(Master Thread) U.S. Southern Border, Illegals, et al. (Merged)

[TBoneTX 48,427]

This is a fascinating and positive interview.

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We Secured the Border—but 'We're Not Done Yet'

 

Few government agencies have been involved as deeply with the priorities of the Trump administration as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which handles not only border security but also tariffs and trade regulations.  CBP's Commissioner Rodney Scott sat down with The American Conservative to discuss how the agency is approaching these priorities and what Americans should know about our country's borders.  [...]

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/we-secured-the-border-but-were-not-done-yet/

Edited October 27 by TBoneTX

[Boiler 48,197]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyn9jwqzy8o

 

One volunteer network, Annunciation House, once ran as many as 22 shelters throughout the region, catering in large part to thousands of migrants paroled into the US to await court dates, often years in the future.

There are now only two. The relative trickle of migrants - 15 to 20 in each location on a given night - is composed, in part, of those headed back home after years in the US.

[TBoneTX 48,427]

Some story...

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Man arrested for smuggling 21 people in trailer filled with rotting papayas

 

A man is facing federal smuggling charges after Border Patrol agents at the Sarita checkpoint found 21 people hidden behind a false wall in a tractor-trailer hauling moldy, rotting papayas.

Rodolfo Hernandez-Perez is charged with using a vehicle to smuggle people in the country illegally.

Hernandez was arrested Saturday at around 1:45 a.m. when he arrived in a blue Volvo tractor hauling a white trailer at the checkpoint.

During an immigration inspection, Hernandez told a Border Patrol agent he was alone and that he was hauling papayas, according to a criminal complaint.  [...]

 

https://myrgv.com/local-news/2025/11/05/man-arrested-for-smuggling-21-people-in-trailer-filled-with-rotting-papayas/

Edited Tuesday at 04:44 AM by TBoneTX

[Ban Hammer 14,686]

4 hours ago, Boiler said:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyn9jwqzy8o

 

One volunteer network, Annunciation House, once ran as many as 22 shelters throughout the region, catering in large part to thousands of migrants paroled into the US to await court dates, often years in the future.

There are now only two. The relative trickle of migrants - 15 to 20 in each location on a given night - is composed, in part, of those headed back home after years in the US.

 

Quote

"That upsets me too," he said. "People are human. It bothers people that the lady who's been here 20 years is getting deported, or the dad who's been here 40 years is getting deported."

it bothers me that it took so long to remove them after being here illegally.

[Dashinka 26,260]

On 10/1/2025 at 11:40 PM, TBoneTX said:

If many of these are Somalis, at least Omar represents her constituency.  Regardless, this is SOME article.

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Bombshell DHS sweep in Minneapolis-St. Paul finds 50% of immigrants had committed immigration fraud

 

Nearly half of all immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Twin Cities were found to have committed some form of immigration fraud during a recent sweep by authorities with the Department of Homeland Security, officials revealed Tuesday.

"Officers encountered blatant marriage fraud, visa overstay, people claiming to work at businesses that can't be found, forged documents, abuse of the H1B visa system, abuse of the F1 visa, and many other discrepancies," US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director Joseph B. Edlow told reporters Tuesday.

Officials didn't point to a specific group, but the Twin Cities has seen a massive uptick in Somali refugees and immigrants in recent years — with more than 82,000 from the East African country living in Minnesota.  [...]

 

https://nypost.com/2025/09/30/us-news/bombshell-ice-sweep-in-minneapolis-st-paul-finds-50-of-immigrants-had-committed-immigration-fraud-after-massive-arrival-uptick-from-somalia/

 

Does this sound familiar?  How many folks have passed through VJ where they claimed to be married on a B2 application and then were now going through a spousal visa application and wanted to know how to overcome a previous marriage (fake, real or otherwise)?

 

In one incident, investigators encountered a Kenyan immigrant who paid just $100 for a fake death certificate in his wife’s name so he could marry his way into the US. The trouble is, his wife was alive and well, and found with their five kids in Minneapolis.

[Boiler 48,197]

I tend to associate it with Nigerian cases but certainly have seen it from other countries.

[TBoneTX 48,427]

Really interesting inside view, from a recent immigration judge.

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The Immigration Court Backlog (Finally) Falls

 

Perhaps the most influential force in the 2024 presidential election was voters' smoldering anger toward the broken U.S. immigration system and their accompanying desire to see our border secured.  But while it doesn't get the most press, the massive immigration court backlog is the thorniest issue imperiling this goal.  The mechanics of deporting illegal aliens are more complicated than most people understand.  Before repatriating aliens with deportation orders, the Department of Homeland Security must obtain removal orders from a tiny pool of approved immigration judges.  This lack of decision makers has caused adjudications to slow to a crawl in recent years.

In the meantime, aliens establish what are known as "equities," meaning jobs, homes, and families, that make deportations more difficult.  President Trump's return to office, however, has allowed our nation's immigration judges to do something they haven't accomplished since 2008: decrease the backlog by closing cases faster than new ones are added.

This is a subject I know well, having served as an immigration judge between 2006 and 2015.  Here's how it happened, and what it means going forward.  [...]

 

https://www.commonplace.org/p/andrew-arthur-the-immigration-court