Migrant Caravan

            The first migrant caravan traveling across Mexico from Central America arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, a few days ago and came face-to-face with the reality that they are not wanted in Mexico or in the United States. This caravan has about 4,000 people in it and is the largest of five caravans of migrants headed to the United States. There are about 12,000 people in the five caravans, and most of them are from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. 

            Even as the migrants face the reality that they are not welcome, Milton Benitez, a political analyst, sociologist, and host of a television show “El Perro Amarillo,” in Honduras, told them, “It’s your right to go to the U.S.” Who is he to say that anyone has the right to go to America? The United States is a sovereign nation and has the sole right to decide who enters its borders and who does not.

            The United States has not been idle since hearing that the caravans were on the way. President Donald Trump said that they will not come into the United States, and he sent the military to the border to harden the border with barricades. This writer has seen razor wire spread all over the wall in an effort to keep illegal aliens from climbing over the wall. In addition to hardening the border, there are several thousands of military personnel assigned to assist and protect the border guards.

            The latest information to come to this author is a report that the Department of Homeland Security is gathering intelligence from inside the migrant caravan. Apparently, there are paid undercover informants imbedded with the caravan that are monitoring text messages of migrants. The migrants used WhatsApp text message groups to organize and communicate as they travel across Mexico. The intelligence gathered from within the caravan is combined with the reports of DHS personnel working with the Mexican government. With the combined information, DHS knows a lot about the size of the caravan, its movements, and any security threats that it poses.

            The gathered intelligence indicated that some migrants were planning to run into the United States through the car lanes near San Diego. Customs and Border Protections shut down all the lanes going north for three hours between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. There was no attempt made to overrun the guards.

            John Cohen, former acting undersecretary of intelligence for DHS says that it is not illegally for DHS to pay informants, put personnel in the area, or monitor the communications of non-U.S. citizens. However, he does believe that it is a waste of funds to go to such efforts to stop the caravan when there are terrorist threats, mass shootings, etc. going on in the nation.

He understands that the caravan is an important issue, but the majority of its members only want to claim legal asylum. DHS spokeswoman Katie Waldman disagreed.

While not commenting on sources or methods, it would be malpractice for the United States to be ignorant about the migrants – including many criminals – attempting to enter our country. We have an obligation to ensure we know who is crossing our borders to protect against threats to the Homeland and any indication to the contrary is misinformed.

            U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar, appointed by Barack Obama, placed a nation-wide order on the government. He says that the United States cannot enforce a ban on asylum for anyone who does not cross the border legally. This is another liberal judge trying to stop President Donald Trump from doing what he was elected to do – protect Americans.

            President Trump issued a proclamation on November 9 that stated that anyone who crossed the border illegally between official ports of entry would immediately be ineligible for asylum. The government’s argument was that the approach of the caravans required immediate restrictions. This is the judge’s explanation for putting the lives of Americans in danger: “Whatever the scope of the President’s authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden.”

            The President used the same powers that he used when he imposed a travel ban that was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court. Homeland Security and the Justice Department issued a joint statement saying that the Supreme Court has already ruled that the President has the authority to restrict asylum.

Our asylum system is broken, and it is being abused by tens of thousands of meritless claims every year. We look forward to continuing to defend the Executive Branch’s legitimate and well-reasoned exercise of its authority to address the crisis at our southern border.

            There is a dangerous situation at our southern border, and a liberal judge is not helping the President to solve the problem. The judge’s ruling will most likely be overturned, but it will probably allow many illegal aliens to seek asylum who would otherwise not be able to do so.