Tag Archive for: deportation

Notorious Migrant Route To U.S. Suddenly Shows Signs Of Life As Migrants Hoof It Back Home With Trump’s Return

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Migrants who once flooded the U.S. southern border under the Biden-Harris administration are now using the Darien Gap to head home or travel to other foreign countries instead of heading toward the U.S.

The border crisis, which became a major issue for both former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris during their campaigns, saw record-high encounters, with officials estimating a total of 10.8 million encounters since fiscal year 2021. With the new administration tightening immigration policies, migrants are reportedly in a “reserve flow,” returning home through routes like the Darien Gap, according to the Associated Press.

One major route used to travel to the U.S. southern border, the Darien Gap—a dense jungle region—is now reportedly being used by migrants to flee from the U.S. border due to Trump’s efforts to secure it. Smugglers, according to AP News, are charging between $200 and $250 per person to transport people back through this “reverse flow,” including minors.

In Trump’s first month at the White House, both the U.S.-Mexico border and international crossing ports went quiet, with reports showing sharp declines in illegal migrant encounters. Since his inauguration, Trump has signed a series of executive orders aimed at ending taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal migrants, designating cartels and other organizations as foreign terrorist entities, and declaring a national emergency at the southern border.

Over the years, the Darien Gap has been a treacherous passage for illegal migrants due to the presence of organized crime and smugglers making as much as $14 million per day. Spanning 40 miles wide and 100 miles long between Panama and Colombia, over half a million migrants crossed through the Darien Gap in 2023, contributing to a record number of encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border that year.

However, in July 2024, Panama’s National Border Service, which functions as the country’s version of border patrol, reported a 9,000-person drop in crossings from Colombia compared to the same time the year prior, crediting their efforts to reduce illegal migration through the Darien Gap.

Along with his executive orders, Trump gave Border Czar Tom Homan and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem the authority to direct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to arrest “criminal aliens,” including rapists and murderers.

But, according to AP News, not all migrants are returning home despite the stricter border crackdown; some are heading to other countries.

“There’s no way I’m going back to Venezuela. There are many of us who don’t want to go back. They are going to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia—just like before,” Celia Alcala, a woman waiting for a boat ride through the Darien Gap, told the outlet.

Since Trump’s inauguration, the president has pushed to fulfill his campaign promise of conducting a mass deportation operation and addressing the border crisis, with one of his first actions being the shutdown of the CBP One app. The app, which gained popularity under Biden, had allowed an estimated 166 million asylum seekers to secure appointments with U.S. immigration officials over the past two years, according to CBS News.

“When Trump arrived and eliminated the application (CBP One), all our hopes went up in smoke,” 36-year-old Venezuelan Karla Castillo, traveling with her younger sister, told AP News.

With mass deportations still underway, it remains unclear exactly how many illegal migrants were exactly allowed to pass through the southern border under the Biden-Harris administration. However, Noem estimated on Fox News that hundreds of thousands of criminal migrants have been allowed into the U.S. over the past four years, including thousands connected to gangs.

AUTHOR

Hailey Gomez

General assignment reporter.

RELATED ARTICLES:

THAT’S NOEMLAND SECURITY! Border Patrol Records Lowest Single-Day Apprehensions in 15 Years

Pam Bondi Vows To Prosecute FBI Agents, Government Officials Who Leak Info On ICE Raids

Vivek Ramaswamy Announces Ohio Gubernatorial Run

ROOKE: Intelligence Agencies Pushback Against DOGE Requests, Giving Trump A Clear Message

What Country Would Accept Relocated Gazans?

RELATED VIDEO: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem: “I have found some leakers… they will be fired.”

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Bishop Says Catholic Teaching Does Not Support ‘Open Border Policy’

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington signaled Friday that Catholic teachings support President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement.

Pope Francis and several bishops have previously taken stances against the president, calling Trump’s mass deportation plans a “disgrace” and stating that Catholic teaching requires countries to be open to migrants. Burbidge stated that although Catholics should affirm the dignity of migrants, nations also have a duty to uphold the rule of law and common good for its citizens.

“As the United States government revises its immigration policies, and after prayerful discernment and consultation, I offer pastoral encouragement to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, Congressional leaders, elected officials, and all Catholics and people of goodwill to consider the common good of our country with the light of faith,” Burbidge wrote. “The Church teaches, as does our Constitution, that a political community exists to protect the family and human dignity. We always defend and protect the most vulnerable, even as we defend the rights and duties of nations to govern themselves and to safeguard the common good.”

“As principles of Catholic social teaching, human dignity and the common good must not be brought into conflict,” Burbidge continued. “As Catholics, we understand the common good as inclusive of the individual good of each and every member of society. We also understand that the rule of law is to defend and promote the common good. For this reason, I have confidence that comprehensive immigration reform need not harm the dignity of any person. Even when immigration reform includes repatriation of those persons who have committed violent crimes, or who otherwise violate the terms of a right to remain, human dignity can be respected. We must not presume a conflict between human dignity and the rule of law.”

Pope Francis has frequently been at odds with Trump, reportedly appointing a liberal bishop to the Archdiocese of Washington as an intentional roadblock to the president after he appointed Brian Burch, president of the advocacy organization CatholicVote and avid supporter of Trump’s immigration policies, to the position of Vatican ambassador. Prior to the November election, the Pope implied that Trump’s stance on immigration was level with former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ limitless pro-abortion stance.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has also taken a stand against the president’s immigration policy, disagreeing that Church teachings support limits on immigration.

“The use of sweeping generalizations to denigrate any group, such as describing all undocumented immigrants as ‘criminals’ or ‘invaders,’ to deprive them of protection under the law, is an affront to God, who has created each of us in his own image,” USCCB wrote in a January memo. “Pope Francis has stated, ‘No one will ever openly deny that [migrants] are human beings, yet in practice, by our decisions and the way we treat them, we can show that we consider them less worthy, less important, less human. For Christians, this way of thinking and acting is unacceptable.’”

“As the Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes, Catholic teaching does not support an open border policy, but rather emphasizes a common sense approach where the duty to care for the stranger is practiced in harmony with the duty to care for the nation,” Burbidge concluded in his statement. “Therefore, I encourage President Trump and Congressional leaders to develop a national immigration policy that reflects the Catholic commitment to human dignity and the common good. Americans earnestly look to our elected officials for a humane and peaceful immigration policy that is just, compassionate, and restores confidence in the rule of law. American law must always include pathways for legal entry and as citizens we should always celebrate the contributions of immigrants, ensure the protection of the vulnerable, and uphold the common good which is the condition for ordered liberty and public safety.”

AUTHOR

Jaryn Crouson

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLES:

‘Sign Of Great Hope’: Religious Leaders See A ‘Fourth Great Awakening’ As Americans Flock To Christianity

Federal Bureaucrats Ordered To Remove Pronouns From Email Signatures

RELATED VIDEO: Hamas, Hezbollah and the Cartel on Our Border

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Trump Commits To ‘Largest Deportation Program’ With ‘No Price Tag’

/in , , , , , , , , , , , /by

President-elect Donald Trump dismissed concerns Thursday about the costs associated with his proposed mass deportation plan.

During a phone interview with NBC News, Trump stated that “there’s no price tag” to his promised deportation plan. He said that he’d initiate an unprecedented immigration crackdown from his first day in office, aiming to deport those in the U.S.  illegally, particularly individuals with criminal records.

“It’s not a question of a price tag. It’s not — really, we have no choice. When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here. There is no price tag,” Trump said, according to NBC News.

Trump says he’ll depend heavily on local law enforcement to deport people, although coordination with federal agencies will be essential, the outlet reported. During the same interview, Trump also expressed a welcoming stance toward legal immigration and discussed the need for a robust and secure border. He maintained that the country should remain open to newcomers who respect its laws.

“We obviously have to make the border strong and powerful and, and we have to — at the same time, we want people to come into our country,” Trump said. “And you know, I’m not somebody that says, ‘No, you can’t come in.’ We want people to come in,” Trump said, according to NBC News.

Despite efforts by Democrats to sway Latino voters, his support among Latino men has surged, according to a CNN exit poll. Trump led Vice President Kamala Harris by 12 points among Latino men, however Harris won over Latino women by 22 points.

AUTHOR

Mariane Angela

News reporter.

RELATED ARTICES:

Media Has No Chance Of Stopping Trump Plan Majority Of Americans Want

Court Shoots Down Biden Admin’s Mass Amnesty Order For Hundreds Of Thousands Of Illegal Migrants

‘The End Of My Dream’: Many Migrants In US-Bound Caravan Lose Hope, Turn Around After Trump Victory

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Kamala-Backed Border Bill Would Allow Illegals Deported By Trump Back Into Country

/in , , , , , , , , /by

Kamala Harris touted the U.S. Citizenship Act, a House bill which would open a pathway for illegal immigrants deported by former President Trump to apply for legal status.

The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 would establish “an earned roadmap to citizenship for undocumented individuals,” according to a White House press release.

Illegal immigrants applying for temporary legal status would have to be physically present in the United States on or before January 1, 2021. However, there is one exception to the rule.

Illegal immigrants the Trump administration deported would be eligible for temporary status even if they were not physically present in the United States, according to the bill.

“With respect to a noncitizen who was removed from or who departed the United States on or after January 20, 2017, and who was continuously physically present in the United States for not fewer than 3 years immediately preceding the date on which the noncitizen was removed or departed, the Secretary may waive, for humanitarian purposes, to ensure family unity, or if such a waiver is otherwise in the public interest,” the bill reads.

Kamala Harris touted the bill during her tenure as Vice President. It’s even mentioned in the Democratic Party’s 2024 platform.

In June 2021 Harris thanked Democratic New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez for “leading the way on the U.S. Citizenship Act.”

She also stated during her Democratic National Convention acceptance speech that she would create a pathway for citizenship for immigrants.

“The U.S. Citizenship Act would permanently increase family-sponsored and employment-based immigration,” the party platform reads.

Besides allowing any of the approximately 1.5 million illegal immigrants the Trump administration deported back into the country, the bill would also provide a pathway to permanent legal status and citizenship to illegal immigrants living in the United States.

It would change the word “aliens” to “noncitizens” in U.S. immigration law.

AUTHOR

Robert McGreevy

Reporter.

RELATED ARTICLES: Democrats Release Platform For Biden’s Second Term As Harris Desperately Tries To Escape Boss’ Shadow

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Half Of Americans Would Support Mass Deportation Of Illegal Migrants: POLL

/in , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Just over half of Americans now say they would support the mass deportation of illegal migrants, a poll released Thursday found.

The 51% who approve of the action includes 42% of Democrats, as well as 68% of Republicans and 46% of independents, according to the Axios Vibes/The Harris Poll survey. Approximately two-thirds of respondents believe illegal immigration is a legitimate crisis as President Joe Biden’s administration has seen record numbers of border crossings.

Mark Penn, chairman of The Harris Poll, told Axios that Biden’s “efforts to shift responsibility for the issue to [former President Donald] Trump are not going to work.”

“I was surprised at the public support for large-scale deportations,” Penn said.  “I think they’re just sending a message to politicians: ‘Get this under control.’”

Border Patrol had 137,480 encounters at the southern border in March, and has already seen 1 million in fiscal year 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. Fiscal year 2022 included nearly 2.2 million encounters and fiscal year 2023 had 2 million.

A majority of White Americans would support mass deportations, while 45% of Latinos and 40% of black respondents said the same, according to the poll.

Increased crime rates, drugs and violence; added costs to taxpayers; and potential terrorism and national security risks are Americans’ top concerns related to illegal immigration, according to the poll.

The survey also found that Americans largely support immigration as long as it’s legal, with 65% saying the U.S. should make it easier for those wanting a better life to legally enter the country so they don’t try to illegally.

“The tradeoff here in the poll is, people would take expanded legal immigration if they saw there’s a crackdown on the border,” Penn said.

Click here, here, here, here and hear to view pictures of the lack of border security.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached by the House in February over his handling of the border crisis, but the Democratic-controlled Senate dismissed the two articles without a trial on April 17.

The issue has become a main point on the campaign trail as illegal immigration continues to rank among the top concerns Americans have ahead of November. Polling suggests voters trust Trump by double digits more than Biden on the issue.

The poll surveyed 6,251 U.S. adults between March 29-31, April 5-7 and April 12-14, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5%.

Neither Biden’s campaign nor the White House immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

AUTHOR

MARY LOU MASTERS

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLES:

‘For the love of god’: Leaked audio reveals Dem gov ripping Biden admin over border security

Americans Are Now Most Concerned About Immigration, Poll Finds

Media Outlets Are Misrepresenting Crime Stats To Biden’s Benefit

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

We are deporting Somalis — 4,000 are in the pipeline!

/in , , , , , /by

Although, much to my dismay, the Trump Administration is continuing to admit refugees (including hundreds of Somalis), I’m happy to see news like this about illegal alien Somalis being found and deported to Somalia.

For years we didn’t send Somalis back even when they committed one crime after another, but at least this portion of the Trump agenda is being carried out.

(BTW, the theory about not sending illegal migrants, even criminals, back to hellhole countries has been that it is too cruel for them and they will be in danger there.)

From the Voice of America:

Obama with Somali Ambassador to US in June 2016.

Somalia’s U.S. ambassador says his embassy has learned that U.S. immigration agents are planning to deport about 4,000 Somali nationals now living in the United States.

“We learned through immigration sources that the total number of the Somalis that are in the books of [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to be removed are close to 4,000,” Ahmed Isse Awad told VOA’s Somali service Saturday. “Most of them are not in detention centers.”  [Good luck finding them! They are probably on the way to Canada!—ed]

Since Somalia’s embassy in Washington reopened in November 2015, the ambassador said, about 170 Somali immigrants who either ran afoul of U.S. law or had their asylum applications rejected have been deported to Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

Most of those previously deported had applied for but been denied political asylum in the U.S., he added. Another group of Somali applicants whose requests for asylum have been denied are now in detention centers or prisons, awaiting deportation.

Is Virginia a magnet for criminal aliens?

ICE agents recently arrested 82 people from 26 nations during a five-day operation in and around the U.S. capital.

According to a statement from ICE, 68 of those detained March 26-30 had previous criminal convictions, for crimes including armed robbery, larceny and drug offenses. All but three were arrested in the state of Virginia.

Be sure to see the whole story.  VOA reports on one Somali deported in the past who simply returned with a new name.  He has been here for decades.  How many more like him are out there?

RELATED ARTICLES:

Jeff Sessions Delivers Sweeping Reforms to Protect the Border and U.S. Citizens

Australian Christians told not to wear cross after Muslims attack man wearing crucifix, yelling ‘F*ck Jesus’

Qatar Deports Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Meshaal?

/in , , /by

Just before year end, on December 30, 2014, we posted on pronouncements from Qatar about abandoning support for the Muslim Brotherhood and opening up dialogue with Egypt’s President El-Sisi. El-Sisi , then Defense Chief ousted President Morsi , a former Muslim Brotherhood leader in a coup on July 2013, Has Qatar turned Away from Islamist Support in the Middle East?  Earlier on December 6, 2014, we reported that the Qatari Ambassador to the US,  H.E. Mohammed Jaham Al-Kuwari at a presentation before the Pensacola, Florida Tiger Bay Club proclaimed, “We do not support Hamas”.  He astounded some in the audience. In retrospect, given today’s news about Qatar expelling, Hamas Politburo leader, that may have been a scoop.  If confirmed, that would end Meshall’s three year sojourn in the gas rich Gulf state.  However, denials by Senior Hamas leader and the lack of confirmation from Qatar raise questions.  CNN reported:

Senior Hamas official Izzat Risheq denied reports Monday that the group’s political leader Khaled Meshaal has been expelled from Qatar.

Earlier Monday, sources close to Hamas told CNN that Meshaal and members of the Muslim Brotherhood were expelled from Qatar, and were most likely on the way to Turkey.

The Qatari government has not commented.

Saudi Arabia has been working to improve relations between Qatar and Egypt.

Israel’s reaction to this development was what you might expect as reported by AP:

The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it “welcomes Qatar’s decision to expel the head of the Hamas political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, to Turkey.” It said the Qatari decision came after heavy diplomatic pressure from Israel.

“We expect the Turkish government to act responsibly in a similar way,” it added.

Hardly, likely.  Meshaal traveled to Ankara on December 25, 2014 and met with Islamist AKP President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  Meshaal then showed up on December 27, 2014 at the annual convention of AKP Party of President Erdogan held at the hometown of AKP Premier Dovutoglu in Konor. Al-Monitor reported his reception and remarks:

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu appeared on Dec. 27 with Meshaal in Davutoglu hometown, Konya, for the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) annual assembly. Known for being conservative, Konya residents jubilantly greeted Meshaal, as reported by Islamist news network Takva Haber: “The democratic and secular Hamas leader reminded Konya residents of their protests in the 1980s in solidarity with Jerusalem.”

Turkish mainstream media reported Meshaal’s appearance in Konya as a surprise visit. Meshaal gave a brief but potent speech in which he praised Erdogan and Davutoglu multiple times as the crowd waived Turkish and Palestinian flags, passionately cheering “Allahu akbar” (God is great) and “Down with Israel.” Meshaal said: “A strong Turkey means a strong Jerusalem and a strong Palestine. … Inshallah [God willing], we will liberate Jerusalem together. A strong Turkey is a source of power for all Muslims.”

Erdogan has gone out of his way to support Hamas as fellow Brothers. That included the infamous exiled Egyptian Brotherhood preacher, the anti-American and anti-Semitic Yusuf al Qaradawi, head of the US Global terror financing conduit, Union of Good. In our December 6th post we drew attention to an Interpol Red Tag Warrant issued for the arrest of al-Qaradawi sought for extradition “to serve a sentence” for crimes including “incitement and assistance to commit intentional murder” in El-Sisi’s Egypt.  Al Monitor in a December 12, 2014 report on the Arrest Warrant noted Erdogan saying:

His resentment publicly at the Fifth Religious Council in Ankara Dec. 8, Erdogan said: “Look, a person who came to power through a coup is giving instructions to Interpol. Based on this instruction a step is being taken for the arrest of Youssef al-Qaradawi, president of the [International] Union of Muslim Scholars. What kind of a business is this?”

 The Qatari Ambassador’s  presentation on December 6th in Pensacola was eclipsed by the Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani’s  appearance at a GCC summit in Doha three days later on December 9th that marked the start of a lowering of Qatar’s profile internationally reflected in  a Wall Street Journal  op by Yaroslav Trofimov’,  “Qatar Scales Back Role in Middle East Conflicts.”   The Qatari Ambassador to Washington comments about Meshaal at the Pensacola Tiger Bay Club meeting in response to his status may have been cover for what may have happened yesterday when H.E. Ambassador Al-Kuwari said, “Better to have Khaled Meshaal in Qatar than across the Gulf in Iran”.  Meshaal, the political leader of Hamas is said to live in luxury and control funds estimated at over $2.0 billion.

 Now it is likely that Khaled Meshaal, and possibly MB Preacher Al Qaradawi and others in the Hamas Politburo entourage in Doha may have also found new refuge and safe haven for their ill-gotten billions in Turkey. Meanwhile Hamas leaders in Gaza are complaining bitterly that less than $100 million out of the $5.4 billion pledged to rebuild the enclave have been received since the Cairo conference with Arab states following the cease fire that ended the 50 day war with Israel in the summer of 2014.  Trofimov in his WSJ analysis noted the turnabout following the Emir al-Thani appearance at the Doha   Gulf Cooperation Council meeting on December 9th:

Trofimov in his WSJ analysis  noted the turnabout:

After their threats to boycott a summit of Gulf monarchies in Doha this month, Qatar revised its stance on the critical point of disagreement—how to treat the Muslim Brotherhood and the current Egyptian leadership, which ousted the Islamist group from power last year.

Having expelled several Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leaders ahead of the summit, Qatar sent a senior envoy to Egypt on Dec. 20 to seek a rapprochement with President Abdel Fattah El -Sisi.

Two days later, Qatar shut down the Egyptian channel of its Al Jazeera TV network, an outlet for the Brotherhood and other opponents of Egypt’s current leadership.

“The security of Egypt is important for the security of Qatar,” Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said.

Our conclusion from our December 30th post is worth repeating:

Thus, tiny Qatar has been forced to rein in its support of the Islamist jihadist causes because of geo-political realities, leaving Turkey’s President Erdogan as the lone supporter of Hamas in the region.  That has been fueled by the US energy revolution producing a glut in the weakened demand for oil and gas that precipitated the plummeting oil and gas prices.

We shall see if Qatar makes the transition away from being a Frenemy dropping its support for the Brotherhood in the region and in Gaza. Backing Egypt’s security was likely a show of good faith to be brought back into the fold of the Gulf Cooperation Council. If Qatar can clean up its problems with the construction of the FIFA 2022 World Cup including alleged human rights violations of foreign workers, it may be on the path to rehabilitation in the world community. Still Qatar is not a budding democracy as it tries to portray itself. Rather it an Arab autocracy granting little to no human rights to its 280,000 citizens and nearly 1.8 million foreign workers.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review. The featured image is of Khaled Meshaal, Hamas Politburo chief, at a Doha 7-23-14 news conference. Source: Reuters.