CA Attorney General Sues Trump Administration Over Birthright Citizenship Executive Order

January 23, 2025 By Evan Symon 7 Comments

Bonta claims order violates 14th Amendment, Immigration and Nationality Act

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit along with 17 other states’ Attorneys General on Monday against President Donald Trump over his executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship, claiming that it violates the 14th Amendment.

Birthright citizenship, where anyone born in the United States automatically becomes a citizen, has been defended for decades as being part of the 14th Amendment. The ACLU has said that the Citizenship Clause of the Amendment, which states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” protects birthright citizenship.

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However, the practice has also been argued against by those favoring a tighter border and reducing illegal immigration. Many have contended that the practice has been heavily abused for decades, with many migrants getting around legal immigration pathways by having an “anchor baby” to stay in the U.S. legally. Others have noted that only 33 countries in the world, including the United states, have unrestricted birthright citizenship, with another 32 having restricted birthright citizenship of some kind. And in recent years, there has been a growing legal argument stating that birthright citizenship isn’t protected by the 14th Amendment.

With the worst border crisis in American history occurring under the Biden administration, Trump ran a presidential campaign focused heavily on border and illegal immigrant reform. Trump made many campaign promises, including sealing the border with Mexico to counter drug smuggling and crime, beginning a mass deportation program of illegal aliens, ending Biden’s “catch and release” policy, reimplementing his “remain in Mexico” policy, and ending birthright citizenship. Following his election in November, Trump then vowed to make many of his promises laws on day one through executive orders.

On Monday, President Trump was true to his word, signing seven executive orders on immigration and border policies. This included ending birthright citizenship, meaning that the children of migrants in the U.S. either illegally or with a temporary visa will not automatically be made American citizens. In his Executive Order signed on Monday, Trump argued that the 14th Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship to everyone born in the country.

“But the Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States,” the order said. “The Fourteenth Amendment has always excluded from birthright citizenship persons who were born in the United States but not ‘subject to the jurisdiction thereof.’  Consistent with this understanding, the Congress has further specified through legislation that ‘a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” is a national and citizen of the United States at birth.”

Trump’s birthright citizenship Executive Order

The Executive Order then clarified the new policy:

“It is the policy of the United States that no department or agency of the United States government shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship, or accept documents issued by State, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship, to persons:  (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.”

The new Executive Order was almost immediately challenged later in the day by the ACLU, which sued the Trump administration in a New Hampshire federal court. It was then followed up on Tuesday by Bonta’s lawsuit, which also included the Attorneys General of 17 other states, the District of Columbia, and the city of San Francisco. In his argument against the Executive order, Bonta said that all children born on U.S. soil are automatically granted U.S. citizenship under the 14th Amendment. He further stated that Trump’s order not only violates the 14th Amendment, but also Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. In addition, Bonta and the others asked the court to block the Executive Order from going into effect while it is being played out in court.

Click here to read the full article in the California Globe

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Abrupt end to border app that brought nearly 1 million to US strands many in Mexico

January 22, 2025 By JULIE WATSON and MEGAN JANETSKY 1 Comment

TIJUANA, Mexico — They came from Haiti, Venezuela and around the world, pulling small rolling suitcases crammed with clothing and stuffed animals to occupy their children. They clutched cellphones showing that after months of waiting they had appointments — finally — to legally enter the United States.

Now outside a series of north Mexico border crossings where mazes of concrete barriers and thick fencing eventually spill into the United States, hope and excitement evaporated into despair and disbelief moments after President Donald Trump took office. U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Monday that the CBP One app that worked as recently as that morning would no longer be used to admit migrants after facilitating entry for nearly 1 million people since January 2023.

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Tens of thousands of appointments that were scheduled into February were canceled, applicants were told.

That was it. There was no way to appeal, and no one to talk to.

In Tijuana, where 400 people were admitted daily on the app at a border crossing with San Diego, Maria Mercado had to work up the courage to check her phone.

Tears ran down her cheeks after she finally looked. Her family’s appointment was for 1 p.m., a few hours too late.

“We don’t know what we are going to do,” she said, standing with her family within view of the United States.

She left Colombia decades ago after it was overrun by drug cartel violence, heading to Ecuador. When cartels besieged her new homeland, the family fled again, in June, this time to Mexico, hoping to reach the U.S.

“I’m not asking the world for anything — only God. I’m asking God to please let us get in,” she said.

CBP One has been wildly popular, especially with Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians and Mexicans. Now, they were stranded at the U.S. border or deeper in Mexico.

Jairol Polo, 38, tried getting an appointment for six months from Mexico City before snagging one for Wednesday in Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas. The Cuban man flew Monday from Mexico’s capital to learn at the Matamoros-Brownsville border crossing that his appointment was canceled.

“Imagine how we feel,” he said dejectedly while smoking a cigarette.

People with morning appointments got through on schedule. Andrum Roman, a 28-year-old Venezuelan, was in the last group to cross the border with the CBP One in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas.

“We are a little safer now because we are here,” he said just before handing over his documents to U.S. authorities. “But you still don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.

Another Venezuelan, Rober Caruzi, entered El Paso right behind him. “I reached the border twice and I was returned twice, but I didn’t lose hope,” he said.

By afternoon, the app was down.

CBP One is effectively a lottery system that give appointments to 1,450 people a day at one of eight border crossings. People enter the U.S. on immigration “parole,” a presidential authority that former President Joe Biden used more than any other president since it was introduced in 1952.

Its demise follows Trump’s campaign promises, and will please its critics, who see it as an overly generous magnet attracting people to Mexico’s border with the United States.

Despite a glitchy launch in January 2023, it quickly became a critical piece of the Biden administration’s border strategy to expand legal pathways while cracking down on asylum for people who enter illegally. Supporters say it brought order amid the tumult of illegal crossings.

Many migrant shelters in Mexico are now occupied largely by people who tapped their phones daily hoping for an appointment. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says about 280,000 people try daily for the 1,450 slots.

The demise of CBP One will be coupled with the return of “Remain in Mexico,” a remnant of Trump’s first term that forced about 70,000 asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court.

Matthew Hudak, who retired last year as deputy chief of the Border Patrol, said the demise of CBP One could encourage people to cross illegally. To be effective, it must be coupled with something like “Remain in Mexico,” he said.

“The message with CBP One being shut down is basically, ‘Hey we’re not going to allow you to show up; the doors are not going to be open.’ For that to be meaningful, there has to be some level of consequence if you bypass any lawful means and you’re doing it illegally,” he said.

Click here to read the full article in the OC Register

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Can California keep ICE away from schools? Lawmakers want to try as crackdowns loom

January 4, 2025 By Carolyn Jones 1 Comment

California lawmakers are proposing steps to protect K-12 students and families from mass deportations — although the real value of those proposals may be symbolic.

A pair of bills in the Legislature — AB 49 and SB 48 — aim to keep federal agents from detaining undocumented students or their families on or near school property without a warrant. The bills are a response to President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to deport undocumented immigrants, a move which could have major consequences for schools in California, which funds its schools based on attendance and where 12% of students have at least one undocumented parent.

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Both bills would make it harder and more time-consuming for agents to enter schools or day care centers. But they can only delay, not stop, arrests. 

“In no way can these bills override federal law,” said Kevin Johnson, a law professor at UC Davis. “But the bills respond to a great concern in the community that it’s not safe to take your children to school. … I can’t emphasize enough how important this is, how vulnerable undocumented immigrants feel right now.”

AB 49, proposed by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat from Torrance, would require immigration agents to obtain written permission from the superintendent before coming onto school property. It also bars agents from being in rooms where children are present. SB 48, introduced by Sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat from Long Beach, would prohibit local police from cooperating with federal agents — such as assisting in arrests or providing information about families’ immigration status — within one mile of a school. It also bars schools from sharing student and family information with federal authorities. 

School districts have also doubled down on their efforts to protect students and families. Los Angeles Unified has partnered with legal aid organizations to assist families and instructed schools not to ask students about their immigration status. San Francisco Unified has similar policies.

“(San Francisco Unified) is a safe haven for all students regardless of citizenship status,” Superintendent Maria Su wrote to the community after the November election. “SFUSD restates our position that all students have the right to attend school regardless of their immigration status or that of their family members.”

Schools as safe havens

Schools have long been safe havens for immigrant students. Under a 1982 Supreme Court ruling, public schools must enroll all students regardless of their immigration status and can’t charge tuition to students who aren’t legal residents. And since 2011, federal guidelines discourage agents from making immigration arrests at schools, hospitals, churches, courthouses and other “sensitive locations.”

But Trump said he plans to eliminate the “sensitive locations” guidelines, and the Heritage Foundation, which published the right-leaning Project 2025 manifesto, is encouraging states to charge tuition to undocumented K-12 students. That could set up the possible overturn of the Supreme Court decision guaranteeing access to school for undocumented students. The foundation’s rationale is that government agencies such as schools are already overburdened and need to prioritize services for U.S. citizens.

“The (Biden) administration’s new version of America is nothing more than an open-border welfare state,” Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, wrote. “No country can sustain or survive such a vision.”

Muratsuchi, chair of the Assembly Education Committee, said he was inspired to author AB 49 just after the election, when he listened to the concerns of immigrant students in the political science class he teaches at El Camino Community College in Torrance. 

“It became clear there was more and more fear among my students, not only for themselves but for their families. The fear of families being torn apart is very real,” Muratuschi said. “We want to send a strong message to our immigrant students that we’re going to do everything we can to protect them.”

‘Too scared to speak up’

For most undocumented families, deportation would mean a plunging into poverty and in many cases, violence. Nahomi, a high school senior in Fresno County whom CalMatters is identifying by her middle name because of her immigration status, described the threat of deportation as “a major worry for my family and I. Our lives could change completely in a blink of an eye.”

“I can’t emphasize enough how important this is, how vulnerable undocumented immigrants feel right now.”KEVIN JOHNSON, LAW PROFESSOR AT UC DAVIS

Nahomi and her parents arrived in California in 2011 from the city of Culiacan in Sinaloa, Mexico, an area plagued by widespread violence. They initially planned to stay until Sinaloa became safer, but once they settled in the Central Valley they decided the risks of returning outweighed the risk of deportation, so they stayed. Nahomi’s father works in construction and her mother is a homemaker, raising Nahomi and her younger sister.

While she and her family fear deportation, Nahomi is not afraid to attend school. She said schools can help families know their rights and help children feel safe.

“I feel very welcomed and safe there,” she said. “It is a very diverse high school and I just feel like any other student. … (But) a lot of these families are probably too scared to speak up about doubts they might have.”

Politically unpopular?

Patricia Gándara, an education professor and co-director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, said the risk of federal agents arresting students at schools is probably small. It’s unclear how many children in K-12 schools are undocumented, but it’s probably a relatively small number, she said. In any case, immigration enforcement that affects children almost always sparks public outcry from both parties, she said. 

“Some people might say they’re anti-immigrant, but it’s another thing entirely when the family up the street, whom they’ve known for 20 years, suddenly gets deported, or your kid’s best friend gets deported,” said Gandara, who’s studied the topic extensively. “It’s politically very unpopular.”

Still, the proposed bills could send a powerful message that schools are safe places, she said. Immigration crackdowns can have a significant impact on student attendance, a Stanford study found, which can lead to less funding for schools, particularly low-income schools that enroll large numbers of immigrant children. 

Immigration crackdowns can also lead to an increase in bullying, anxiety and general uncertainty on campus, not just for immigrant children but for everyone, Gándara said. Teachers, in particular, experience high levels of stress when their students’ safety is endangered, she said. 

Schools can’t rely solely on state laws to protect immigrant families, though, she added. They should partner with local nonprofits to provide legal services and other support to families who need assistance, Gándara said.

“Schools are one of the last places immigrant families feel safe,” she said. “But as soon as (federal agents) move into schools, they’re not so safe any more. These bills say, ‘We’re not going to sit back and let this happen. Not all of government is against you.”

Click here to read the full article in CalMatters

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AG Rob Bonta Doubles Down On Limiting State, Local Participation In Immigration Enforcement

December 6, 2024 By Evan Symon Leave a Comment

‘Bonta is just grandstanding here’

In a statement on Wednesday, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced updates to policies and recommendations to help guide public institutions in complying with California law limiting state and local participation in immigration enforcement activities, adding more to his attempt to block new tougher immigration policies next year.

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For the last month, Bonta, as well as other Democratic California lawmakers, have rallied against President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed migrant policy changes, such as a ramping up of deportation efforts against illegal immigrants and stricter border measures. Entire cities have also gotten into it, with the Los Angeles City Council voting to make the city a sanctuary city a few weeks ago. Governor Gavin Newsom also recently proposed $25 million going to a legal defense fund to challenge immigration enforcement authorities. For Bonta, it has also meant attempting legal challenges against Trump, as well as strengthening California sanctuary state laws, despite the numerous issues with them.

On Wednesday, Bonta went even further, announcing updated guidance on SB 54/Sanctuary state laws. This included reiterating that hospitals, libraries, shelters, schools, and courthouses were safe spaces for illegal migrants.

“No matter who is in the White House, in California, we will continue to lead with California values. California is the most diverse state in the nation, and immigrants are the backbone of our economy, history, and culture. We will not be caught flat-footed if the President-elect follows through on his threats of mass deportation – and we will not allow safe spaces like libraries, hospitals, and courthouses to be co-opted and commandeered for his inhumane immigration agenda,” said Bonta. “Many public institutions already have policies in place for how to respond to immigration enforcement authorities – and we advise those who do not to make a plan today. My office will continue to use the full force of the law and every tool at our disposal to protect the rights of California’s immigrants – and we need staff at these critical locations to do the same. We cannot let the Trump deportation machine create a culture of fear and mistrust that prevents immigrants from accessing vital public services.”

He also reiterated that state courthouses, public healthcare facilities, and public schools are required to limit support of immigration enforcement activity. All other facilities, such as libraries, are encouraged to do so.

Click here to read the full article in the California Globe

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The Illegal Immigrant Industrial Complex

February 8, 2024 By Katy Grimes Leave a Comment

Conflating refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, migrants and invaders

Photo: David Peinado Romero/Shutterstock

The United States Southern border is completely broken. America is being invaded courtesy of our own President Joe Biden, who feigns he inherited the immigration invasion, when in fact on January 21, 2021, day one of his presidency, newly inaugurated President Joe Biden ordered the border wall construction halted, and dismantled. He reversed former President Trump’s immigration policies, resulting in more than 8.5 million illegal immigrants  apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The new border bill currently being pushed by U.S. Senate Democrats, some Republicans, and the President, appears to be dead on arrival in the House. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell even removed his support for the bill.

The President is still calling the bill the “toughest and fairest” in decades — and the left claims the Senate is merely adopting Trump era immigration policy.

So what’s going on?

Greased palms is what’s going on… this bill represents a redistribution of American wealth, again, as all of the COVID funding for cities and states was. Or, you can just call it the Illegal Immigration Industrial Complex.

In the Senate border bill, it was fairly evident that the Senate planned to send bailout money to blue sanctuary cities whose mayors are shrieking about the cost to feed, clothe, and house the “migrants” showing up in their cities. Handing out VISA debit cards and iPhones isn’t helping the cost. Notably, the people never voted for sanctuary cities (or states) – these were just declared by local predominately Democrat politicians and city councils.

A group called “#WelcomeWithDignity” and their 26 NGO and non-profit partners “are calling on Senators to reject the bill and consider alternative, humane solutions  to the problems facing the U.S. immigration system.”

#WelcomeWithDignity has “partners” in California:

Here is what #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign for asylum rights says:

“The newly introduced Senate funding bill, if passed, will result in more cruelty and chaos at our nation’s border. The bill is poisoned with extreme anti-immigrant policies that would essentially end access to asylum, a legal pathway for people fleeing persecution. An international aid bill is no place for immigration reform. It is unconscionable to use people seeking asylum as political pawns to gain support for the protection of others.

The #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign for asylum rights strongly condemns the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, introduced by Senators Lankford (R-OK), Sinema (I-AZ), and Murphy (D-CT). Among its most damaging provisions, the bill would make it harder to determine whether a person can apply for asylum.”

“Over the years, the U.S. has ramped up its cruelty in an attempt to curtail the number of people arriving at its border. Adults and children have been put in cages, families have been separated, the border has been closed and, still, people continue to seek safety. People flee their home countries out of necessity. This bill will not stop people from coming; it will only lead to more cruelty and chaos at the border,” said Melina Roche, #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign Manager. 

Who are these partners?

The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies at University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.

Witness at the Border which says, “We are Bearing Witness. We track ICE Air Flights.”

Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project

International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) (New York, NY)

Tahirih Justice Center (Falls Church, VA) – service to more than 30,000 women, girls, and other immigrant survivors seeking safety from gender-based violence.

HIAS (Silver Spring, MD). Jewish humanitarian organization that provides critical services to refugees, asylum seekers, and other forcibly displaced people around the world

Haitian Bridge Alliance (San Diego). Guerline Jozef, Co-Founder and Executive Director (fluent in Haitian Kreyol) – Jozef is an expert in migration with an emphasis on the intersection of race and gender.

ACLU (New York, NY)

Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center (El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico)

America’s Voice (Washington, DC)

Acacia Center for Justice (National). Bilal Askaryar participated in a humanitarian delegation that visited Matamoros and Reynoso to witness the end of Title 42. While on the delegation, he witnessed the conditions people seeking asylum were forced to endure.

Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project (Nogales, Arizona) Border Action (Legal) Team (bilingual in Spanish)

Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) (Southern CA)

Justice Action Center (Los Angeles). Karen Tumlin, Founder & Director (Los Angeles), An expert on the scope of the executive’s authority over immigration, Tumlin has successfully litigated numerous cases of national significance on DACA, the Muslim Ban, and Arizona’s SB 1070.

International Mayan League (Washington, DC). Nana Teresa Lopez (Maya Mam), Founder and Member of the Board of Directors (bilingual in Spanish), is a Maya Spiritual Elder (Ajq’ij) of the Maya Mam Nation.

The Advocates for Human Rights (Minneapolis, MN). the nonprofit is a recognized expert on international human rights standards. For over 40 years, we have provided pro bono legal services to asylum seekers, trafficking survivors, torture survivors, unaccompanied children, and people facing prolonged detention in Minnesota and the Dakotas.

MomsRising/MamásConPoder (Washington DC). works across policy, advocacy and organizing, to support immigrant parents and children. Tristán has more than 10 years experience working on federal immigration policy.

Refugees International (Washington DC)

Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) (San Francisco, CA)

Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA) (Maryland, Virginia, DC). LSSNCA is the largest resettlement and welcome agency on the East Coast, and has served the immigration and refugee communities since 1917. LSSNCA was also recently chosen as one of five providers to launch the Case Management Pilot Program focused on holistic needs for those in alternatives to detention.

Presente.org (National). The largest national Latine digital organizing group since 2020 and brings years of experience leading and managing digital organizing campaigns in support of immigrant and asylum rights. This includes the #FreedomForAll campaign urging the Biden administration and Congress to invest in legal representation for migrants and protecting our asylum system.

Refugee Congress (National). works with refugee families, coordinates help to New Americans during times of natural disasters, and works to connect communities, amplify refugee voices and build bridges.

Global Refuge – “Welcoming newcomers since 1939. For more than 80 years, Global Refuge has provided the resources, guidance, and community to help forge a way forward for New Americans. We’re committed to helping people reimagine the possibilities while providing a soft place to land.”

“With more than 1,000 partners and 50,000 volunteers, we are the largest faith-based national nonprofit exclusively dedicated to helping restore a sense of home to immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees.”

Women’s Refugee Commission (New York, NY). immigration, asylum, and international refugee and humanitarian law through legal practice, drafting legislation and advocating in Washington and internationally, teaching and training, and monitoring refugee programs around the world.

Human Rights First (Washington, DC; New York, NY; Los Angeles). refugee protection, representing people seeking asylum who are in removal proceedings in detention and those who were subject to the Remain in Mexico and Title 42 policies.

Lawyers for Good Government (National Remote Organization; Operations in Brownsville, Texas). legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees in the Rio Grande Valley since 2019.

As Larry Kudlow reported at Real Clear Politics, “Joe Biden doesn’t need a bill to fix the border. He just needs to enforce the law. That’s been my view and that remains my view.”

Click here to read the full article in the California Globe

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EXCLUSIVE: California Sheriffs Travel to Border – Are Alarmed and Appalled at What they Saw

December 7, 2023 By Staff 3 Comments

‘With the amount of drugs and illegal immigrants – we are going to be overrun in no time’

“The border is closed; the border is secure.” This is one of the most flagrant statements of the 21st Century, spoken by Biden Administration Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in an interview with ABC’s Martha Raddatz two years ago.

No one believed it then and no one believes it now. Because on January 21, 2021, day one of his presidency, newly inaugurated President Joe Biden ordered the border wall construction halted, and dismantled.

Three County Sheriffs just traveled to California’s Southern Border, and said the experience was “eye opening,” “alarming,” “appalling,” and “a national security issue.”

The Globe interviewed Yuba County Sheriff Wendell Anderson, Shasta County Sheriff Mike Johnson, and Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue. The three sheriffs were part of a group of 25 sheriffs from around California who spent three days with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Patrol) at the San Ysidro, San Diego point of border entry. They said they spent much of the first two days learning about the administration of the illegal immigrants crossing the border, and learned that 1,000 people a day are released into the United States at the San Ysidro border with Mexico.

“Until you see it – and the numbers of people – it doesn’t sink in,” Sheriff Anderson told the Globe. “The Border Patrol isn’t hiding anything – there are waves of people coming into our country.”

First, it is important to understand what the Border Patrol is responsible for:

With more than 60,000 employees, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP, is one of the world’s largest law enforcement organizations and is charged with keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S. while facilitating lawful international travel and trade.

Our border patrol is now used as the welcoming committee for illegal immigrants.

The San Ysidro point of entry is the largest land border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, and is the busiest border entry in the country. It also has the most foot traffic and auto entries, with many Mexican nationals going back and forth daily for work.

Sheriff Johnson said he toured this part of the border with a Deputy Border Patrol Chief who showed him there are two walls – one is California’s and the other is Mexico’s. The area between the walls is about 50-100 yards and is patrolled by border agents.

Sheriff Johnson said anywhere between 30 to 200 people are waiting at the U.S. border wall at any time – like a transient camp – for border agents to pick up and take to the processing center, for processing into the United States. “We pick them up, drive them to the processing center where they are fingerprinted, photographed, and an ID is created for them,” Sheriff Johnson said. “They are at the processing center about 52 hours.”

While at the processing center, border agents are asked where the illegal immigrants are headed. Sheriff Johnson said once they state where they are traveling, they are connected with an ICE agent, provided and ID and set up with welfare, entitlements and benefits, provided a cell phone, and sent to their destination by bus or plane.

“The vast majority are ‘sponsored’ by NGOs, which are funded by the federal government,” Sheriff Johnson said. “It’s such a shell game!”

All three sheriffs told about the processing center, which costs $3 million a month to operate, and that does not include staffing or salaries of the agents.

There is a Walmart, showers, they get vaccines, and treatment for any illnesses. They also receive a citation for being in the U.S. illegally – and a court date 5 years in the future.

Yet, Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue said 66% of the drugs smuggled into the United States – Fentanyl, meth, etc. – come through the San Ysidro border point of entry, as does 77% of the human smuggling.

He said border agents told him that they are directed on what to do directly from the White House – that it’s a “do what you are told and nothing else” message.

The sheriffs were told that most politicians do not come to the border to see for themselves the wave of illegal immigrants coming in to this country. But of those who do, most say they did not realize what they voted for.

Some of the illegal immigrants sponsored by U.S. NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and non-profits are believed to be turned over to sex and human traffickers.

Sheriff Anderson said every person who crosses the border pays the cartels a fee; cartels control the borders and ports. And of those who make it across the U.S. border, agents expressed concern that we don’t know their “intentions,” but we have such an obvious infiltration, the sheriffs said it is only a matter of time before a national security situation occurs.

Sheriff Anderson said while he was with Border Patrol, illegal immigrants from Guinea, West Africa were waiting for a ride to the processing center.

Even at the San Ysidro point of entry, there is at least one person a day caught on the terror watch list. They are immediately apprehended, and deported. But if they come from a country which will not accept them back – as so many of the 60 countries with illegal immigrants traveling to the U.S. border do – we are stuck with them.

While there are families and couples coming to the U.S. for a better way of life, the sheriffs all noted that there are mostly military aged men traveling to the U.S. border.

All three Sheriffs said the Border Agents are very frustrated with the lack of cooperation they experience with local police because of SB 54.

In 2017, Sanctuary State status for California was passed under Senate Bill 54, by then-Senator Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles), and signed into law by then-Governor Jerry Brown. SB 54 prohibits local police departments and sheriffs’ deputies from assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and enforcing federal immigration laws.

In 2017, I also covered De León’s SB 54:

Despite amendments, de León’s bill is parsing words—especially those words which apply to criminal illegal aliens. SB 54 still does not address all criminal illegal aliens, whether they are “violent” or “serious” criminals. Apparently, de León is resisting including human traffickers, child abusers, kidnappers, and hostage takers in his bill. De León instead continues to falsely claim it is ‘maids, laborers, baby sitters and landscapers’ who are being targeted in ICE sweeps… Except that ICE does not do sweeps—ICE agents work in jails targeting only criminal illegal aliens. De León’s bill would force immigration officials to reinstitute sweeps since they would no longer be allowed in jails and prisons, where the criminals are located.

Prior to passage of SB 54, California already had 35 sanctuary cities, which had sanctuary policies prohibiting police from cooperating with immigration authorities. SB 54 made the entire state a sanctuary state, harboring criminal illegal aliens.

Yet Californians strongly oppose “sanctuary city” policies under which local authorities ignore federal requests to detain undocumented immigrants who have been arrested but are about to be released, according to a UC Berkeley poll by the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS), released ahead of SB 54’s passage.

Border Patrol agents say all of the troubles at the border could be ended with a change of administration and policy. But, the millions already in the U.S., courtesy of the Biden Administration, will mostly remain, and many will pose serious problems in the near future.

“We don’t know the ‘intentions’ of those coming to our country,” Sheriff LaRue said. “We have such an obvious infiltration – it is known and not properly addressed.”

The drugs flowing across the border – Sheriff LaRue said border agents found 71,000 kilos of Methamphetamine last year – and that’s just what they found and halted.

“With the amount of drugs and illegal immigrants – we are going to be overrun in no time,” Sheriff Johnson said. “And less than 4% are Mexican nationals,” Sheriff Anderson added.

Click here to read the full the article at the California Globe

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Jon Coupal: Illegal immigration is a taxpayer issue

November 27, 2023 By Jon Coupal Leave a Comment

Conservatives are not always in agreement on the contentious issue of immigration. Those of a Libertarian inclination are more accepting of robust legal immigration while others believe that the United States has done more than its fair share of accepting those from other nations. The latter would like to see more progress on assimilation before opening the borders even more.

But two things are certain. First, conservatives will always be characterized by the left as being anti-immigrant – even when they are not – and those on the left rarely distinguish between legal and illegal immigration.

Serious taxpayer advocates can be strong advocates of legal immigration while, at the same time, push back against policies that cost Americans billions, if not trillions, of dollars. A recent piece by Steven Malanga in City Journal entitled “Illegal Immigration’s Terrifying Cost,” is a well-researched review of how illegal immigration is having a negative impact on sound fiscal policy at both the national and state level.

Opposing point of view: America is the land of the free, open the border

Legal immigration isn’t as politicized as illegal immigration because the cost and social ills from the undocumented population are huge. At the forefront of the political battles are the governors of border states, most notably Texas. And while Florida isn’t technically a border state, it has a large undocumented population bringing unique problems that frustrates the political leadership, especially its governor.

Malanga reports that Florida hospitals have incurred hundreds of millions of dollars in uncompensated costs for care to migrants. Governor Ron DeSantis justifiably complains the state’s taxpayers have had to foot the bill so, in response, he has spent public funds to transport thousands of undocumented individuals to so-called “sanctuary” cities on the theory that those states should practice what they preach. “If the policy is to have an open border, I think the sanctuary cities should be the ones that have to bear that,” said DeSantis.

Malanga also reports that “New York, a sanctuary city since 1989, spent $8 million a day throughout much of this year to care for migrants,” and that Boston and Cambridge – both sanctuary cities – had difficulty expanding their shelter system to meet the influx. Costs to taxpayers? $140 million.

For all the billions in additional costs spent nationally responding to the illegal immigration crisis, some far-left states including California, Illinois, and New York, have compounded the problem by extending access for illegal immigrants to social programs like Medicaid – Medi-Cal in California – and other welfare programs. An excerpt from a California Legislative Analyst Report in October noted a line item of “$1.2 billion General Fund for the scheduled expansion of eligibility for comprehensive Medi-Cal services to undocumented residents between the ages of 26 and 49. These amounts are considerably higher than estimated in past budgets.”

Bear in mind that all the costs for social welfare programs are exclusive of the billions in additional costs to the education system, criminal justice system, and emergency services. For example, consider the recent incident involving the fire that shut down the 10 freeway in downtown Los Angeles. Venice Neighborhood Council board member Soledad Ursua wrote in a piece for City Journal that “of the LAFD’s $854 million annual budget, roughly $427 million is spent on homeless-related fires. If Los Angeles simply enforced its existing fire code, it would protect businesses and save taxpayers millions of dollars.” Much of the homeless population in Los Angeles consists of undocumented individuals.

Malanga also refutes the argument that the public costs associated with illegal immigration are offset by the taxes the undocumented pay. First, much of the compensation paid for work performed by undocumented workers is “under the table” and remains untaxed. But the real “flaw in this reasoning is that immigrant households already receive tens of thousands of dollars in government benefits, just by virtue of being in the United States, and that what most get in support far outweighs any taxes they pay.”

Click here to read the full artucle in the OC Register

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Mugged by Reality, Biden Builds a Border Wall Democrats Called ‘Racist’ | Opinion

October 7, 2023 By Jonathan Tobin 5 Comments

No matter how they try to spin it, one thing is clear about the Biden administration’s decision to waive more than 20 laws and regulations, including environmental restrictions, to build more sections of a wall along America’s southern border in South Texas. The Democrats who demonized President Donald Trump for his focus on stopping illegal immigration and characterized his quest to build such a barrier as “racism” have been mugged by reality.

Trump’s opponents smeared every effort to put a lid on the problem of illegal immigration as evidence of prejudice against Latinos. Democrats throughout the country declared municipalities to be “sanctuary cities,” championed amnesty and characterized the minimal attempts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deal with ever-growing crowds of migrants as oppression and police state tactics.

So, it was little surprise that no sooner had Biden won the 2020 election promising a “more compassionate” approach to illegal immigration, a massive surge at the border began. Since then, Biden halted much of the operations of border enforcement, undermined the work of the embattled border patrol by falsely accusing them of abuses and racism, and ended the building of the wall that Trump failed to complete.

As a result, the number of illegal border crossings—many by individuals pretending to be asylum seekers rather than economic migrants—has surged to record proportions. In the 2022 fiscal year, it was up to 2.7 million with more than 2.8 million in fiscal year 2023. In recent months, the numbers have grown even higher, adding to a humanitarian crisis for overwhelmed border communities.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas‘ statement accompanying the new policy admitted that “there is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States.” That gives the lie to Democratic rhetoric about Trump’s policies as well as administration assurances that the border is secure even when the evidence has been clear that it is not.

But when Biden was asked about it the next day, he insisted that borders don’t work.

Why the contradiction?

The administration knows that it must do something to stem the flood of illegal immigration. The crisis has reached a point where it could lose them Democratic votes as well as those of independents. But since admitting the flip-flop would outrage his party’s intersectional left-wing base—which takes it as an article of faith that opposition to open borders is racism—the president is pretending that nothing has changed and that any expenditure on a wall has been forced upon him by Congress‘ refusal to reallocate funds appropriated for it.

That is a lie so obvious that even a more credible press secretary than Karine Jean-Pierre couldn’t sell it.

Click here to read the full article in Newsweek

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Texas migrants bused to LA Union Station in latest salvo from immigration wars

June 17, 2023 By Emily Holhouser 2 Comments

The group included children, whose conditions were being assessed after riding on a bus with no food or water for 23 hours, one official said.

Mirroring recent moves by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, dozens of immigrants were bused from the Texas border area to Los Angeles and dropped off on Wednesday, June 14, at downtown’s Union Station, at the behest of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, prompting a swift rebuke from L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who slammed the action as a “cheap” political stunt using humans as “pawns.”

All told, 42 immigrants — among them said to be eight children, including babies and toddlers — were dropped off at the depot, said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, director of communications for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). They were taken to St. Anthony’s Croatian Catholic Church in nearby Chinatown, where they were expected to stay the night. Los Angeles Fire Department crews responded to ensure none of them had any medical issues.

Related: Relief groups rally to help migrants bused to LA 

Cabrera said they were on the bus with no food or water for 23 hours, but their conditions were unclear late Wednesday. Police and fire officials were directing all such inquires to the mayor’s office. Bass’ office said they were in the process of documenting the group’s conditions.

In a statement, Abbott said this was the “1st bus of migrants” dropped off by Texas in Los Angeles.

“Texas’ small border towns remain overwhelmed and overrun by the thousands of people illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico because of President Biden‘s refusal to secure the border,” Abbott said in the statement. “Los Angeles is a major city that migrants seek to go to, particularly now that its city leaders approved its self-declared sanctuary city status. Our border communities are on the front lines of President Biden’s border crisis, and Texas will continue providing this much-needed relief until he steps up to do his job and secure the border.”

It was unclear if additional buses might be en route.

Bass said her office was aware of the bus’ arrival and was ready to greet the migrants when they arrived. She said her office had been preparing for such a moment, given similar recent actions across the country at the order of Republican governors.

“It is abhorrent that an American elected official is using human beings as pawns in his cheap political games,” Bass said in a statement.

“Shortly after I took office,” she added, “I directed City Departments to begin planning in the event Los Angeles was on the receiving end of a despicable stunt that Republican Governors have grown so fond of. This did not catch us off guard, nor will it intimidate us. Now, it’s time to execute our plan. Our emergency management, police, fire and other departments were able to find out about the incoming arrival while the bus was on its way and were already mobilized along with nonprofit partners before the bus arrived.”

Lindsay Toczylowski, with the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, explained lawyers are still trying to piece together what documents the migrants have and what their path to asylum will look like.

“We are meeting their hopes for safety and protection here at this welcome center, and by providing them with legal information, including a “Know Your Rights” presentation — giving them the information they need to protect themselves,” Toczylowski said.

But much about the migrants, including what information they had in hand that led them on to the bus, was not clear.

“We don’t know the information they were given to get on the bus,” Cabrera said.

Even confirming their identities appeared difficult, given little documentation.

The Los Angeles City Council last week approved a motion directing various city departments to take the steps required for Los Angeles to officially become a sanctuary city for immigrants.

In April 2022, Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to charter buses to transport migrants from Texas to Washington, D.C. Since then, Abbott has also sent migrants to Denver, New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia. The governor’s office has said that about 20,000 migrants have been transported to cities who have passed measures embracing sanctuary status for immigrants. Abbott’s office has said that such moves have offered “much-needed relief to Texas’ overwhelmed border communities.”

Earlier Wednesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office sent public records requests to DeSantis’ office and the Florida Division of Emergency Management seeking information about the recent transport of two groups of immigrants from Florida to northern California.

Bonta said his office is investigating whether any laws were broken by Florida in shipping the three dozen migrants to Sacramento. Gov. Gavin Newsom has suggested DeSantis could potentially face kidnapping charges for transporting the migrants to California, although Florida officials have insisted the migrants went to Florida voluntarily and signed documents agreeing to the travel.

“Contrary to what some may want to think – California is also a border state but instead of demonizing asylum seekers, we focus on working with local communities to support and humanely welcome people,” said Daniel Lopez, the governor’s communications director. “Regarding the recently arrived families, the state is in close communication with the County and City of Los Angeles, and our community partners. Together, we will make sure that the children and families who arrived are safe and welcomed.”

As news spread of the latest transport, other elected officials were chiming in.

“As the author of California’s Sanctuary State in 2017 and son of an immigrant mother, I can tell you that Governor Abbott’s heartless exploitation of asylum seekers is not shocking and reflects a tremendous lack of leadership,” said Councilmember Kevin de Leon. “Callously trafficking vulnerable human beings around for cheap political points reflects a moral bankruptcy that has no place in politics and Los Angeles will not allow this repugnant display of political opportunism to undermine our commitment to ensuring that every person, regardless of origin, is treated with dignity and respect.”

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) issued a statement late Wednesday.

“Once again, Republicans exploit vulnerable migrants for cynical political gain instead of choosing to work with Democrats to fix our broken immigration system. California will not play Republican’s cowardly games and will treat asylum seekers with the dignity and humanity they deserve.”

Last week’s L.A. City Council action to set in motion sanctuary status for the city was previously OK’d by the council’s Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging and Disability Committee and the Public Safety Committee. It instructs the city attorney to prepare a draft ordinance within 60 days to prohibit “any city resources, property or personnel from being utilized for any federal immigration enforcement.”

It would also prohibit city cooperation with federal immigration authorities in “execution of their duties” as it pertains to immigration enforcement.

Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who introduced the motion with council members Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martínez, thanked “all the advocates, lawyers and organizations” who work to educate and protect the rights of immigrants.

“For many people in Los Angeles who have been advocating for the city to become an official sanctuary city for many years, this is a long overdue process,” Raman said.

Then-Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an executive directive in 2019 that offered protections to the immigrant community, but it lacked the permanence of a city law, according to Raman.

The council in a 12-0 vote, with council members Bob Blumenfield and John Lee absent, supported the motion Friday to create an official ordinance and codify existing protections set forth in the executive directive.

Last week, DeSantis’ administration said that three dozen migrants whom the state flew from the U.S. southern border to California on private planes all went willingly, disputing allegations by California officials that the individuals were coerced to travel under false pretenses.

The admission of responsibility — five days after the first flight touched down in California’s capital — only served to heighten tensions between DeSantis and Newsom, his frequent political sparring partner.

Two planes arrived in Sacramento, each carrying asylum-seekers mostly from Colombia and Venezuela. The individuals had been picked up in El Paso, Texas, taken to New Mexico and then put on charter flights to California’s capital of Sacramento, said Bonta. He is investigating whether any violations of criminal or civil law occurred.

Click here to read the full article in the OC Register

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DeSantis Aims to Outdo Trump on Immigration

June 6, 2023 By Jean Guerrero 8 Comments

The former president’s pledge to end birthright citizenship is a new low but unlikely to be the end.

Donald Trump was the most anti-immigrant U.S. president in nearly 100 years. He oversaw a family separation policy at the border that traumatized countless children and lost track of hundreds of parents; slashed refugee admissions to record lows; gutted access to asylum; and much more.

But for some of the most influential U.S. nativists and white nationalists — people Republican presidential candidates have decided they need to court during and after the primary season — Trump’s crackdowns were not enough. Some see greater potential in his top rival for the 2024 nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Can DeSantis successfully co-opt Trump’s trademark issue? DeSantis is trying to paint the MAGA leader as soft on immigration.

At the end of May, he attacked Trump as pro-amnesty for his onetime support of a failed GOP bill that would have legalized some immigrants brought here as children in exchange for more border militarization and cuts to legal immigration. And last weekend, DeSantis met with families of victims of the 9/11 terror attacks as they criticized Trump’s decision to host a Saudi-funded golf tournament.

On Tuesday, Trump sought to reclaim his position as the No. 1 anti-immigrant crusader by reviving one of the most extreme ideas explored during his presidency: an executive order ending birthright citizenship.

The proposed order, which he promised to sign his first day in office if reelected, would face immediate legal challenges for its clear violation of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to everyone born in the U.S. His plan relies on a tortured reading of the amendment from pseudo-intellectuals at California’s Claremont Institute, such as Trump’s former lawyer John Eastman, a key player in the effort to overturn the 2020 election who also wrote an unhinged article questioning Vice President Kamala Harris’ citizenship (it led to an editors’ apology).

If the Supreme Court ruled in Trump’s favor — not impossible to imagine — it would defy more than a century of legal precedent. And it would create a shadow population of millions of U.S.-born people who could be jailed and deported. In the eyes of restrictionists, it would all be worth it for a decline in “anchor babies,” their slur for the U.S.-born children of people who lack legal immigration status.

But restrictionists are skeptical that Trump would follow through on his promise given his record of sloppy executive orders and their chaotic implementation. Past orders were often blocked by courts.

“I fear this will be one more example of him writing up an executive order and either it fizzles out or they don’t pursue it with the seriousness and professionalism it deserves,” Mark Krikorian, a lead architect of the 21st century movement to strangle legal and illegal immigration, told me. He frowns on Trump’s occasional expressions of support for legal immigration.

“He’s not even a restrictionist,” he complained to me, criticizing Trump’s failure to stop guest worker and other visa programs. Krikorian heads the Center for Immigration Studies, classified as an anti-immigrant hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center despite Krikorian’s claims to the contrary. He prefers DeSantis over Trump.

So do some open white nationalists, who cheer on his policies and rhetoric online and see them as signs that he’s more hostile toward overall immigration, which is important for those who fear demographic change.

DeSantis recently signed Senate Bill 1718, which turned Florida into the most anti-immigrant state in the nation. It makes it a felony to give undocumented people rides, jobs or shelter; requires employers to verify workers’ immigration statuses and invalidates certain out-of-state driver’s licenses for undocumented people. DeSantis also banned sanctuary cities in his state.

Some of DeSantis’ actions were on the wish list of Trump’s senior advisor Stephen Miller, whose ideas were shaped by Krikorian’s Center for Immigration Studies and other groups created by John Tanton — a well-connected white supremacist who fathered the modern nativist movement. But although Miller did push Trump in a more hardline direction on overall immigration, he wasn’t able to implement the full Tanton agenda because of his inexperience and an uphill battle in a White House with more moderate voices on the immigration issue, such as Jared Kushner.

Miller remains loyal to Trump. But DeSantis is positioning himself as more in line with Miller than Trump himself, who sometimes caved to pressure to temper his harsh positions, such as when he called off family separations at the border in response to national outrage.

Trump’s promise to end birthright citizenship seeks to correct the notion that he’s the less ruthless candidate. One shudders to imagine how DeSantis will try to one-up Trump’s threat. “Those two guys are in a white nationalist arms race,” Chris Newman, legal director for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, told me.

Click here to read the full article in the LA Times

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