The End of the Beginning - The New Crackdown on Illegal Migrants

In spite of the usual obstructions by the usual suspects, the Trump administration is making significant progress on dealing with illegal migration in America.

Both Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security chief General John Kelly are taking significant steps to correct a situation that should have been dealt with long ago.

Aside from appointing what the gutter press calls ‘immigration hawks’ to high positions, both men have also been uncompromising in telling existing personnel that unlike in the Obama years slackness in enforcing existing laws and policy aren’t going to be tolerated:

During his trip to the southern border, Attorney General Jeff Sessions made it clear that he will carry out the mandate he was given by President Donald Trump: to vigorously enforce our immigration laws, and go after the human smugglers and traffickers who work for the Mexican cartels that have caused many of our border security problems.

[It is on the border,] on this sliver of land, where we first take our stand against this filth.

AG Sessions followed this up with an explicit memorandumto all federal prosecutors directing them to make prosecution of certain immigration offenses a higher priority. Session’s targets for high priority?
 

• Prosecuting those who bring in and harbor aliens, who aid or assist criminal aliens to enter, and who bring in aliens for “immoral purposes” (sex traffickers). Priority will be given to those who bring in three or more illegal aliens or where there are aggravating circumstances, such as serious bodily injury, physical or sexual assault, or death.

 

• Bringing felony charges against illegal aliens who have already been deported at least twice or have been deported at least once and have a history of felony crime, gang membership, or other aggravating factors. Also targeted for felony prosecutions: anyone who knowingly enters into a sham marriage to evade immigration laws.

 

• Going after illegal aliens who engage in identity theft or immigration-related fraud with felony prosecutions.

 

• Prosecuting illegal aliens who assault, resist or otherwise impede immigration officers and agents.

This is especially important because there are a number of holdovers from the Obama days who are likely to stall and do their best to avoid doing their jobs. Sessions is giving them a clear choice here;either comply with this directive and uphold and enforce the laws or resign.

And to add meat to his directive, AG Sessions directed each of the 94 offices of U.S. Attorneys to appoint a “Border Security Coordinator” by April 18. Their job will be to oversee the immigration enforcement program of each individual office, coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, and report with real statistics on how each office is performing when it comes to targeting these offenses and prosecuting the offenders. And of course, who’s doing their job and who isn’t.

I personally can’t wait until he starts applying this doctrine to law enforcement official and politicians in ‘sanctuary’ areas who obstruct justice.As I’ve written previously, arresting and prosecuting a couple of them and throwing them in the slammer will bring the rest in line quite quickly.

General Kelly’s attitudes towards illegal migration are also 180 degrees away from his predecessor.

As a military man, he understands that our open borders are a national security issue rather than an immigration issue…not that we’re talking about immigrants here anyway, but illegal migrants. He started out by ordering federal agents to begin arresting and deporting more illegal migrants, releasing them from the restrictions the Obama administration had imposed.

While “Dreamers” are still exempted, agents were told that the Obama policy of ‘special classes’ of people that should be considered off limits for deportation no longer applies

No more catch and release either. Those caught at the border are to be swiftly shipped back, and while agents are still going to give priority to criminals, they’re now free to use discretion — taken away from them in the Obama years.

Kelly’s memos also call for building a wall, hiring 5,000 more Border Patrol agents, 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and 500 more officers for the Air and Marine operations at Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Congress of course will have to fund this. And Speaker Paul Ryan is already doing his best to block fund for the wall. But the frame work is there .

Another policy Secretary Kelly is promoting is one of encouraging local police who want to help enforce immigration laws, rather than rebuffing them as they were under the Obama administration.

And what is interesting is that even just announcing these new policies is having a major effect…and not just on the amnesty lobby. Border crossing attempts by illegal migrants has markedly decreased.

AG Jeff Sessions has cited some interesting numbers…

From January to February of this year, illegal crossings dropped by 40 percent, something unprecedented.
In March,there was a 72 percent drop compared to the month before the president was inaugurated. That’s the lowest monthly figure for at least 17 years. General Kelly’s figures match up. Potential illegal migrants thinking about jumping the border are getting the message that things have changed.

In his speech, General Sessions also announced plans to hire 50 more immigration judges this year and to add 75 judges will be added next year with a new streamlined hiring process.Given the backlog of cases, this makes sense.

This is what happens when you have a president who recognizes what a major problem this is and puts together an ‘A’ team to solve it.

After years of neglect, it won’t be solved over night. But this is the end of the beginning of dealing with illegal migration.