What is the solution to the calamity at our southern border?

February 20, 2024

The catastrophe that is occurring at our southern border is currently the most serious national security threat to the nation. Millions of illegal aliens have come across the border with virtually no interference, have been encountered by Border Patrol agents, given a court date several years in the future for which they may or may not show up, and then are released into the country, often being flown or bused to the location of their choice. 

More than a million “gotaways” have sneaked across the Rio Grande without even coming face to face with the Border Patrol, and who knows who they are, where they are, or what their intent is?

This situation has become so intense and wide-spread that the mayors of sanctuary cities are now complaining about the problems this laxness has caused them, with thousands of illegals needing to be dealt with at the cities’ expense (read “taxpayers’ expense”).

Tens of thousands of Americans have died as a result of the lax control of the border that has allowed tens of thousands or millions of fentanyl pills to be smuggled in. Many others have been victims of crimes by illegals, and who knows how many potential terrorists are among those millions coming in from more than a hundred countries, including China?

Despite the painfully obvious failure of the Biden administration to secure the border and protect Americans, the man directly responsible for securing the border, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, keeps insisting that “The border is secure and the border is not open.”

He also blames the ridiculously huge number of illegals entering the country on insufficient border policies, rather than on the true cause: President Joe Biden’s Executive Orders almost as soon as he was sworn in that cancelled several existing policies that were working and keeping illegal entry at a very low level before Biden took office.

But while the border situation may benefit from some policy updates, the problem is that Mayorkas is not following the laws, and chaos is the result. Is not following laws a high crime or misdemeanor?

Finally, some action was taken. The House of Representatives succeeded in passing an impeachment action against Mayorkas on the second attempt.

Republican members of the House Committee on Homeland Security released this statement on impeachment: “After our nearly year-long investigation and subsequent impeachment proceedings, and having exhausted all other options to hold him accountable, it is unmistakably clear to all of us—and to the American people—that Congress must exercise its constitutional duty and impeach Secretary Mayorkas. The Secretary has consistently willfully and systemically refused to follow the laws passed by Congress, abused his authority, and breached the trust of Congress and the American people on numerous occasions. The result of his failure to fulfill his oath of office has been a border crisis that is unprecedented in American history—a crisis that has cost the lives of thousands of Secretary Mayorkas’ fellow Americans.”

The Committee produced reports of its findings in the five-phase investigation, totaling nearly 400 pages, plus interviews with Border Patrol Sector Chiefs:

* Phase 1: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ Dereliction of Duty

* Phase 2: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Has Emboldened Cartels, Criminals, and America’s Enemies

* Phase 3: The Devastating Human Costs of the DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ Open-Borders Policies

* Phase 4: The Historic Dollar Costs of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ Open-Borders Policies

* Phase 5: The Massive Waste and Abuse Enabled by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

* Transcribed Interview Appendix: First-Hand Accounts of the Crisis From Border Patrol Sector Chiefs.

Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee criticized the Republican impeachment effort, saying it was a “baseless sham.” “MAGA Republicans have wasted their opportunity to make progress on immigration and border security policy,” rather than participating “in a conversation about bipartisan legislation,” they said.

But Republicans know, as Democrats should and likely do, that additional legislation is not needed to fix the border. All that is needed is for Biden to reverse his day-one actions and restore the border control that he cancelled in his childish actions against all things Trump.

And exactly how is the Republican effort against Mayorkas different from the Democrats’ twice impeaching then-President Donald Trump, all the while knowing that the Senate would not convict Trump in an impeachment trial?

They impeached Trump twice to make the point that they disapproved of him as President, so it is perfectly acceptable, by Democrat reasoning, that Republicans impeached Mayorkas for his ignoring laws, even though the Senate will not convict him.

Is Mayorkas deliberately lying about there being a crisis? Or, is he satisfied with what is happening, that he and Biden want millions of illegal aliens coming into the country? They apparently like the chaos in the border states and the sanctuary cities, the drug deaths and other deaths caused by illegals, and the potential for some illegals to be terrorists in waiting.

Otherwise, why would they not openly work to fix the problem? Why would they continue to deny that there is a crisis of monumental proportions at the southern border that threatens the very people they were elected to protect?

The Biden administration should focus on the real problems we have

May 2, 2023

The insecure U.S. southern border allows thousands of unknown people to enter the country daily. Mexican cartels continue drug trafficking, human trafficking, and criminal entry into the country. These people kill Americans through direct violence, and through bringing in deadly fentanyl and other drugs. 

“The number of migrants apprehended by U.S. immigration authorities after crossing the Mexican border without authorization increased by 25 percent in March as the Biden administration prepares for a major policy shift next month,” CBS News reported last month. It’s good that apprehensions increased, right?

In February, U.S. Border Patrol recorded 130,000 apprehensions of illegal entries between the official ports of entry. However, in March that number grew to 162,000. We do not know how many entrants escaped capture, but we know that this year’s March apprehension number was less than in March of 2021 and 2022, despite the fact that the number of those trying to get in illegally grows in the spring.

And from the CBS News report, there is this: “Absent any major policy pivot, the Department of Homeland Security is preparing for up to 13,000 migrants to cross the southern border per day, about 400,000 each month, once Title 42 lifts in early May, according to internal projections. The Trump-era order is set to lapse once the national COVID-19 public health emergency expires on May 11.”

As recently as last month Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas continues to claim that the border is secure. “It is my testimony that the border is secure and we are working every day, day and night, to increase security,” he said in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on April 18.

However, anyone with eyes and an open mind knows this is profoundly untrue. That includes Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, who said basically the exact opposite of Mayorkas. Ortiz has said that five of the nine sectors along the southern boundary were not secure, and neither was one sector of the northern border.

When asked whether he disagreed with Ortiz, his top border expert, Mayorkas said he did: “I respectfully do in that regard,” he said.

The border is not secure, and Mayorkas’ performance is disgraceful, and creates a dangerous and unacceptable situation.

With this horrible and humiliating performance by our government at the borders, the Biden administration has it focus elsewhere.

Rather than strengthen the border with more Border Patrol agents and adding barriers to slow illegal entry, President Joe Biden wants to hire more IRS agents. From Townhall.com: “The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to place special gun-carrying agents in all 50 U.S. states.”

“According to the agency’s website, the Criminal Investigation (CI) division is looking for IRS employees authorized by law to carry and use firearms, which are responsible for investigating financial crimes, money laundering, tax-related identity theft, and terrorist financing efforts.

“The ‘major duties’ listed for the position say that agents will be trained to ‘follow the money’ and prosecute any financial crimes.

“’No matter what the source, all income earned, both legal and illegal, has the potential of becoming involved in crimes which fall within the investigative jurisdiction of the IRS Criminal Investigation. Because of the expertise required to conduct these complex financial investigations, IRS Special Agents are considered the premier financial investigators for the Federal government,’ the website reads.

“Additionally, agents must carry a gun and be prepared to protect themselves from physical attacks without any warning. The description for the role also cautions that the agent may face life-threatening situations forcing them to use a firearm.”

The IRS seeks to fill 360 positions in 249 locations, with at least one agent in each state, the job posting notes.

“The IRS role is to help the large majority of compliant taxpayers with the tax law, while ensuring that the minority who are unwilling to comply pay their fair share,” according to IRS.gov.

Most of the work of the IRS involves income taxes, both corporate and individual, and collecting taxes owed to the government is obviously an important function.

But is the current state of taxation and taxes collected more important than the number of illegal entrants to the country, and the violence and death to American citizens that occur daily because of the disgraceful situation at our southern border?

And isn’t the primary function of collecting taxes dependent upon agents who help tax payers with questions about their tax returns, and review tax returns for accuracy, as the IRS website states? Does the IRS really need an armed law enforcement division, and 360 new employees?

If there are really problems with tax collections warranting hiring a division of armed agents to deal with them, there is likely a simpler, safer and less expensive way to fix it: Change and simplify the tax code.

The tax code is contained in two volumes totaling 2,652 pages. And it is ridiculously complex. At 450 words per page, the tax code is well over 1 million words.

We need a low and universal tax rate, say 10 to 15 percent, and only a few deductions, for dependents and for charitable and other beneficial donations. And, obviously, some low-income people should not be taxed.