As bad as everything I've just noted is, none of it even matters. Why? Because this bill gives President Joe Biden sole authority to override all the emergency provisions that supposedly kick in after 5,000 illegal entries. In other words, as laughably high as that threshold is, it's not even enforceable. //

Chris Murphy 🟧 @ChrisMurphyCT
·
6/ But...important checks on that power. It can only be used for a limited number of days per year. It sunsets in 3 years. Emergency cases that show up in between the ports still need to be accepted. The ports must process a minimum of 1400 claims a day.
6:54 PM · Feb 4, 2024

In short, Ukraine gets a bunch of cash, some insanely weak border enforcement provisions are put in place that expire after three years, and Biden gets the authority to override them immediately anyway. Does that sound like something Republicans should be signing onto, especially in an election year? This nonsense is DOA, and the House should rip it apart and shove it back in the face of the Senate.

Elon Musk @elonmusk
·
Most people in America don’t know that the census is based on a simple headcount of people (including illegals) not just citizens.

This shifts political power and money to states and Congressional districts with the highest number of illegals.
11:12 AM · Feb 3, 2024

Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie
·
Replying to @elonmusk
True. And when they find out, most Americans disagree with the current practice of counting illegals in the census and awarding congressional representation and electoral votes based on illegals.

Thats why I have cosponsored @WarrenDavidson ‘s resolution to stop this practice.

Warren Davidson 🇺🇸 @WarrenDavidson
Encourage your member of Congress to cosponsor HJ Resolution 37.

Congressional districts should be drawn based on the population of US citizens only. The Census should specifically count US citizens for apportionment of representation. Only US citizens are represented by the US…
1:11 PM · Feb 3, 2024

Bill Melugin @BillMelugin_
·
NEW: The large majority of illegal crossings at the southern border are now happening in AZ & CA, as a shift away from TX continues.

Per CBP sources, 23,576 of them – 71.8% – were in Arizona and California. Notably, the numbers in Texas' Del Rio sector, which includes Eagle Pass, have fallen off a cliff. In December, the sector saw days of 3,000-4,000 illegal crossings per day. Over the last week, it has averaged around just 200.

12:34 PM · Feb 1, 2024 //

Barry Cunningham @barrycunningham
·
Illegals got the message.

Texas encounters dropped from 4,000 per day down to 200!

Now they are headed to Arizona and California.
Sooo...a show of force DOES work! Whaddayaknow!
6:14 PM · Feb 1, 2024 //

NightTwister
a day ago
"So we don't know what Biden may have promised Mexico" -- Probably this: "We'll have more flexibility after the election in November."

Mike Lee @BasedMikeLee
·
Earlier today, a reporter standing outside the Senate chamber told me that, after four months of secrecy, The Firm™️ plans to release the text of the $106 billion supplemental aid / border-security package—possibly as soon as tomorrow.

Wasting no time, she then asked, “if you get the bill by tomorrow, will you be ready to vote on it by Tuesday?”

The words “hell no” escaped my mouth before I could stop them. Those are strong words where I come from. (Sorry, Mom).

The reporter immediately understood that my frustration was not directed at her.

Rather," it was directed at the Law Firm of Schumer & McConnell ('The Firm'), which is perpetually trying to normalize a corrupt approach to legislating—in which 'The Firm':

(1) spends months drafting legislation in complete secrecy,

(2) aggressively markets that legislation based not on its details and practical implications (good and bad), but only on its broadest, least-controversial objectives,

(3) lets members see bill text for the first time only a few days (sometimes a few hours) before an arbitrary deadline imposed by The Firm itself, always with a contrived sense of urgency, and then

(4) forces a vote on the legislation on or before that deadline, denying senators any real opportunity to read, digest, and debate the measure on its merits, much less introduce, consider, and vote on amendments to fix any perceived problems with the bill or otherwise improve it.

Whenever The Firm engages in this practice, it largely excludes nearly every senator from the constitutionally prescribed process in which all senators are supposed to participate.

So why does The Firm do it?

The high success rate is largely attributable to the fact that The Firm has become very adept at (a) enlisting the help of the (freakishly cooperative) news media, (b) exerting peer pressure in a way that makes what you experienced in middle school look mild by comparison, and (c) rewarding those who consistently vote with The Firm with various privileges that The Firm is uniquely capable of offering (committee assignments, help with campaign fundraising, and a whole host of other widely coveted things that The Firm is free to distribute in any manner it pleases).

It’s through this process that The Firm passes most major spending legislation

It’s through this process that The Firm likely intends to pass the still-secret, $106 billion supplemental aid / border-security package, which The Firm has spent four months negotiating, with the luxury of obsessing over every sentence, word, period, and comma.

I still don’t know exactly what’s in this bill, although I have serious concerns with it based on the few details The Firm has been willing to share.

But under no circumstances should this bill — which would fund military operations in three distant parts of the world and make massive, permanent changes to immigration law — be passed next week.

Nor should it be passed until we have had adequate time to read the bill, discuss it with constituents, debate it, offer amendments, and vote on those amendments.

There’s no universe in which those things will happen by next week.

Elon Musk @elonmusk
·
Biden’s strategy is very simple:

1. Get as many illegals in the country as possible.

2. Legalize them to create a permanent majority – a one-party state.

That is why they are encouraging so much illegal immigration. Simple, yet effective.
8:26 PM · Feb 2, 2024b//

In response to Biden's January 26 press release in which he claimed he needed congressional authority and more money to "shut down" the border, Musk fired back:

No laws need to be passed. All that is needed is an executive order to require proof before granting an asylum hearing. That is how it used to be. ///

Enforce the law as it is written.

When Silicon Valley entrepreneur David Sacks commented that there are plenty of laws -- there's just no enforcement by Biden, Homeland Security head Alejandro Mayorkas et al. -- Musk was in agreement:

David Sacks @DavidSacks
Jan 26, 2024
·
The border isn’t broken because Congress needs to pass new laws. It’s broken because this administration refuses to enforce the laws we already have.

Elon Musk @elonmusk
·
Exactly
9:42 PM · Jan 26, 2024 //

Elon Musk @elonmusk
·
That is undeniable at this point

David Sacks @DavidSacks
Biden’s policy is open borders. Everything else is noise.
Embedded video
3:50 AM · Jan 27, 2024

This bill has two purposes. First, to normalize illegal immigration into the United States at a rate of at least 2 million per year if the plan worked. But the plan can't work because the "5,000" per day can't survive legal scrutiny. There is no plan to reduce the case backlog. There is no plan to deal with the second-order problem of what to do with this mass of illegals and the influx of "Dreamers." The second objective is to give Biden unfettered control of the US Border via some nebulous "new emergency authority." //

TexasVeteran
5 hours ago
It’s worse than the stinking pile of crap that Cruz describes, it’s a trap Biden’s handlers have set up for Republicans (senile Joe’s not smart enough). Should the bill pass, the dems won’t use the additional judges and agents to secure the border. Instead they’ll use them to process the illegals faster, expediting entry into the USA. See how humane the are?🙄

If the bill fails, with the collusion of the MSM, it’ll become a cudgel with which to beat the "obstructionist" Republican House. //

redincalifornia TexasVeteran
3 hours ago
How about we just enforce the immigration laws we already have? No need to do more. ///

Cloward and Piven again ... Create a crisis, then propose a solution that essentially normalizes the crisis, plus removes some of the previous "impediments" that formerly existed before the manufactured crisis.

Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson
·
🚨 25 states have signed a letter pledging their support to Texas and its constitutional right to defending the Southern Border:

ALABAMA
ALASKA
ARKANSAS
FLORIDA
GEORGIA
IDAHO
INDIANA
IOWA
LOUISIANA
MISSISSIPPI
MISSOURI
MONTANA
NEBRASKA
NEVADA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NORTH DAKOTA
OHIO… Show more
6:20 PM · Jan 25, 2024

Letter: https://t.co/mqSz1aItqm

Is there going to be a major confrontation on the border following Joe Biden's ultimatum that Texas National Guard forces be removed from Shelby Park and other "disputed" areas? Not if the rank-and-file of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol have anything to say about it. //

Border Patrol Union - NBPC @BPUnion
Rank-and file BP agents are not going to start arresting TX NG members for following their LAWFUL orders. That's fake news.

TX NG and rank-and-file BP agents work together and respect each other's jobs. Period. If TX NG members have LAWFUL orders, then they have to carry out those orders.

TX NG members realize that rank-and-file BP agents have their orders as well. Lawful orders, no matter how unpopular or distasteful amongst rank-and-file agents, must be followed. Unlawful orders (as determined by competent legal counsel and not what some outhouse lawyer behind a keyboard says) will not be followed.

Rank-and-file BP agents appreciate and respect what TX has been doing to defend their state in the midst of this catastrophe that the Biden Admin has unleashed on America.

We want to be perfectly clear, there is no fight between rank-and-file BP agents and the TX NG, Gov. Abott, or TX DPS. It may make flashy headlines, but it simply isn't true.
1:03 PM · Jan 26, 2024 //

Griff Jenkins @GriffJenkins
·
BREAKING: A Senior CBP Official tells FOX:

"the relationship between Border Patrol, Texas DPS, & TMD remains strong... Bottom line: Border Patrol has no plans to remove infrastructure (c-wire) placed by Texas along the border. Our posture remains the same." @FoxNews
1:54 PM · Jan 26, 2024 //

The governor writes:

The federal government has broken the compact between the United States and the States. The Executive Branch of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting States, including immigration laws on the books right now. President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them. The result is that he has smashed records for illegal immigration.

Despite having been put on notice in a series of letters - one of which I delivered to him by hand - President Biden has ignored Texas's demand that he perform his constitutional duties. //

The failure of the Biden Administration to fulfill the duties imposed by Article IV, § 4 has triggered Article I, § 10, Clause 3, which reserves to this State the right of self-defense. For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas's constitutional authority to defend and protect itself. That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary. The Texas National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and other Texas personnel are acting on that authority, as well as state law, to secure the Texas border. //

In the Constitution, Article I, § 10, Clause 3 states:

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

The federal attorney being quoted is reading more into the Supreme Court's ruling than exists. The ruling simply lifted an injunction that stopped the federal officials from cutting the razor wire. The ruling did not say that Texas must allow federal officials access to the areas where the razor wire is. That is now going to be the point of this conflict going forward, and it will likely take another court ruling to settle the matter.

Abbott should stand tall on this. He's got absolutely nothing to lose. What is the Biden administration going to do? Open fire on the Texas National Guard if they don't clear out? The federal government has no leverage here and no ability to exact its will. Texas is holding Shelby Park and the other "disputed" areas, and they have no obligation to leave.

It is insane that this is even an argument. The border crisis has reached horrific proportions, and the Biden administration is wasting its time and resources trying to cut razor wire laid out to stop illegal entries. Texas has a right to self-defense. It has a right to protect its territory. If the federal government refuses to do the job, that's on its leaders, not state officials who are just trying to do the common sense thing.

In short, Abbott should tell Biden to pound sand. //

It wasnt me > Secession!
4 hours ago
No. I hope Governor Abbot, alone in his wheelchair, sits before whoever the President sends.
Let's all watch men armed with automatic weapons in full tactical gear toss an Handicapped Elected Governor in a wheel chair on live TV.

At first I thought Trump should stand beside him.
And then ALL the Governors should fly down and stand with him too.
But one man alone in a wheelchair...

Think Tiananmen Square.

Do not present us with a plan that doesn’t have a wall and doesn’t have total enforcement of the immigration laws with ironclad enforcement provisions. Everything needs to be notwithstanding other laws, so they can’t sue to stop you. There has to be a grant of standing for states to sue to enforce the laws. And there has to be a cut off of any kind of aid the second the border reopens. Good gosh, this isn’t hard. But it seems really hard for you guys. I attribute that to the fact that, and I want to be charitable about this, a lot of you are really stupid.

Stop trying to do immigration deals with the Democrats.

You’re not smart enough to pull it off. Just say no to everything until the Dems comply. What’s the worst case? We have a wide-open border, and we’re not spending money on other people’s wars? That compares favorably to the present situation, where we have a wide-open border, and we are spending money on other people’s wars. //

I don’t know how many times I have to say this because I’ve been around for a while, and I’ve seen this same thing happen again and again and again when squish GOP senators try to negotiate with the Democrats about immigration. I know it’s meant to bully mental defectives, but when it comes to the GOP Senate caucus, that rule does not apply since some of its members apparently cannot learn from experience and must learn through pain. Here is a message to you, spineless Republican senators….

Stop trying to do immigration deals with the Democrats.

This same sorry scenario gets replayed over and over again. //

Maximus Decimus Cassius
5 hours ago edited
Hey Kurt, maybe its not because RINO Senators are horrible negotiators, or naive buffoons, but perhaps we need revisit Hanlon's razor. I mean, how many times have RINO doofuses tried to "negotiate" an immigration deal and they wind up getting hosed? It goes as far back as our beloved Ronald Reagan.

So maybe its not naivete or stupidity. Maybe its just plain greed and treachery.

The headline is chilling enough. Add in the rest of the story and it's easy to see why President Joe Biden is a clear and present danger to the security of the United States and has been such since his first day in office — intentionally so, as revealed by a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report.

As the CBO reported, Biden — eagerly assisted by Homeland Security head Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken — has summarily allowed at least 6.2 million illegal aliens to walk into the country, with virtually no questions asked. //

So let's do the math: 1.2 million, 2.7 million, and 3.3 million — up to October 2023 — add up to 6.2 million illegal aliens encountered and summarily released in just three years.

Now add in gotaways — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources have confirmed over 1.7 million known gotaways at the Southwest border — the number of which is unknowable, and estimates of the total number of illegal aliens released into the country by Team Biden reach 9 million or more.

Biden claims that he hasn't believed the border was secure for the last ten years and that he's been saying that for the last decade. Of course, that's completely untrue. He and his people have insisted that the border was secure right up until this comment that he just made this week. So this is a huge falsehood he's attempting here. How can you trust anyone who is this delusional and dishonest? //

He seems to want to blame Republicans here for not giving him money. It isn't about money, it's about enforcing the law. It's because Biden undid everything former President Donald Trump had in place that was working and then things exploded. Plus, he had a Democratic Congress for the first two years. //

Laocoön of Troy Mildred's Oldest Son
6 hours ago
None of the explanations have been particularly satisfying. Last week I heard one that made more sense. Alot of hard-blue states are exporting population as quick as U-Haul can get the trucks. Those voters and the nums that they generate go into the census. The Congressional Districts where the U-Hauls are going are in red states. Blue states down and red ststes up. It's a freakin' lightmare for the left.

Unless more warm bodies can be shoehorned into Chicago, NYC, LA, San Francisco, Boston, and other crazy urban areas...those states are gonna lose ALOT of House seats and electoral votes after the next census. It's not about generating fake votes...which would be a bonus for the lefties...it's about pumping up their nums to slow the bleeding in terms of House seats.

Don't know if that's supported by data...but it makes sense to me.

The "Today" report goes on to say that Biden is encouraging House Speaker Mike Johnson to work with his administration to solve the border crisis. Does anyone actually believe this stuff?

Biden has ushered in the worst border crisis in American history, and it's not because we need "reform." It's because he has steadfastly refused to enforce the law and has dismantled provisions that were in place helping to stem the tide. It was a choice to get rid of "Remain in Mexico." It was a choice to escalate the practice of "catch-and-release" of illegal immigrants into the interior. //

When the deal falls apart, Biden wants to be able to claim he had every intention of securing the border but those dastardly Republicans stopped him.

He has no actual intention of doing that, no matter what the outcome in Congress is.

houdini1984
an hour ago
If Republicans try to wait for a better deal after November's election, senators say, they could end up with GOP control over Congress and the White House — but Democrats who are in no mood to deal on the issue.

And?

If the Republicans end up with GOP control over Congress and the White House, they would only need to enforce existing law. Build the wall. Forcibly stop newcomers from entering unlawfully. Begin mass deportations to remove those who are already here.

Any deal that normalizes the current status quo must be a non-starter. The system is not broken; those who are responsible for enforcing its legal processes are simply not doing their jobs.

White House claim: “On Friday night, a woman and two children drowned near Eagle Pass, and Texas officials blocked U.S. Border Patrol from attempting to provide emergency assistance.”

DOJ filing: The migrants had already drowned at 8pm, and Border Patrol didn’t inform Texas until an hour later at 9pm.

This, like the horseback patrol “whipping” claims - took off as a false narrative, generating headlines that claimed Texas blocked a federal rescue effort, leading to the drownings of three migrants. The DOJ now confirms, those migrants had been deceased for an hour before Texas was even alerted about it. //

Make no mistake, President Biden's policies are not just putting our national sovereignty and safety at risk, they are directly responsible for the conditions that caused these illegal immigrants and hundreds of others just like them to die. Since Biden took office, over 1,000 illegal immigrants have died trying to illegally enter the United States, ... ///

Only 1000, out of 10 million in three years??

This is one of the dumbest, most counter-productive immigration deals I've ever seen, which means is absolutely a perfect representation of the modern GOP. What is the point of voting for this?

End Wokeness @EndWokeness
·
AOC's solution to the border crisis:

"You can either fix it by trying to build a wall. Or you can fix it by documenting people."

The best way to end illegal migration is by legalizing it. AOC is brilliant.

1:55 PM · Jan 7, 2024 //

The biggest problem at the border remains the incentives that are drawing people to cross it illegally. If you build a wall and stop catch-and-release, illegal immigrants will mostly stop coming because the dangerous, expensive journey will no longer be worth it. If you start "documenting people," those incentives only intensify.

Honestly, things are so bad that even building a wall would likely result in little change. The only thing that is going to stop the onslaught of illegal immigration is asylum reform that stops people from crossing the border and immediately claiming asylum, thereby requiring that their claim is adjudicated. To do that, a policy of detention and quick decision-making must be put in place. If enough people are denied and sent back, those that haven't come yet will get the message.

What Ocasio-Cortez is suggesting is the full-scale destruction of American sovereignty, and even then, it wouldn't "fix" anything. I guess that shouldn't surprise me. //

bpbatch
3 hours ago
You know how you reduce crime in this country?

You legalize theft, murder, and violent assaults.

It's just common sense... //

Cynical Optimist
36 minutes ago
AOC: "I am amazed at how many civil war battles were fought in state and national parks."

Citizen Free Press
@CitizenFreePres
·
Follow
Fetterman right again:

"There's a crisis at the border and I don't know how anyone could pretend that there isn't."

9:17 PM · Jan 5, 2024 //

RNC Research
@RNCResearch
·
Follow
More illegal immigrants have crossed the border in December than in any month — EVER.

Democrats want you to believe the border is “secure.” They are lying.

12:47 PM · Dec 29, 2023 //

Bill Melugin
@BillMelugin_
·
Follow
Migrant encounters at the southern border over the last four Decembers. (3 Biden, 1 Trump).

December 2023: 302,000+

December 2022: 252,315

December 2021: 179,253

December 2020: 73,994
3:29 PM · Jan 2, 2024