Border Deal Apparently Dead, How Does the US Stop the Surge?

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threw in the towel on a border deal so bad it never should have been inked. Meanwhile, let’s discuss the numbers.

According to US Customs and Border Protection, fiscal year 2024 is off to a record start.

Border Synopsis

• Although the vast majority of migrants come through Mexico, only 20 percent are from Mexico.
• Venezuela, much further away, accounts for nearly 15 percent.
• Cuba and Haiti each accounts for more migrants than Canada, Brazil, China, Russia, Turkey, Romania, and Burma combined.
• In just three months, Venezuela has 148,074 migrants in fiscal year 2024 compared to 334,914 in all of 2023.

These are the official counted numbers. How many untracked migrants is uncertain.

Contiguous Countries

I am trying to get a handle on that Tweet. As I see it, contiguous means Canada and Mexico only. Even if it doesn’t, Biden is sure to interpret the law as he sees fit.

The point may be moot because this deal may have just died.

Senators Rush to Salvage Ukraine Aid After Border Deal Fails

It appears Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has finally thrown in the towel on a compromise that should never been made in the first place.

The Wall Street Journal reports Senators Rush to Salvage Ukraine Aid After Border Deal Fails

Senators threw in the towel Tuesday on a $118 billion national-security and border package after sharp opposition from Republicans scuttled the deal, forcing frustrated lawmakers to urgently seek for a backup plan to deliver aid to Ukraine as it loses ground in its campaign to repel Russia.

The surrender to political reality left Democrats seething over what they called a bait and switch by Republicans after four months of talks, while GOP lawmakers said the deal’s border provisions weren’t strong enough. Both sides, however, signaled they could try to move to a narrower bill focused on foreign assistance and weapons once they get past Wednesday, when the doomed package will get a vote in the Senate.

“It looks to me and to most of our members as if we have no real chance here to make a law,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.). He said lawmakers still “ought to tackle the rest of it because it’s important,” ticking off aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. “Not that the border isn’t important, but we can’t get an outcome.”

No Deal is Better than a Bad Deal

Biden wants to pin this on Trump but who is is that made 64 regulation changes weakening the border?

Trump’s motives may be suspect but his statement is accurate: No deal is better than a bad deal.

Where’s Border Czar Kamala Harris?

The LA Times reports Kamala Harris was tapped to fix the immigration crisis. Then the problem shifted

President Biden, facing a political crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border in the early days of his administration, tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to lead a high-profile response that would bet heavily on improving conditions in three Central American countries.

It was known as the “root causes” strategy. The border, administration officials argued, was only a symptom. If the United States could improve economic, security and political conditions in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, fewer people would risk the perilous journey and much of the problem could be solved, they reasoned.

“It was focused on a long-term scenario and it was focused on countries that are no longer the primary sending countries,” said Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research group.

“You can’t have a ‘root causes’ strategy for every country in the Western Hemisphere,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy director of the American Immigration Council, an immigrants’ rights group.

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has alarmed human rights advocates with his broad crackdown on gangs that includes widespread arrests and detentions. He ran for reelection Sunday in defiance of a constitutional term limit. But Bukele’s crackdown has played a big role in stemming migration from El Salvador, as residents who once feared gang violence are no longer compelled to leave, according to specialists.

Biden’s Trojan Horse Immigration Deal

On January 30, I commented Biden’s Trojan Horse Immigration Deal Would Allow Another 1.8 Million Migrants

The Senate finally released more details of the bipartisan border package last Friday. House speaker Mike Johnson immediately blasted the deal, and deservingly so.

On February 6,I commented Biden Proposes Ankle Bracelets and Commands Will Solve the Immigration Problem

The ankle bracelet is a farce. What is to stop someone from taking off the bracelet and vanishing forever in a sanctuary city?

Now I wonder What else is lurking in the bill we don’t know about. I searched for hours trying to find the full text of the bill on Tuesday and came up empty. The Senate never posted the text.

Biden can attempt to fix the problems he created or not. To date, neither Biden nor Harris have done anything useful.

Instead, Biden has kept his campaign promise to keep the border open. Why should anyone trust him now?

He can start by undoing the mess his regulations created.

https://mishtalk.com/economics/border-deal-apparently-dead-how-does-the-us-stop-the-surge/