facebook or Twitter. And now the White House COVID response coordinator is saying, same thing. What a difference a few months makes, and apparently a more palatable messenger. And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes your morning brief. As always, we close out the show reminding each other of why we are here, talking about our country and our world. It's the creed of every good spy and every smart American. It's from John, chapter 8, verse 32. And you shall know the truth. And the truth shall make you free. Good day.