Ex-Judge: Immigration System Isn’t Broken, Just Ignored

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Ex-Judge: Immigration System Isn’t Broken, Just Ignored

(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) The U.S. immigration system isn’t broken, laws established by Congress are being ignored, a former immigration judge told members of Congress.

“Despite consistent claims to the contrary, America’s immigration system is not broken. Far from it, in fact,” Matthew O’Brien said at a hearing held by the U.S. Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs on Thursday.

“The problem,” he said, “is that too many administrations have simply ignored whatever aspects of the Immigration and Nationality Act they dislike or find politically inconvenient. And they do so wholly in order to pander to perceived political constituencies, while ignoring the safety, security and economic interests of the wider American public.”

O’Brien previously led the National Security Division at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and was assistant chief counsel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He said the Biden administration’s “flagrant disregard” for the INA “has currently become the norm” and is “leading us into a public safety and national security crisis from which the United States may find itself unable to recover.” 

The INA stipulates that Border Patrol agents apprehend illegal immigrants and process them for removal through expedited removal procedures or detain them pending review by an immigration court or Citizenship and Immigration Services, with exceptions. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, via a memo in 2021, directed agents to a new policy: Illegal entry alone was no longer a deportable offense, even though federal law states it is.

Florida, Texas and Louisiana sued in separate cases, attempting to stop what became known as “catch and release.”

The Supreme Court ruled that states didn’t have legal standing, overruling a lower court that said the states did. A bill was introduced this week to amend the INA granting states legal standing. 

Mayorkas also changed parole procedures, including those related to catch and release, which the House Committee on Homeland Security identified as illegal and used as evidence to impeach Mayorkas.

O’Brien said the administration has engaged in “deleterious behavior to an unprecedented extent” because it has “chosen to ignore the INA in its entirety.”

The system “is only broken,” O’Brien said, “if one believes that our borders should be open and that we should actively be involved in trying to solicit foreign nationals to come to the United States. Otherwise, we have a perfectly functional set of immigration laws that are highly effective when the agencies charged with implementing them actually apply them as they were written by Congress.”

He said this was done during the Trump administration, which reduced illegal border crossings to record lows. 

Ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said former president Donald Trump and “MAGA” supporters advocated for building alligator moats, “electrifying the fence along the border,” that “there have been suggestions of shooting migrants in the legs” as a border policy. He provided no source to substantiate his claims, which appear to have come from now-debunked claims made by New York Times reporters in 2019, which Trump said was “fake news.” He also said the people making the claims were “crazy.”

Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., pointed out that Mayorkas’ policies led to Customs and Border Patrol agents releasing over 75% of illegal foreign nationals who were apprehended in December at the southwest border. 

More than 370,000 foreign nationals illegally entered the U.S. nationwide in December, the highest number in U.S. history, The Center Square first reported. The greatest number of illegal border crossers in U.S. history were apprehended at the southwest and northern borders in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024. 

Grothman said of the 250,000 foreign nationals apprehended after illegally crossing between points of entry by Border Patrol agents alone, the administration released 190,000. They were released “on their own recognizance with nothing but a notice to appear and a future date,” he said. “That’s a 77% release rate in the month of December.” 

Since January 2021, he said the administration, instead of detaining and processing for removal, released more than 3 million “illegal aliens who have no lawful basis to remain in the U.S.” and created “illegal parole programs incentivizing more and more people to come to the U.S.”

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., asked if it was possible to thoroughly vet the millions of people being released into the country. O’Brien replied, “No, it’s not possible at all.”

O’Brien, who ran the vetting program at Citizenship and Immigration Services, said, “None of the agencies have the capacity to vet people in those numbers. Even more importantly, vetting is something that happens because people have a background that can be traced. In the United States, from the time we’re born till the time we die, we’re laying down paper trail transactions … all of those things can be used to substantiate somebody’s identity. When you’re talking about someone coming from a rural village in Guatemala or places like Yemen, there aren’t any records like that. They don’t exist.”

He also told Congress, “It is time for those who respect our laws to stop allowing the American people to be misled by spurious claims that our immigration system is somehow broken.” Instead, Congress “must force executive branch officials to stop deliberately breaking the system in order to achieve their own agendas.”

Oversight Committee Opens Probe into IRS for Selective Enforcement

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Oversight Committee Opens Probe into IRS for Selective Enforcement

(Casey Harper, The Center Square) The Republican-led House Oversight Committee is looking into allegations that the IRS is selectively not enforcing its tax-exempt rules against leftist nonprofits.

With new allegations of political bias, House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., has launched an investigation into the IRS requesting interviews, communications records and training documents, among other things, as part of the inquiry.

Comer said the IRS “may be withholding enforcement” of federal rules preventing left-wing nonprofits from violating 501(c)3 rules that prevent political lobbying. He sent a letter to the IRS raising that concern.

“Tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and implementing regulations requires that exempted entities are ‘operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational’ and related purposes,” the letter said, adding that many of these groups “seem to view their charitable work as indistinguishable from their substantial lobbying pursuits.”

Meanwhile, Comer points out, the IRS has a history of enforcing its rules against conservative groups.

Former IRS head Lois Lerner infamously targeted Tea Party and other conservative groups during her time in the Obama administration.

A House Oversight Committee review of that scandal years ago found that the IRS “systematically scrutinized and delayed conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.”

Comer’s letter points to one group in particular, One Fair Wage, a group advocating to raise the minimum wage.

“According to a statement of work on their website, the organization is “currently leading the 25 by 250 Campaign, through which One Fair Wage is moving legislation and ballot measures in 25 states…,” the letter said. “In civil litigation initiated by One Fair Wage, Inc., last year, the entity represented on multiple occasions that a significant activity of the organization, if not its primary purpose, includes lobbying.

IRS head David Werfel testified before the House Ways and Means Committee Thursday, during which the Oversight matter arose. The agency has taken criticism in recent years for significant backlogs and leaking taxpayers’ information as well as allegations of bias against conservatives.

“We are concerned that IRS may now be engaged in withholding legitimate enforcement efforts as they pertain to activist groups hiding behind their non-profit statuses,” Comer’s letter said.

New Bill Would Give States Standing to Sue Federal Government

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New Bill Would Give States Standing to Sue Federal Government

(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) A new bill has been filed to give state attorneys general greater authority and legal standing to sue the federal government when it fails to enforce federal immigration law established by Congress.

Republican U.S. Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Dan Bishop of North Carolina introduced the Standing Up to the Executive Branch for Immigration Enforcement Act, or “SUE for Immigration Enforcement Act,” on Wednesday.

The six-page bill is being marked up by the House Judiciary Committee.

It was filed in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last July that held that Texas and Louisiana did not have standing to challenge a policy implemented by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which effectively ended most deportations of illegal foreign nationals.

A federal judge ruled Texas and Louisiana did have standing because the states would incur costs due to the federal government’s refusal to enforce federal immigration law. He also vacated the deportation policy, arguing it was unlawful. Rather than argue the merits of the case, the Supreme Court ruled the states didn’t have standing, or a legal right, to challenge the policy.

The bill of Roy and Bishop bill would give state attorneys general standing to sue the secretary of Homeland Security when the federal government refuses to enforce federal immigration law. It would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow attorneys general to sue when the federal government does not follow existing law and detain and remove illegal foreign nationals in their states.

The bill includes language regarding a state or resident being harmed by federal policies, including defining harm to include financial costs exceeding $100. It also would direct the courts to advance on the docket and expedite the disposition of a civil action.

It takes the opposite approach of a Senate Democrat bill, championed by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., which would have stripped states’ ability to sue. The bill, which Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., said the House would not even consider, would have prevented judges in federal courts in any state from ruling on lawsuits filed by states over Biden administration border policies.

The Lankford-Democratic bill instead gave sole judicial authority to the left-leaning U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which would have prevented states like Texas, Florida, Louisiana and others from winning their cases. Federal judges in these states all ruled against Mayorkas’s policies in lawsuits over the last three years.

Roy said their bill was important because the Biden administration “has consistently ignored the laws on the books that require operational control of our border in pursuit of an open-borders agenda, creating the invasion we have watched for years at our southern border.”

It was imperative that Congress “reaffirm the states’ constitutional ability to defend their own borders,” he said, by authorizing state attorneys general to challenge federal policies directly.

Bishop said President Joe Biden and Mayorkas, whom he and the Republican House majority recently voted to impeach, “are pursuing a disastrous open borders policy at any cost, including repeatedly and flagrantly violating federal immigration law,” and “relentless[ly] pursu[ing] lawlessness, chaos, and destruction.”

Congress must support the states, he said, “as they stand in the breach in their defense of our sovereignty.”

Republican Reps. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, signed on as cosponsors.

Their bill is similar to one twice filed by U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., which would grant states the authority to enforce federal immigration law when the federal government refuses to do so. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody led a coalition of 26 state attorneys general, calling on Congress to pass it.

She told members of Congress last month that despite Florida’s and other states’ wins in court against Biden administration policies, “it is becoming clear that the judicial system is not an adequate battlefield to quickly address the urgent crisis Biden has created,” which is why the coalition urged Congress to act.

Despite a federal judge ruling in Moody’s favor last year over Mayorkas’s catch and release and parole policies, none were halted. Instead, Mayorkas expanded and created new parole programs, which the House Homeland Security Committee identified as illegal and included as evidence in its successful effort to impeach Mayorkas this week.

The bill was filed after apprehensions of illegal border crossers skyrocketed under Mayorkas’ watch. In the first quarter of fiscal 2024 apprehensions at the southwest and northern borders were the highest in U.S. history.

Obama-Appointed US Attorney Admits Fani Willis Testimony Was A ‘Train Wreck’

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Obama-Appointed US Attorney Admits Fani Willis Testimony Was A ‘Train Wreck’

(Headline USA) An Obama-appointed U.S. Attorney blasted Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis following her testimony in court Thursday, calling it a “train wreck,” according to Fox News.

During a panel appearance on CNN This Morning, Michael Moore argued Willis’s combative and rambling answers about whether she had an inappropriate relationship with Nathan Wade, the lead prosecutor she hired to prosecute her case against former President Donald Trump, undermined her case.

“It just becomes a train wreck,” he said of Willis’s testimony. “It just went off the tracks. It reminded me of watching a criminal defendant take the stand. You know, they don’t have to do that. And you see it, and you can tell that the defendant thinks that they’re smarter than everyone in the room.”

Moore went on to write off Willis’s testimony as “not credible,” pointing out that her answers contradicted past statements Wade made in his divorce proceedings.

“He was going to her house and visiting her alone some number of times, years before she claims—or a year before they claim they were dating,” he explained. “That strikes me as a little bit odd, I mean, not a big deal, but was she having other—entertaining other members of the prosecution team? No, just him. Nobody was there to see it.”

He also said he was skeptical of Willis’s claim that she reimbursed Wade for the lavish trips he took her on in cash.

“You know, I have a hard time just thinking about a district attorney paying everything in cash. Nothing wrong with cash, but it‘s convenient right now,” he said.

Moore has previously called on Willis to resign from the case, arguing that she has become an unwelcome distraction in the Trump case.

“I really think that in this type of case, with these allegations, this case is bigger than any one prosecutor,” he said. “And I think, probably, to preserve the case and to show that what’s of most importance to her is the facts of the Trump case, opposed to her political career,” she should step down, he said.

Illegal Alien Tied to Brutal Cop Beating Granted $1 Bail Despite Outcry

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Illegal Alien Tied to Brutal Cop Beating Granted $1 Bail Despite Outcry

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) An illegal alien allegedly involved in the brutal beating of two NYPD cops faces a $1 bail, despite Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pledge to seek substantial bail for those accused of carrying out the heinous beating on Jan. 27.

The $1 bail was imposed on Kelvin Servita-Arocha, but it is unlikely to be paid as ICE arrested the man, a 19-year-old Venezuelan national.

Servita-Arocha was apprehended with Wilson Omar Juarez-Aguilarte, who was supposed to be deported a year ago, as reported by Fox News. Both individuals were present during the assault on the cops.

Arocha was accused of kicking a radio away from one of the officers and was initially released under the $1 bail. His apparent friend, Juarez-Aguilarte, also faced a $1 bail but is unlikely to pay so he could avoid deportation while awaiting a city trial at Rikers Island, a New York City jail. 

Juarez-Aguilarte allegedly did not participate in the beating; instead, he purportedly agreed to swap clothes with those who did partake in the violent assault. Prosecutors argued that this action constitutes tampering of evidence. 

“Both unlawfully present Venezuelan citizens have been charged in conjunction with the violent gang assault carried out on two NYPD officers and are currently detained without bond,” ICE spokesperson Marie Ferguson said, according to the Washington Times. 

Arocha is expected to remain in ICE custody until the judge overseeing the case determines a new bail, ranging approximately between $15,000 and $50,000. It isn’t immediately clear how or if ICE could transport the individual to the Manhattan courthouse for the April hearing.

Federal immigration authorities stated that the duo is part of the Tren de Aragua gang, accused by authorities of rampant crime in New York City, including pocket-picking, robberies, and other thefts. 

According to the Times, NYPD officials arrested the duo but were later released by Bragg, who faced criticism from both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James—both Democrats—for not seeking bail. 

Reportedly, ICE intervened and sought custody of the individuals.

Manchin Rules Out Third-Party Presidential Bid

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Manchin Rules Out Third-Party Presidential Bid

(Headline USA) Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced this week that he will not launch an independent presidential bid, potentially ending months of speculation about his political future.

“I will not be seeking a third-party run. I will not be involved in a presidential run,” Manchin said during a speech at West Virginia University.

He said he’s decided to invest his time in a new campaign group started by his daughter, called “Americans Together.”

The goal of the organization, he said, is to elevate the “moderate majority” and reject “extremism” in politics.

“I’m working with my daughter, working with people that we have around Americans Together and putting all my efforts toward that,” Manchin said Friday.

The West Virginia Democrat was one of the names floated by No Labels, a nonpartisan organization that is looking to launch its own ticket if President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are the two parties’ respective nominees.

Manchin himself has flirted with the idea, suggesting at a different event just a day before his announcement that he would tap Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, as his vice president.

“Hypothetically, if I was picking my running mate, really who I would ask right now is Mitt Romney,” Manchin said.

Romney responded to Manchin’s comment in a statement, joking, “Well, that’s really presumptuous. I would be the president. He would be my running mate.”

The failed 2012 Republican candidate also confirmed he has no intention of running for the White House this year.

“No, I’m not going to run for president,” he added. “Certainly I’m not running for vice president. But [Manchin is] kind to say that. We’re good friends.”

Romney then added that he will “not” be voting for Trump if he is the 2024 GOP nominee, citing a Manhattan jury’s finding last year that Trump abused author E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s.

“I will not be voting for President Trump. I must admit that I find sexual assault to be a line I will not cross in the people I select to be my president,” Romney said.

He has reportedly written in his wife Ann’s name for the past two presidential election cycles.

Biden Calls for Impeachment Halt After DOJ Charges Informant

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Biden Calls for Impeachment Halt After DOJ Charges Informant

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Joe Biden seemed to welcome the federal indictment of former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who initially brought forward allegations of a $10 million bribe involving Biden and his son Hunter Biden from a Burisma executive.

In remarks on Friday, Joe Biden, with a smirk, responded to a question about his reaction to Smirnov’s indictment by suggesting that the ongoing impeachment inquiry and the subsequent investigations into his son should be halted.

A reporter inquired, “An FBI informant at the center of the impeachment inquiry into you has been indicted for allegedly lying—[what’s] your reaction to that and should the inquiry be dropped?” With a wide-open smile, Joe Biden responded: “He is lying, it should be dropped and it’s just been an outrageous effort from the beginning.”

Special Counsel David Weiss, currently investigating Hunter Biden, indicted Smirnov for allegedly providing false information to the FBI regarding claims outlined in two infamous FD-1023 informant files.

These documents, previously under seal, gained national attention after the FBI refused to disclose them. Weiss is currently leading an investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax affairs and the alleged illegal purchase of a weapon.

According to the new indictment, Smirnov fabricated a story in which Ukrainian oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky informed him that he paid $5 million to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden in exchange for political protection.

The $10 million bribe supposedly took place while ousted Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin was investigating Burisma. Shokin was eventually fired at the request of then-Vice President Jo Biden. The file alleged Joe Biden was paid to run for cover for the Burisma. 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., clarified that the impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden does not solely rely on the informant files, which Weiss claims contain fabricated content. 

“To be clear, the impeachment inquiry is not reliant on the FBI’s FD-1023. It is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his family’s business dealings,” Comer said in remarks to CNN.

The FBI initially refused to hand over the classified FD-1023 files, citing concerns about the safety of the informant. However, months later, Weiss returned an indictment against the very individual they claimed to be protecting. 

“When asked by the committee about their confidence in the confidential human source, the FBI told the committee the confidential human source was credible and trusted, had worked with the FBI for over a decade, and had been paid six figures,” Comer added.

Biden Admin Removes 2 Top Border Officials amid Mysterious ‘Misconduct’ Claims

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Biden Admin Removes 2 Top Border Officials amid Mysterious ‘Misconduct’ Claims

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) It was revealed that the Biden administration fired two border patrol officials for an unverifiable “misconduct violation.”

One of them was second-in-command of the U.S. Border Patrol, Acting Deputy Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol Joel Martinez, a 31-year Border Patrol veteran, according to the administration’s statement that was released on Feb. 15, 2024.

“We do not tolerate misconduct within our ranks. When we discover any alleged or potential misconduct, we immediately refer it for investigation and cooperate fully with any criminal or administrative investigations. This is the case whether the alleged misconduct occurs on or off duty. Federal privacy laws prohibit discussion of individual cases,” the administration said.

Martinez, who has held multiple leadership positions within the U.S. Border Patrol, was not under arrest, according to the Daily Wire.

The second person who was fired under the same excuse just days before Martinez was U.S. Border Patrol Academy Chief Ryan Landrum.

While the Biden administration fires border patrol officials, millions of illegal aliens invade the country, overwhelming border states and cities across the United States, the news source said.

Only 18% of Americans believe that the federal government is doing a good job handling the border, while 80% of Americans believe that the government is doing a bad job, according to a new poll that was released this week by Pew Research Center.

Earlier this month, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens said that the agency was stretched so thin due to the scale of the illegals invading the United States.

“… what possible reason would you have for wanting to evade capture and put yourself in danger to cross through the desert or be in a stash house or lock yourself in the back of a tractor-trailer? Could it be that those are the folks that probably have criminal intent, that have bad intent, that represent a possible threat to the people of this country? That’s the kind of thing that keeps us up at night,” he said.

Biden Defiant That He Was Right During Disastrous Afghanistan Withdrawal

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Biden Defiant That He Was Right During Disastrous Afghanistan Withdrawal

(Headline USA) President Joe Biden continues to defend his disastrous military withdrawal from Afghanistan in conversations with aides and administration officials, insisting he made the right decisions.

According to an excerpt from the new book The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore Foreign Policy After Trump,” Biden has been privately defiant ever since the botched withdrawal led to the deaths of 13 U.S. soldiers.

The reason no one resigned after the week-long chaos was “In large part because the president didn’t believe anyone had made a mistake,” wrote author Alexander Ward, according to Axios. “Ending the war was always going to be messy.”

Biden allegedly told his top aides, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, that they had done their best given the situation and vowed to stand by them.

“There wasn’t even a real possibility of a shake-up,” one White House official told Ward.

His refusal to acknowledge the mistakes his administration made comes despite the fact that Biden knew he could not keep his promise to get all American citizens and allies out of Afghanistan, Ward said.

After he said on Aug. 18, 2021, that he would keep troops on the ground until every U.S. citizen had an opportunity to leave, a White House official told Ward, “There’s no one here who thinks we can meet that promise.”

Ultimately, Biden withdrew the last U.S. troops from the region, leaving more than 800 American citizens stranded.

Biden has also publicly refused to apologize for the botched withdrawal.

“We spent over $1 trillion over 20 years. We trained and equipped with modern equipment over 300,000 Afghan forces,” Biden said at a news conference in 2021. “And Afghan leaders have to come together. We lost thousands, we lost to death and injury, thousands of American personnel. They’ve got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation.”

Nat’l MS Society Cancels 90-Yr-Old Volunteer Due to Confusion over Pronouns

Jacob Bruns
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Nat’l MS Society Cancels 90-Yr-Old Volunteer Due to Confusion over Pronouns

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) The National Multiple Sclerosis Society cut ties with a 90-year-old volunteer for not understanding the most fashionable and latest pronoun trends, Twitchy reported.

After 60 years of service, Kali Kumor, the organization’s manager of community engagement, sent Fran Itkoff, whose last name is redacted, a letter informing her that “her role as a volunteer is coming to an end.”

Itkoff was turned away as a result of her “failure” to abide by the organization’s “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion guidelines during your time as a volunteer,” said the letter.

“Unfortunately,” Kumor continued, “based on the situation, we have made the difficult decision to have you step down from your volunteer position, effective immediately.”

Libs of TikTok posted a video of Itkoff reflecting on the situation.

“I didn’t know what it was, what it meant,” Itkoff said, referring to the pronouns she was seeing in various correspondence letters and emails.

Confused, Itkoff decided to ask someone at the MS Society about it.

“I didn’t know what that meant, so finally I was talking to [Kumor] and thought, I’ll ask ‘What does it mean?’ and let her tell me.”

Asking that question led to Itkoff’s termination as a volunteer several days later.

In response to the media attention since the severing of that relationship, the MS Society released a statement acknowledging the situation and attempting to explain what happened.

“Fran has been a valued member of our volunteer team for more than 60 years,” they wrote, adding that their staff “acted with the best of intentions and did their best to navigate a challenging issue.”

Ultimately, they argued, “we are in a continued conversation about assuring that our diversity, equity and inclusion policies evolve in service of our mission, and will reach out to Fran in service of this goal.”

The organization, unsurprisingly, has been woke for some time. MS Society President Cyndi Zagieboylo’s bio, for instance, says that the group strives to “demonstrate our commitment to ensure diversity, equity and inclusion in everything we do.”

Further, she previously posted a video wherein she committed to advancing woke policies.

“We are a movement by and for everyone,” Zagieboylo said, echoing DEI talking points.

“Understanding historical realities while focusing on ensuring equity in everything we do makes us better!” she added.

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