1 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,960 We're back with another edition of the Federalist Radio Hour. I'm Emil Jasinski, 2 00:00:21,039 --> 00:00:23,679 culture editor here at the Federalist. As always, you can email the show 3 00:00:23,719 --> 00:00:27,879 at radio at the Federalist dot com, follow us on Twitter at fdr LST. 4 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:32,000 Make sure to subscribe wherever you download your podcasts, and subscribe to the 5 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,159 premium version of our website at the Federalist dot com as well. Today we're 6 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:40,679 joined by Robert law. He is the director of the Center for Homeland Security 7 00:00:40,679 --> 00:00:45,159 and Immigration over at AFPI, that's the America First Policy Institute. He worked 8 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:49,640 for four years in the Trump administration on a whole lot of the same issues 9 00:00:50,119 --> 00:00:53,439 that we're going to talk about here today. Robert, thanks for joining us. 10 00:00:54,759 --> 00:00:57,399 Thanks for having me here. I'm excited to be on the program. 11 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:00,520 You go by Rob or Robert generally a little by Rob, you know, 12 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,599 Robert is a little more formal, just for written written products pretty much. 13 00:01:04,599 --> 00:01:07,920 I tell people, were just not a Bob. Okay, we'll go. 14 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:12,920 We'll go with Rob. Then I wanted to ask about the ticking timeline on 15 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:19,840 the Southern border, which is the title forty two situation unfolding right now. 16 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:23,200 Um, we've we've seen actually as recently as as yesterday. We're recording this 17 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:27,239 on Monday, the first of May. Um May work us on the Sunday 18 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:34,439 shows trying to spin what the Biden administration is doing to secure the border secure 19 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,680 is their definition of that is a little bit more broad, I think than 20 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:42,719 most people's um But could you just rob give us a kind of overview of 21 00:01:42,879 --> 00:01:49,680 where things could be going with Title forty two in mid May, as that's 22 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:55,120 set to finally expire in mid May um on our border in the coming weeks 23 00:01:55,239 --> 00:02:00,840 under the Biden administration. Sure, so, thus far the two years of 24 00:02:00,879 --> 00:02:05,799 the Biden administration, you've had the worst humanitarian and security crisis in the Southern 25 00:02:05,799 --> 00:02:09,280 border nations ever witnessed. And as bad as it has been, if you 26 00:02:09,319 --> 00:02:14,439 can believe it, it is about to get even worse come May eleventh, 27 00:02:14,439 --> 00:02:20,599 when Title forty two goes away. And so what you're seeing right now is 28 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:25,240 more than four thousand illegal aliens a day apprehended at the Southern border, and 29 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:31,639 apprehension is a term of art in DHS Lingo. So they're not being arrested 30 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:38,719 and detained under this administration. Most of them are being processed out of DHS 31 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:43,879 custody and released into American communities. So this is not as a turrent policy. 32 00:02:43,879 --> 00:02:46,159 When you see these large numbers every single month, that doesn't mean that 33 00:02:46,199 --> 00:02:50,919 the Biden administration is doing a really good job. They're capturing people, people 34 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,680 are essentially turning themselves in because it's never been easier to be released. And 35 00:02:54,759 --> 00:03:01,759 so we're going from an unacceptable level to new submits from the Biden administration themselves 36 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:08,039 eight to fifteen thousand illegal aliens a day once the title forty two Public Health 37 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:16,120 Authority goes away. It is just astronomical. It is so far beyond what 38 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:23,400 was ever viewed as even possible. And just to show how disconnected this is 39 00:03:23,439 --> 00:03:29,639 from reality, during the Obama administration, DHS Secretary J. Johnason said that 40 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:34,840 one thousand illegal aliens a day at the southern border was a bad day in 41 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,360 his mind. And we're already four times worth that on average for two years, 42 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:43,159 and it's about to explode. So that's just a sort of frame it 43 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,599 for how much of the disaster and failure these policies have been. No, 44 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,000 that's really helpful because I was going to ask if you could sort of put 45 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,199 the monthly apprehension numbers in contexts. You know, the left will sometimes claim 46 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:59,120 there are multiple people being apprehended, so this isn't reflective of people, it's 47 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,680 just reflective of encounters, etc. Etc. There are all kinds of numbers, 48 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:06,439 and the Biden administration, as Todd Bensman has pointed out, is very 49 00:04:06,439 --> 00:04:12,599 sneaky or very strategic with the way that it uses some of these categories. 50 00:04:12,719 --> 00:04:17,360 And yeah, I know you understand the kind of processing situation, the parole 51 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:24,160 situation, but it's really convoluted and intentionally so by people who support essentially the 52 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:27,879 facto open borders. Can you explain some of that to us? You know, 53 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:32,360 what is happening when people come to the border and get apprehended. What 54 00:04:32,399 --> 00:04:36,920 does all of this look like? Sure, so there's basically about three different 55 00:04:36,959 --> 00:04:43,639 pipelines, largely speaking right now, so there's a very small population that is 56 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:46,639 being subject to Title forty two. Now, it's important to remember Title forty 57 00:04:46,639 --> 00:04:51,480 two is not an immigration authority. Title forty two is a public health authority 58 00:04:51,519 --> 00:04:57,759 that the Trump administration first utilized at the beginning of COVID as a means of 59 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:02,199 stopping the introduction of COVID to the United States. It has since been used 60 00:05:02,199 --> 00:05:08,920 by the Biden administration really as the one border enforcement tool, which is really 61 00:05:08,959 --> 00:05:13,319 an inappropriate use for it, but that's what they're doing as they dismantled every 62 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:17,639 other successful border security policy of the Trump administration. So you've got some people 63 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,920 that are being subject to Title forty two, which means they are immediately turned 64 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:26,879 away. The percentage that has been has been applied to has shrunk over the 65 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,639 last two years. And then you have a large portion that are basically being 66 00:05:31,639 --> 00:05:36,240 subjects are immigration laws, which is known as Title eight. That's where we 67 00:05:36,319 --> 00:05:42,519 say that they're being apprehended, but then they're just being released out of out 68 00:05:42,519 --> 00:05:47,040 of DHS custody, released into American communities. They're particularly overwhelming all of the 69 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:53,399 small towns along the southern border. They don't have the infrastructure to handle this 70 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:58,360 number of people, and that's where you see the governors of Texas, you 71 00:05:58,399 --> 00:06:04,360 had Ron Santus in Florida and the previous governor in Arizona started busting and flying 72 00:06:04,639 --> 00:06:10,759 some of these migrants into sanctuary cities across the country. So so sort of 73 00:06:10,759 --> 00:06:15,040 these blue states and blue cities could really feel the pain of the policies that 74 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:19,079 are being inflicted upon the border communities. So that's really what it means to 75 00:06:19,199 --> 00:06:27,040 have Title eight being applied, and then sort of an ever growing theme under 76 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:33,800 Secretary Mayorcus's rule is an unlawful use of parole. This is supposed to be 77 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:40,199 a very narrow authority only on a case by case basis and for only an 78 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:45,560 urgent humanitarian reason or a significant public benefit. Instead, the Biden administration has 79 00:06:45,639 --> 00:06:51,800 created wholesale categorical programs largely based off of nationality. So they had a program 80 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:57,480 for Ukraines, they had a program for Afghans. Now they have a program 81 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:01,279 for two ventations, Venezuelans and Nicaragua, and they're continuing to stand upon that. 82 00:07:01,399 --> 00:07:05,879 They call that a lawful pathway. That is gaslighting the American people. 83 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:10,560 To be blunt, it is an unlawful use of the authority. But the 84 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:17,439 use of parole avoids the optics of ten thousand illegal aliens camping out under the 85 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:21,720 Del Rio Bridge and coming across the border. They still have no right to 86 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:25,560 be in the country. They don't qualify for any visas. They are what's 87 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:30,040 called inadmissible, but they're being allowed in any ways, and the use of 88 00:07:30,079 --> 00:07:34,160 parole hides this population from those border numbers so as bad as they are every 89 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:41,399 single month ever since January of this year when the parole Authority went on steroids, 90 00:07:42,199 --> 00:07:45,879 the numbers are just not even believable. They don't paint the full picture. 91 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:50,160 So what happens to them after parole? That's probably, I mean, 92 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:56,040 that's obviously a hugely important part of this equation, and it's still I mean, 93 00:07:56,079 --> 00:07:59,240 it's one of the sad things is that we don't totally know because things 94 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:03,800 shift with adminstrations and policies, and people may be untraceable after a certain amount 95 00:08:03,839 --> 00:08:05,879 of time anyway, But in general, you know, how should people think 96 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:11,720 about what happens after these thousands and thousands of people every single month are getting 97 00:08:11,759 --> 00:08:16,759 parole from our government being released into the country. You know, how often 98 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:18,399 do we get contact with them after that? How often do they end up 99 00:08:18,399 --> 00:08:22,720 getting deported after a number of years? What does it look like after they 100 00:08:22,879 --> 00:08:28,160 cross the border and get out of detention. Sure, that's a great question. 101 00:08:28,199 --> 00:08:33,360 So once parolled into the country, you're you're allowed in your cut loose, 102 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:37,879 you get to go anywhere you want. It's minderstanding that DHS is not 103 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,080 really tracking where people are going. So governors don't even know how many of 104 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:48,519 the border search population is inhabiting their states these days, which puts a necessary 105 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:54,759 drain on schools, hospitals, local law enforcement, all sorts of public services. 106 00:08:54,759 --> 00:09:00,399 When you increase the population, not really increasing the tax base. Role 107 00:09:00,519 --> 00:09:03,440 does come with a work permit. A lot of people don't know that, 108 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:09,200 so you have this bizarre situation where you don't have a visa, you don't 109 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:13,559 have really permission to be here, but you're allowed in. However, you 110 00:09:13,639 --> 00:09:18,440 do have the ability to work. And so what that looks like Under the 111 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:22,679 Biden administration, nobody's being supported. I mean, they are even refusing to 112 00:09:22,759 --> 00:09:26,960 deport convicted criminals, the worst of the worst. Those numbers are plumbting. 113 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:33,320 They claim that they're prioritizing limited resources on those bad actors. The Trump administration 114 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:37,759 in twenty twenty, with all of the COVID restrictions and travel issues and everything 115 00:09:37,759 --> 00:09:43,679 else, supported more criminal aliens than the Biden administration is doing. Year over 116 00:09:43,759 --> 00:09:48,679 year. The numbers are dropping, and that seems to be what the objective 117 00:09:48,759 --> 00:09:52,679 is for the people that are falling. The policy shots in the Bid administration 118 00:09:52,759 --> 00:09:56,960 just let as many of these people into the country as you can because you 119 00:09:56,039 --> 00:10:01,759 know that when you have a future president in an administration that actually cares about 120 00:10:01,759 --> 00:10:05,480 the rule of law and the American people, it is going to be extremely 121 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:09,360 difficult to remove everybody because you're going to have to track them all down, 122 00:10:09,799 --> 00:10:13,200 you're going to have to put them into immigration court proceedings, You're going to 123 00:10:13,279 --> 00:10:18,919 have to go through that process, and then eventually the removal. So they've 124 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:24,679 completely blown up the system we've got. I believe it's around five million illegal 125 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:30,720 aliens have been introduced into the country in just the last two years. And 126 00:10:30,799 --> 00:10:35,799 so again even the most dedicated pro enforcement administration is going to struggle to just 127 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:39,840 find a bandwidth and the resources to start removing all these people in the future. 128 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,559 Well, and that leads us to the next question, unfortunately, which 129 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:50,399 is what happens in the humanitarian on a humanitarian basis to so many of these 130 00:10:50,399 --> 00:10:52,559 people in the interim. Within New York Times, as I know you, 131 00:10:52,639 --> 00:11:01,279 followed released a absolutely tragic and heart wrenching series of reports on child trafficking. 132 00:11:01,519 --> 00:11:03,879 Because of our open border. To factor open border where people end up, 133 00:11:05,399 --> 00:11:07,399 you know that they're the government loosest track of where they are, which makes 134 00:11:07,399 --> 00:11:13,480 them very exploitable and easy to abuse by people with business interests and people with 135 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:18,759 criminal interests across the country. Um So what are the dangers for them, 136 00:11:20,279 --> 00:11:22,720 let alone to the American people. You know, we've talked about deportation of 137 00:11:22,919 --> 00:11:26,600 obviously known criminals people. You know, what was it like eighty seven people 138 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:31,000 last year from the terrorist watch list across the border. Um obviously that's of 139 00:11:31,159 --> 00:11:35,720 paramount concern as well. But then you know, these these migrants, especially 140 00:11:35,799 --> 00:11:41,919 children, um can end up in some incredibly difficult situations and actually appear to 141 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,960 be ending up in those situations on a fairly wide scale. Um So, 142 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,879 so what do we know about the dangers to people when they when they are 143 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:54,240 sent out by our government on this basis, Well, you've really gone in 144 00:11:54,399 --> 00:11:58,679 on the cruelty of open borders policies because every single illegal alien, regardless of 145 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:07,440 your age, gender, etc. You are paying the cartels to be smuggled 146 00:12:07,639 --> 00:12:11,639 or in some cases trafficked across the southern border. It is well known and 147 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:18,879 documented that there's a lot of physical, emotional and sexual abuse that occurs along 148 00:12:18,039 --> 00:12:22,399 the journey to the Southern border, and it doesn't stop once they get here. 149 00:12:22,759 --> 00:12:28,240 Particularly the most vulnerable which is the unaccompanied the alien children. There are 150 00:12:28,279 --> 00:12:33,240 some terrible loopholes in the law that the House of Representatives is hopefully attempting to 151 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:37,279 close. They've got a great bill that should be coming to the floor for 152 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:41,919 a vote there it will be their HR two and that will be that vote 153 00:12:41,919 --> 00:12:46,519 will occur right around the expiration of Title forty two. So it creates a 154 00:12:46,519 --> 00:12:52,240 great contrast between the Biden administration policies. But once these unaccompanied alien children are 155 00:12:52,360 --> 00:13:00,639 here, they are quickly put into HHS facilities and then released to sponsors. 156 00:13:01,039 --> 00:13:05,279 And what we know is that the Biden administration has cut all of the vetting 157 00:13:05,399 --> 00:13:09,639 standards for the sponsors. They've cut the vetting standards for the volunteers at these 158 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:15,679 shelters. So you're exposing vulnerable migrant children who are in a foreign land, 159 00:13:16,039 --> 00:13:22,279 they likely don't speak our language, and you're possibly reconnecting them with their abusers. 160 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,799 And like I said, they've dialed back all of the policies that the 161 00:13:24,799 --> 00:13:28,919 Trump administration put in place. For example, if a sponsor claimed to be 162 00:13:28,919 --> 00:13:33,840 a parent during the Trump administration, we used to require DNA test to confirm 163 00:13:35,039 --> 00:13:39,159 that currential relationship. Now they're just taking your word for it, and they're 164 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:41,840 cutting these kids loose, and as even now the New York Times is exposing, 165 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:48,919 many of them are being subjected to forced labor because they have to pay 166 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:54,399 off their debts. I mean, we're talking five thousand dollars and up depending 167 00:13:54,919 --> 00:13:58,679 on what country you're from and other factors that the cartels are charging for your 168 00:13:58,679 --> 00:14:03,679 way. Most people in those countries don't have that money just lying around, 169 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:07,279 so they've got to pay off their debts. So it's it is indentured servitude, 170 00:14:07,639 --> 00:14:13,000 and some of them are subjected to basically sex, sex, slavery, 171 00:14:13,919 --> 00:14:20,639 other forms of just indebted service. It's heinous, it's cruel, and it's 172 00:14:20,759 --> 00:14:26,720 the exact predictable outcome that these policies by administration of intentionally put in place have 173 00:14:26,919 --> 00:14:28,879 created. And can you talk to us, just as somebody who actually has 174 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:35,840 worked in dahs and overseen a lot of this, how important sanctuary cities are 175 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:41,679 creating these dangers or how influential they are and creating this dangerous atmosphere. They're 176 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:46,639 basically like magnets for people they know that they can live a life in the 177 00:14:46,679 --> 00:14:50,879 shadows of American society. So from your perspective, how much do you think 178 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:58,240 those designations, the sanctuary city designations, play a role in drawing people to 179 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:03,039 the United States? Are they in significant? Are they very significant? How 180 00:15:03,039 --> 00:15:07,879 important are they here? Sure? So, sanctuary cities, which for those 181 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,720 unfamiliar with that terminology, are basically jurisdictions. It could be a locality, 182 00:15:11,799 --> 00:15:15,399 could be a city, or in some cases like California, it's the entire 183 00:15:15,519 --> 00:15:22,919 state. They have policies that basically impede federal immigration enforcements ability to do their 184 00:15:24,039 --> 00:15:28,440 jobs. And it's a huge problem. Of course, if you send out 185 00:15:28,519 --> 00:15:33,399 the big welcome sign that you come here, will give your driver's license, 186 00:15:33,559 --> 00:15:37,919 will give you in state tuition, we'll give you free healthcare at the state 187 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:45,559 level, that encourages illegal aliens to go to those sanctuary jurisdictions. Not to 188 00:15:46,039 --> 00:15:50,039 veer off too far, but the way the census counts, vote counts people 189 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:56,679 for congressional seat alignment, they include illegal aliens. So there's almost this perverse 190 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:02,279 insensive that Blue states are exploiting the policies which are in direct violation of federal 191 00:16:02,279 --> 00:16:08,000 immigration law to pad their numbers to get more congressional representation. But beyond that, 192 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:12,120 so in this administration, like I said, they're not removing anybody. 193 00:16:12,519 --> 00:16:18,399 Sanctuary jurisdictions were a huge thorn in the side of the Trump administration. We 194 00:16:18,559 --> 00:16:27,799 tried repeatedly to remove aliens, get local law enforcement to give Immigration and Customs 195 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:33,360 enforcement ice heads up when somebody was being released from a state jail so we 196 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:37,039 could pick them up and deport them, and sanctuary jurisdictions would not cooperate. 197 00:16:37,799 --> 00:16:42,840 And so while there was a lot of effort to remove people and the numbers 198 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,639 were very impressive, they could have been so much more. There was a 199 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:52,879 desire and an ability to remove more illegal aliens during the Trump administration, but 200 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,000 it was sanctuary jurisdiction that got in the way. They didn't cooperate, and 201 00:16:56,039 --> 00:17:03,320 they cut people loose instead of whole them for us. Sometimes the states would 202 00:17:03,399 --> 00:17:07,759 downgrade the charges so there wouldn't be an immigration consequence to go along with it. 203 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,720 I mean, it was literally the most anti rule of law and anti 204 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:18,640 American people views. And that is what the reality of sanctuary cities are. 205 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,559 Yeah, it's amazing to imagine what the border would look like if you could 206 00:17:22,599 --> 00:17:26,640 wave a magic one and get rid of every sanctuary jurisdiction in the United States. 207 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:32,160 You know, that's kind of a thought experiment that's maybe worth our elected 208 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:36,359 officials pondering on that note. Now there is a bill, I think it's 209 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:40,960 how Judiciary, and you've actually weighed in on it, I think already that 210 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:45,160 would reform our asylum system. It's likely you know that this is not something 211 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:48,799 that would get get to the Senate and get to the President and go into 212 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:52,880 law. But as a framework, it seems like at least a decent place 213 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:56,319 to start, and at least you have conservative policies being given, you know, 214 00:17:56,359 --> 00:18:00,759 some putting some meat onto the bones. What do you make of how 215 00:18:00,839 --> 00:18:03,759 they try to reform asylum and what do you think needs to happen to our 216 00:18:03,759 --> 00:18:10,039 asylum system? Yes, a great question. So the Judiciary bill, along 217 00:18:10,079 --> 00:18:15,359 with a separate bill that the householdmand Security Committee passed and a third bill that 218 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:19,240 the House Foreign Affairs Committee just recently passed, are all being bundled up together 219 00:18:19,759 --> 00:18:25,680 and should be introduced, I believe, on May second as HR two. 220 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:30,799 So this is this is the House Republican majority saying to the American people, 221 00:18:30,839 --> 00:18:36,559 we are upholding our commitment to America to offer a serious solution to secure the 222 00:18:36,599 --> 00:18:41,839 border. And I really believe that this bill is the strongest border security measure 223 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:47,720 ever introduced. When it officially gets introduced as HR two. The asylum system 224 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:52,799 is being exploited. That is the ticket into this country. You know, 225 00:18:52,079 --> 00:19:00,839 you have the Biden administration and the liberal legacy media who falsely describe these illegal 226 00:19:00,839 --> 00:19:03,359 aliands as asylum seekers. That's not a real term, it doesn't mean anything 227 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:08,559 in the immigration law. Instead, what they're doing is they are economic migrants 228 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:12,799 or others who are just being trafficked or have other desires to come to the 229 00:19:12,839 --> 00:19:18,640 United States without qualifying for a visa. They make a asylum claim at the 230 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:22,799 border. The first part of that test is called a credible fear screening. 231 00:19:22,839 --> 00:19:27,000 It's very very low. The most bogus, dubious claims are good enough to 232 00:19:27,039 --> 00:19:32,720 pass that, and then they're being released into American communities. And really what 233 00:19:32,799 --> 00:19:38,640 that does is it deprives real victims of persecution the ability to have their cases 234 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:44,599 heard in a more timely fashion. So what this bill does is it will 235 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:49,599 enshrine in law a lot of what the Trump administration did through its regulatory authority. 236 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:52,839 So, like I said, they're going to increase the credible fear standard, 237 00:19:53,039 --> 00:19:59,279 which will make it harder to get that first cut into the process if 238 00:19:59,319 --> 00:20:03,400 you what we called in the trouble administration of asylum forum shopping. Essentially, 239 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,680 if you traveled through multiple countries to get to the United States, which is 240 00:20:07,039 --> 00:20:11,720 unsurprisingly almost everybody, and you didn't seek asylum there first. That's not the 241 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:17,160 behavior of someone fleeing persecution. You don't go to the most prosperous nation. 242 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:22,039 You go to the first safest country. So those folks would be ineligible for 243 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:27,519 asylum. They closed those loopholes that I was talking about that facilitate the trafficking 244 00:20:27,599 --> 00:20:33,039 of the unccompanied alien children, to allow all of them to be quickly returned 245 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:41,799 home, and it allows for extended family detention to prevent children being recycled in 246 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:51,039 these fake families. Again, there was a very terrible judicial agreement that limited 247 00:20:51,079 --> 00:20:55,000 the amount of time that you could keep a family unit in custody, and 248 00:20:55,079 --> 00:20:59,599 so all that did was caused the creation of real and many times fake family 249 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:03,559 units. So the judiciary portion touches on all of that. The House of 250 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:10,079 Homeland portion of it orders the immediate resumption of the border wall system that the 251 00:21:10,079 --> 00:21:15,279 Trump administration was plugging away at, developing It mandates a minimum of nine hundred 252 00:21:15,319 --> 00:21:21,720 miles of additional border wall and the surrounding technology that goes along with it. 253 00:21:22,599 --> 00:21:27,960 It cuts off the abuse of parole, and it calls for more border patrol 254 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:37,720 agents and expressly and explicitly prohibits them from being converted into mignrant processors, which 255 00:21:37,759 --> 00:21:42,200 is exactly what has happened under the Biden administration. New York has taken away 256 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:48,039 everybody from doing law enforcement activities and instead is helping. They're all being ordered 257 00:21:48,039 --> 00:21:52,599 to process migrants out of facilities as quickly as they possibly can. So I'm 258 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:57,559 very optimistic about this. This is very impressive with the House Republicans have put 259 00:21:57,599 --> 00:22:03,200 forward. It should be the type of thing that if you are against human 260 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:07,640 trafficking, if you are against the cartels, and you are for national sovereignty, 261 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:11,319 you should be for this bill. We'll see if we actually get anybody 262 00:22:11,319 --> 00:22:15,880 across the Aisle to vote for it. I am doubtful that that will occur, 263 00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:22,799 but what I would say is R two will provide a very clear signal 264 00:22:22,839 --> 00:22:30,119 to the American people leading into twenty twenty four about what the Republicans stand for 265 00:22:30,319 --> 00:22:37,240 on border security versus the chaos in carnage that the current administration seems to be 266 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:40,839 fond of. Yeah, I mean, if you're concerned about our asylum system, 267 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:45,720 it's being just bogged down with fraudulent cases right now, and people who 268 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,559 have real claims are getting harder and harder. I imagine you saw this up 269 00:22:48,599 --> 00:22:53,720 front. It's very difficult to help the people who are legitimately in need of 270 00:22:53,759 --> 00:22:57,640 help when you're you're sifting through so many, i mean, just a truly 271 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:03,039 incredible amount of claims on daily basis. Yeah, the numbers are unsustainable. 272 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:10,200 They were they were already way too high before the Trump administration took over. 273 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:14,759 We put in place a number of these policies, and what happened for the 274 00:23:14,839 --> 00:23:21,519 first time during the Trump administration was that the backlog stopped growing and so we 275 00:23:21,519 --> 00:23:27,160 were actually starting to cut into it and adjudicate cases more quickly. And importantly, 276 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:30,880 those that did not qualify, which was over eighty five percent of them, 277 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:37,440 so only fifteen percent maximum actually qualified for asylum. When they were denied, 278 00:23:37,039 --> 00:23:42,200 they were removed. And that's the difference here is if the aliens are 279 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:48,920 even filing the actual asylum claim, they're not being returned once they are denied 280 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:55,160 and this administration doesn't dispute those numbers that very few qualified. They are content 281 00:23:55,279 --> 00:24:00,720 with allowing them to come here and clogged the asylum system. And can you 282 00:24:00,759 --> 00:24:03,839 tell us about the credible fear interviews? I mean, that's a really specific 283 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:08,559 aspect of all of this, but I feel like there's a obviously there's there's 284 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:15,160 something about how we've been handling that that specifically that really is problematic and has 285 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:18,359 created a lot of headaches and a lot of problems that we'll be dealing with 286 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:22,519 for years to come. So what is the credible fear interview? How is 287 00:24:22,559 --> 00:24:26,000 it operating under the Biden administration? And what should it look like in a 288 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:33,799 kind of healthier system. Sure, so for an alien at the border who 289 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:37,640 claims asylum, that the credible fear standard is screening excuse me? Is the 290 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:45,079 first part in the asylum process. This is conducted by US Citizenship and Immigration 291 00:24:45,079 --> 00:24:48,920 Services to SCIS asylum officers. And like I said, this is a preliminary 292 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:55,480 screening. You know, some very generic questions are asked, and the threshold 293 00:24:55,599 --> 00:25:02,000 to passage is known as a significant possibility. They the significant possibility that your 294 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:07,480 story could result in a positive asylum plane and the way significant possibility has been 295 00:25:07,519 --> 00:25:14,920 interpreted by the courts is that it is a very very low threshold, to 296 00:25:15,039 --> 00:25:18,960 such a degree that over eighty percent of people who make a claim at the 297 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:25,960 border pass this test. But then when they actually have their asylum claim heard, 298 00:25:26,039 --> 00:25:30,559 which requires that you are being persecuted by the government on the basis of 299 00:25:30,599 --> 00:25:37,240 one of five protected grounds, you see fewer than fifteen percent who subsequently qualified, 300 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:42,559 So that delta is enormous, and that shouldn't happen. Instead, what 301 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:48,920 needs to happen is you need to raise that credible fear screening so that very 302 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,720 few people are passing it. But then nearly one hundred percent of those who 303 00:25:52,759 --> 00:26:02,640 have established the credible fear turnaround and actually meet the definition of asylum. Yeah, 304 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:07,240 you know, it's it's unthinkable, how it's so anti democratic, the 305 00:26:07,279 --> 00:26:12,799 way that you can tweak these different bureaucratic mechanisms largely under the cover of darkness. 306 00:26:12,839 --> 00:26:15,599 Some of the stuff we don't even know is happening because it's hard for 307 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:19,759 reporters to know about and confirm, and also they're just not curious. But 308 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,279 again, like from your vantage point as somebody who's who's been in government doing 309 00:26:23,319 --> 00:26:29,400 this work, it is just completely bureaucratized in a way that makes it wide 310 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:36,200 open for exploitation by democratic presidents or even you know, centrist Republican president who 311 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:41,359 who might want to flood the borders. Basically, that's what we've seen is 312 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:48,640 that the American people have had a very difficult time, either as a citizen 313 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:55,400 or through their elected officials at the state level, having standing to sue an 314 00:26:55,440 --> 00:27:00,200 administration that refuses to enforce immigration laws. In the last year or so, 315 00:27:00,319 --> 00:27:06,640 we've seen some successes with Texas and Florida leading the way, and that's that's 316 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:11,039 been very hopeful at delaying some of this. But at the end of the 317 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:18,480 day, an administration that refuses to uphold the law will continue to be the 318 00:27:18,519 --> 00:27:22,920 greatest magnet for more elite immigration, and that's going to mean more human trafficking. 319 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:26,920 That's going to mean more migrant deaths at the southern border. That's going 320 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:32,240 to mean more fent and All coming across in devastating communities across the nation. 321 00:27:33,079 --> 00:27:37,240 You know, it has kind of become a routine expression to say that every 322 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:41,200 state is a border state because of these policies and how the fent and All 323 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:45,799 in particular is you know as the leading cause of death of young Americans age 324 00:27:45,839 --> 00:27:51,000 eighteen to forty five. We are literally losing a generation of Americans and American 325 00:27:51,039 --> 00:27:56,039 thought leaders because of the failure to secure the southern border. Yeah yeah, 326 00:27:56,039 --> 00:27:59,640 I actually watched just this weekend, sort of in the somewhere in the middle 327 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:03,920 of the country, a man overdosing on unfentanel just outside a restaurant. And 328 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:08,599 man, it's just so commonplace now that people were barely batting an eyelet in 329 00:28:08,599 --> 00:28:15,680 this particular part of the country and just getting into that. I've actually seen 330 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,160 you comment on this before. The way cartels are able to exploit fintech social 331 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:25,960 media platforms to sell their stuff on the black market essentially, but it makes 332 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:27,559 it a lot easier. That also, though, means some of these companies 333 00:28:27,599 --> 00:28:33,799 can play a role in helping crack down on all of that black black market 334 00:28:33,079 --> 00:28:38,799 selling. What should that look like? What could that look like? I 335 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:42,759 mean, that is definitely a difficult aspect of this. You know, bad 336 00:28:42,759 --> 00:28:48,640 actors will always find creative ways to have their illicit business happened. I just 337 00:28:48,759 --> 00:28:56,759 believe that, particularly our own fintech companies and social media have almost a moral 338 00:28:56,799 --> 00:29:00,279 obligation if not a legal obligation to try to get this stuff off of their 339 00:29:00,319 --> 00:29:04,839 platforms. Make it as difficult as possible for these transactions to occur, and 340 00:29:06,039 --> 00:29:11,200 right now it is far too easy for people to be targeted through Snapchat. 341 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:15,519 I know it is a very popular mechanism that the cartels are reaching people, 342 00:29:15,799 --> 00:29:21,400 the use of coded emojis for different types of street drugs, many of which 343 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:26,680 are being wasted with f and all by the cartels. It's too simple. 344 00:29:26,799 --> 00:29:30,839 So from my perspective, the best and the easiest thing to do is that 345 00:29:32,039 --> 00:29:37,200 these platforms they need to take the accountability of themselves and make sure that the 346 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:44,440 appropriate, appropriate safe protocols are there, the barriers are there to root it 347 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:48,240 out. If they fail to do that, then it's going to be incumbent 348 00:29:48,279 --> 00:29:52,799 upon the Federal Congress to look at ways of raining them in and holding them 349 00:29:52,839 --> 00:29:56,640 accountable. You know. Just by way of example, I know that the 350 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:03,559 social media platforms have been very accessful at removing terrorist propaganda from their platforms, 351 00:30:03,559 --> 00:30:11,759 and that included videos of beheadings as well as other other propaganda videos used to 352 00:30:11,799 --> 00:30:15,599 try to generate support for them. If they are capable of doing it, 353 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:21,240 to target foreign terrorists, they should be just as capable of doing it to 354 00:30:21,359 --> 00:30:26,720 take down the cartels and the illicit drug and frankly sex trade that is occurring 355 00:30:26,759 --> 00:30:34,319 in this country. And social media and fintech companies are they're they're looped into 356 00:30:34,319 --> 00:30:37,519 it. I'm not saying that they're intentionally involved, but just the way that 357 00:30:37,599 --> 00:30:44,200 their platforms operate, that's become part of that mechanism of that illicit business. 358 00:30:44,839 --> 00:30:49,000 And so that's how I think it needs to be rooted out. On that 359 00:30:49,039 --> 00:30:53,440 note, there are some, you know, ideas that may might be seen 360 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:59,599 as like escalations by some people, but are definitely kind of outside the framework 361 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:03,400 of how we think about solutions to these problems over the last couple of decades. 362 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:06,759 And I think that's not good. And I'm sure you would agree with 363 00:31:06,759 --> 00:31:11,079 that, because I think you've actually you've written about it. Are I think 364 00:31:11,079 --> 00:31:14,799 this is a quote from so you've written recently where you say, at the 365 00:31:14,799 --> 00:31:18,720 same time, we have prioritized our ability to gather intelligence inside Mexico, and 366 00:31:18,839 --> 00:31:22,799 US military leaders have been reluctant to engage this clear threat. We need a 367 00:31:22,839 --> 00:31:26,160 different mindset and strategy if we expect to succeed a lot of people on the 368 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:32,400 right have started floating the idea of the foreign terrorist organization designation for cartels. 369 00:31:33,079 --> 00:31:34,960 Can you talk to us a little bit about what that would bring to the 370 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:41,640 table and how that could benefit the struggle to protect our borders and to protect, 371 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,400 as you say, every state which is essentially now a border state. 372 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:51,599 Sure, so, the way that the US has historically treated the cartels, 373 00:31:51,799 --> 00:31:56,039 it's been through the lens of it being a law enforcement problem, and that 374 00:31:56,079 --> 00:32:01,039 means that it would be a law enforcement solution, and that just has not 375 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:07,440 worked, and it's certainly not working the way the cartels have reached new heights 376 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:16,000 of both financial and literally gunpower, manpower strength thanks to the by administration policies. 377 00:32:16,279 --> 00:32:22,079 And so, what you know AFDI advocates for and what we saw work 378 00:32:22,359 --> 00:32:29,119 in the Trump administration was that you need to have an all the above approach 379 00:32:29,319 --> 00:32:35,160 to defeating the cartels, and that means you need to get tough with Mexico. 380 00:32:35,839 --> 00:32:39,880 You know, we have had a historically unique relationship with them because of 381 00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:47,640 our shared border and the facilitation of trade and the light the current Mexican regime 382 00:32:49,119 --> 00:32:52,039 seems to be compromised and you have to get taught with them. And so 383 00:32:52,119 --> 00:32:55,440 that means you need to use leverage. This is a transactional relationship. This 384 00:32:55,599 --> 00:33:00,599 is not a friendly relationship, and so you need to be willing to explore 385 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:07,160 everything. And that means possibly the foreign terrorist organization designation, possibly the use 386 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:13,519 of military force in the country, similar to what we did in Colombia to 387 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:17,920 take down Pablo Escobar back in the day. The FCO issue is complicated. 388 00:33:19,279 --> 00:33:22,720 I'm not going to suggest that it's easy. I know President Trump considered it 389 00:33:22,759 --> 00:33:30,119 and ultimately decline, but we had other successful policies in place. There is 390 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:37,640 the chance that an FTO designation could jeopardize the remain in Mexico policy that was, 391 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:44,680 from my perspective, the most successful border security policy ever created. So 392 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:47,519 there's a chance that you could lose that if the cartels are designated as an 393 00:33:47,519 --> 00:33:51,960 FTO. I don't think that is a foregone conclusion, but it is definitely 394 00:33:52,079 --> 00:33:57,720 a consideration that needs to be accounted for. But if you do designate them 395 00:33:57,799 --> 00:34:04,559 as foreign terrorist organizations, opens up new authorities. I was actually very surprised. 396 00:34:04,799 --> 00:34:12,119 Usually not surprised at the White House spokesperson, who pedals disinformation all the 397 00:34:12,159 --> 00:34:15,320 time, but when she was asked a question about the FTO designation and said, 398 00:34:15,519 --> 00:34:20,800 oh, that gives us no new authorities. That was just a mind 399 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:27,519 boggling because that's not true. It opens up all sorts of new financial sanctions 400 00:34:27,519 --> 00:34:32,679 that can be imposed, asset seizures, enhanced criminal penalties, the ability for 401 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:38,880 the United States as the government to get convictions for people that aren't even physically 402 00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:44,920 in the United States, and that is a very uncommon thing in our criminal 403 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:47,519 justice system. Like if you're not here, you know, you're you're kind 404 00:34:47,519 --> 00:34:52,440 of that's your way to sort of makes yourself immune from it. That's why 405 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:57,119 you have you know, you know, international law enforcement who cooperate, and 406 00:34:57,159 --> 00:35:00,639 then they have you know, transfers and and things of that nature. But 407 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:09,159 the FEO designation does unlock additional authorities that would help defeat the cartels fruits, 408 00:35:09,199 --> 00:35:15,400 freeze up their money, deprive them of their assets, and lock away nearly 409 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:22,480 everybody involved in the entire operation. Right now, under what's called the Kingpin 410 00:35:22,639 --> 00:35:25,719 Act, it's really only the top guys that you're able to take down with 411 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:30,960 this authority, But the FTO designation would open it up to the highest guide 412 00:35:31,239 --> 00:35:36,519 involved in the trafficking of drugs and people all the way down to your low 413 00:35:36,639 --> 00:35:42,920 level street dealer as well. So those are robust authorities. And that's where 414 00:35:43,159 --> 00:35:45,880 I just think you have to have that balancing act of what you might lose 415 00:35:46,239 --> 00:35:52,719 might lose in exchange for what you definitively would get from the enforcement side of 416 00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:57,280 things. Yeah, and Biden, well, President Biden himself had a joint 417 00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:02,239 press conference with Amlow not long ago during his really staged to visit the Mexico 418 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:07,760 and then to El Paso, which was absolutely a joke. But how has 419 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:15,480 his administration handled and how should his administration have handled the relationship with Amlow, 420 00:36:15,599 --> 00:36:19,280 who has his like little hugs not Bullets policy, has ceded a lot of 421 00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:23,639 territory to cartel control UM. You know, there's a lot of concern that, 422 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:28,199 you know, the United States needs to partner with Mexico. They need 423 00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:32,199 to be peaceful allies. So any talk of military intervention UM or foreign terrist 424 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:38,840 designations to the cartels would would blow up that relationship. But at the same 425 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:45,840 time, enabling Amlow and enabling whoever is the president of Mexico to have a 426 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:52,079 hugs not Bullets policy and to continue seeding territory to CARTELSUM is not not in 427 00:36:52,119 --> 00:36:54,400 the best interests of the United States, to say the least. So what 428 00:36:54,480 --> 00:37:00,320 should our approach to Amlo, What what should our approach be to all? 429 00:37:00,599 --> 00:37:06,360 And what has Biden done wrong? So really, I think if you look 430 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:09,840 at how President Trump handled Amlow, that, like I said earlier, it's 431 00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:15,920 a transactional relationship and that is how Amlow responds to things. I think it's 432 00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:20,000 it's pretty well known that the way are. Part of the way that the 433 00:37:20,039 --> 00:37:27,880 Remain in Mexico policy sort of began was that President Trump went to Amlow and 434 00:37:28,039 --> 00:37:31,920 said, I'm gonna impose tariffs on all these different things come Monday if you 435 00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:36,639 won't do this. And this is after months and months of the Mexican government 436 00:37:36,639 --> 00:37:40,239 officials refusing to cooperate with Romaine in Mexico. And once he said that, 437 00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:45,079 and it was believable, and we were, as the Trump administration, prepared 438 00:37:45,320 --> 00:37:49,920 to impose those sanctions, all of a sudden, the phone call came in 439 00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:52,400 to the White House and they said, oh, we'd be happy to be 440 00:37:52,480 --> 00:37:57,880 your partner in Romain in Mexico. So again, you've got to talk tough 441 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:00,960 and you've got to act tough, and that means you got to be able 442 00:38:00,519 --> 00:38:06,760 to impose tariffs, threaten it. It needs to be believable. You need 443 00:38:06,840 --> 00:38:12,480 to hold them accountable to actually being a partner. What you've seen the weakness 444 00:38:12,559 --> 00:38:17,639 of the Biden administration has led Amlo to do what anybody would do in AMLO's 445 00:38:17,639 --> 00:38:23,119 footsteps, which is, it is not worth it for me, as Amlow, 446 00:38:23,199 --> 00:38:29,239 to try to do anything with the cartels when the United States is basically 447 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:35,119 encouraging their business model. So during the Trump administration, we got the Mexican 448 00:38:35,159 --> 00:38:38,960 government to put the equivalent of their National Guard down at their southern border to 449 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:45,519 prevent that pipeline, largely from the Northern Triangle countries, from even passing through 450 00:38:45,599 --> 00:38:49,880 Mexico. Amlo has just abandoned all of that, and frankly is of the 451 00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:52,280 view, as long as you quickly moved your way out of Mexico and go 452 00:38:52,360 --> 00:38:57,000 across the US border, I'm okay with that. And it's not worth it 453 00:38:57,039 --> 00:39:01,800 from his perspective to try to do anything to up the cartels because the countervailing 454 00:39:02,239 --> 00:39:07,320 pull from the open borders policies are impeding that. So again, it is 455 00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:15,840 the policies of the Biden administration that have encouraged am Low to turn a blind 456 00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:22,840 eye at minimum, or as some Mexican policy experts are starting to believe. 457 00:39:22,239 --> 00:39:28,360 You know, he may in some degree be compromised or partnered with them to 458 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:31,880 some degree, but you saw how to handle this relationship very positively with what 459 00:39:32,039 --> 00:39:40,360 President Trump did, and you couldn't have a more polar opposite reaction than how 460 00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:45,559 the Biden administration has handled the relationship. Yeah, and just as we wrap 461 00:39:45,639 --> 00:39:50,519 up here, you've worked on immigration issues for a really long time, and 462 00:39:50,599 --> 00:39:53,039 you know you can go back to, gosh, the side of the early 463 00:39:53,039 --> 00:39:58,239 twenty tens that maybe even been before that, when the Associated Press decided it 464 00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:02,199 was no longer okay to refer to a aliens or illegal immigrants. I think 465 00:40:02,199 --> 00:40:05,760 in the style guide, I don't know that you can actually use either. 466 00:40:07,199 --> 00:40:09,840 I don't think you can say illegal aliens or illegal immigrants. And being compliance 467 00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:15,599 with the Associated Press style Guide, which obviously dictates how most news outlets use 468 00:40:15,719 --> 00:40:20,960 language around the country, local outlets, national outlets. And it's been going 469 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:23,119 on for a long time. So the sort of the terms of this debate 470 00:40:23,199 --> 00:40:29,719 have been stacked against not just conservatives, but anybody who supports a more reasonable 471 00:40:30,159 --> 00:40:34,519 policy towards the southern border security at the border, humanitarian rights at the border, 472 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:38,960 humanitarian the situation in general at the border. As somebody who who's been 473 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:42,719 in the space a long time, who's actually worked in the government, I 474 00:40:42,559 --> 00:40:47,159 imagine you have seen the corruption of media, the failures of media up close. 475 00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:51,639 Is there anything you can tell us? There's sort of like insight you 476 00:40:51,679 --> 00:40:54,960 have from having worked on this and then seen, you know, the media 477 00:40:55,039 --> 00:41:00,559 cover what you know happened because you actually were there, or you have the 478 00:41:00,639 --> 00:41:02,880 numbers in front of you. Whatever it is, um you know, what 479 00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:07,280 should people know about maybe what they're reading in the media and how the average 480 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:15,920 journalist is conveying what's actually happening versus what is actually happening. It's a great 481 00:41:15,960 --> 00:41:19,119 question, and it's rather an unfortunate one that it has to be asked. 482 00:41:19,239 --> 00:41:23,159 We don't have a curious media anymore, and in fact, I'd say that 483 00:41:23,159 --> 00:41:28,840 they're very complicit in these policies. I'm a real stickler for language, particularly 484 00:41:28,840 --> 00:41:34,880 statutory language. That's the lawyer in the words and precise words are important in 485 00:41:35,239 --> 00:41:39,800 a matter. This notion that the term alien is offensive or in humane is 486 00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:46,280 just absurd. It literally means an alien who is is a person who is 487 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:52,159 not a US citizen or US national. That's it. But what you see 488 00:41:52,519 --> 00:41:58,239 through this, this creation of new terms, is an attempt to deceive the 489 00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:06,039 public. Something else is going on. So for example, using undocumented instead 490 00:42:06,039 --> 00:42:10,440 of illegal, well, undocumented clearly is designed to hide the fact that immigration 491 00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:16,480 laws are being broken. Undocumented is both factually and legally inaccurate. But it 492 00:42:16,559 --> 00:42:22,119 sounds kinder to just delay, reader, and that's exactly what it's done for. 493 00:42:22,199 --> 00:42:27,760 Like I mentioned earlier, asylum seeker, that is not a term in 494 00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:30,360 our immigration laws. It doesn't mean anything. I mean, I could be 495 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:34,079 an asylum seeker, that doesn't mean it's very different from being in a side 496 00:42:34,159 --> 00:42:39,119 lead, which is someone who actually qualifies for a psylum and you see the 497 00:42:39,119 --> 00:42:45,400 repress. You know, they will describe, you know, these tales of 498 00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:50,360 people who come from whatever country. They'll call them an asylum seeker. But 499 00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:54,760 then they'll relay their story about how, you know, they lost their job 500 00:42:55,159 --> 00:43:00,719 or their crops dried up, they're looking for work. Now a single one 501 00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:05,360 of those reasons is the grounds for asylum in the United States. But you're 502 00:43:05,360 --> 00:43:08,360 not going to see anybody in the legacy media say here's why they say they're 503 00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:12,519 coming. However, under US immigration law, this is not a valid claim 504 00:43:12,599 --> 00:43:16,000 for asylum. They leave that part out, and so they allow you to 505 00:43:16,159 --> 00:43:22,400 feel sympathy for the plight of these people, which I sympathize with them as 506 00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:27,559 well. However, I sympathize with the American people who are struggling mightily under 507 00:43:27,599 --> 00:43:30,880 the failed policies of the Biden administration, and you can sympathize with them, 508 00:43:31,199 --> 00:43:37,440 but also recognize that we have laws, we have eligibility criteria, and if 509 00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:43,360 you don't qualify, it's really inappropriate and it is literally unlawful for you to 510 00:43:43,440 --> 00:43:46,360 just take things in your own hands and come to this country. So that 511 00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:51,639 the press does not describe things accurately, you know, they encounters is the 512 00:43:51,679 --> 00:43:55,840 new word that this administration uses and is peddled by the media instead of apprehensions. 513 00:43:57,639 --> 00:44:00,480 Apprehensions, of course, has a certain connotations. Encounter. You know, 514 00:44:00,639 --> 00:44:05,079 oh, I encounter that It's like you just happen to bump into somebody 515 00:44:05,119 --> 00:44:08,480 at the grocery store, as opposed to here's somebody who try to get across 516 00:44:08,519 --> 00:44:13,760 the border and get past the board of patrol agents, or somebody who showed 517 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:17,000 up at a board of entry and didn't have a desa. Those are very 518 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:23,039 different things that and that's what you see being done with this terminology, and 519 00:44:23,119 --> 00:44:30,519 it's clearly designed to influence the perceptions of the embarking people about what is going 520 00:44:30,559 --> 00:44:36,119 on. And again, just as a final example herely every article that you 521 00:44:36,199 --> 00:44:42,599 see or photos that are published show women and children that somehow everybody that is 522 00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:46,119 cleaning and coming to the United States are vulnerable women and children. And there 523 00:44:46,119 --> 00:44:51,880 are a lot of those, but there's a lot of military aged men who 524 00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:54,679 are coming across the border. And these are the ones that are not turning 525 00:44:54,679 --> 00:45:00,559 themselves in. They're often in camouflage, many of them are all so helping 526 00:45:00,920 --> 00:45:04,320 marine the drugs across. And you have to ask yourself if it's never been 527 00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:08,760 easier to turn yourself in and be released. This god away population and we're 528 00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:15,320 talking well over a million who have gotten past border patrol agents and have just 529 00:45:15,360 --> 00:45:17,440 disappeared, and we have no idea who they are. Those are your national 530 00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:22,440 security threats, those are your public safety concerns, and that population is almost 531 00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:30,880 never discussed in any of the articles around the border crisis. Rob law is 532 00:45:30,880 --> 00:45:35,000 the director for the Center for Homeland Security and Immigration over at the America First 533 00:45:35,119 --> 00:45:38,400 Policy Institute, Rob, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you, 534 00:45:38,480 --> 00:45:42,159 I have a great one. Of course you too. You've been listening 535 00:45:42,159 --> 00:45:45,119 to another edition of the Federalist Radio Hour. I'm Emilijaschinski, culture editor here 536 00:45:45,159 --> 00:45:49,039 at the Federalist. Will be back soon with more. Until then, be 537 00:45:49,239 --> 00:46:09,519 lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray erm