This Issue: After a June lull, reports indicate an increase in illegal border crossings in July

Fri, Aug. 11^th

After what may have been a temporary dip in border apprehensions during the month of June, reports indicate that there was an increase in illegal border crossings during the month of July. Reports further indicate that the drug cartels who manage the human smuggling across the border are shifting flows to Arizona in response to stepped up efforts taken by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to block illegal entries.

According to The Washington Post:

Illegal crossings along the U.S. southern border jumped more than 30 percent in July, according to preliminary U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by The Washington Post, dealing a blow to President Biden's new immigration enforcement strategy at a time when his policies are facing multiple legal challenges.

U.S. agents made more than 130,000 arrests along the Mexico border last month, preliminary figures show, up from 99,545 in June. Authorities allowed an additional 50,000 migrants to cross into the United States in July, primarily through Biden administration programs allowing asylum seekers to schedule appointments at U.S. ports of entry using the CBP One mobile application.

While the numbers reported by the Post are still unofficial, it appears that the June dip in apprehensions was short-lived. It's likely that the cartels held back in June so they could learn more about how the Biden Administration would handle illegal border crossings after ending Title 42 in May and began making their adjustments in July. This is a regular tactic of the cartels anytime policy changes at the border are announced.

The Post also reported that the increase in illegal border crossings wasn't only felt in Texas where most illegal border crossings have occurred over the last two years.

The spike in illegal crossings was most pronounced in the deserts of southern Arizona, despite daytime temperatures that often surpassed 110 degrees. U.S. agents there made about 40,000 arrests in July, the highest one-month total for the Tucson sector in 15 years, CBP data show.

The increase in the Tucson sector represents a 134% increase in border apprehensions in July compared to June. All this news comes at the same time that the Biden Administration has announced that 1,100 of the 1,500 active-duty troops that the Pentagon sent to the border to deal with the border crisis are being sent back to their home bases.

What's more concerning about the apparent increase in illegal border crossings in July is that, historically, border apprehensions tend to dip during the hotter, summer months before rising during the cooler, fall months. The July spike could indicate that this fall's numbers could be on par with some of the worst months since Pres. Biden's been in office.

ChRIS CHMIELENSKI

NumbersUSA Florida activist, Lee Carter, recently had an op-ed published by the Orlando Sentinel praising the state's new E-Verify law. Florida recently passed a law requiring private employers with 25 or more employees to use E-Verify.

In early May, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that requires Sunshine State employers to check the immigration status of newly hired workers through the federal government's E-Verify system. The law makes Florida the nation's most populous state with a broad E-Verify mandate...

The new law, which takes effect July 1, is considerably stronger. While it does allow a carve-out for companies with fewer than 25 employees, it's a major step toward ending illegal hiring in Florida, which will help turn off the jobs magnet that drives illegal immigration to the state

Read the full op-ed at the Orlando Sentinel.

Washington Times: NumbersUSA Director of Government Relations Rosemary Jenks commented on a DHS proposal that would offer 5-year work permits to illegal aliens.

Rosemary Jenks, vice president at NumbersUSA, said the proposal could ease the workload at USCIS but also could lead to situations in which illegal immigrants use the permits to prevent deportation.

She suggested a case where someone is seeking asylum and receives a five-year work permit, but loses her asylum case a year later. That person could have an incentive to stay, relying on the work permit as permission to remain.

The expanded work permits also would serve as a magnet for more illegal immigrants, Ms. Jenks said.

"Guess what the result will be when they start calling home and saying, 'Hey, I've got a five-year work permit.' All of their relatives, friends and family will come," she said.

Biden Increases Alien Releases as Title 8 Policies Crumble

Fri, Aug. 11^th

Officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection received yet another directive from the Biden Administration ordering them to increase migrant releases, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Media Terrified of...Canada

JARED CULVER

Wed, Aug. 9^th

Canada has created a visa program specifically catering to American H-1B visa holders. The program allows H-1B holders in the United States to apply for up to 10,000 Canadian visas to work for any employer that will hire them. The visa only lasts for three years with no extension possible. This small-scale, temporary policy has the U.S. media acting as if this is proof that our immigration system is broken, and the only solution is even more immigration.

Scars of Stagnant Wages and Misplaced Priorities

JEREMY BECK

Thu, Aug. 10^th

The latest data on "ghost job ads," unemployment, and catch-and-release show how easily replaceable some workers are in this market.

Secretary Mayorkas Oversight Testimony Leaves Out American Workers

Jared Culver

Tue, Aug. 8^th

On Wednesday, July 26th, 2023, Secretary Mayorkas, head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), testified before the House Judiciary Committee. The 24-page written testimony he submitted for the record says a great deal about his vision for the future of the immigration policy landscape.

Court Finds Biden Asylum Rule is "Substantively and Procedurally Invalid"

Jared Culver

Mon, Aug. 7^th

The Biden Administration received another defeat in court, with Judge Jon Tigar of the Northern District of California vacating the latest asylum rule. That asylum rule created an (easily) rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility for aliens who did not schedule their illegal entry beforehand using a phone app called CBP One.