President Biden’s nominee for US ambassador to Jordan has voiced his support for allocating US funds for the construction of a border wall in the country, citing the importance of improving “physical security” for to the US ally. The candidate’s position caught the attention of a Republican senator who pointed to the current administration’s strong opposition to a wall on the southern US border.
During a Senate hearing, Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee asked candidate Yael Lempert about the $150 million allocated to Jordan for border security in the fiscal year 2023 omnibus package, a portion of which includes in the 2024 budget request. Lempert confirmed his support for this funding.
WATCH: Biden candidate tells Hagerty she supports US-funded border wall in Jordan pic.twitter.com/SaBh1FuXam
— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) May 4, 2023
“In fact, last year’s omnibus provides at least $150 million for border security in Jordan. That’s a lot of taxpayer dollars. And if you think about the purpose of that, it’s to provide physical security, stop people from crossing illegally into Jordan, isn’t that right?” Hagerty asked.
“It is to provide physical security, stop drug traffickers, deal with the threat of Jordan’s neighbor, Syria. Obviously, the conflict there continues, and it’s a dangerous neighborhood,” Lempert replied.
Hagerty asked if there is a belief that “this kind of funding is important and that this kind of physical security is effective.”
“In the Jordanian context? I think that is correct, Senator,” the candidate replied.
Hagerty also asked for clarification on the importance of this funding and the effectiveness of physical security measures.
“I think it’s an important lesson for us to learn, as Americans, that we’re spending U.S. taxpayer dollars to support border security in a country that we’re trying to build stronger relationships with,” he said. Hagerty. “I think we should learn a lesson ourselves because there’s not a penny in the president’s budget to support our own border security here.”
The increase in the rate of global migration has spurred an exponential increase in the construction of border walls around the world. Between 2000 and 2021, the number of completed, ongoing or planned border walls worldwide has more than quintupled, from 16 to more than 90 wall complexes.
Governments primarily justify building these border walls by citing concerns about illegal immigration, followed by the need to combat illegal trade (such as goods smuggling and people or drug trafficking) and terrorism. A study by the Delàs Center for Peace Studies, which examined border walls built between 1968 and 2018, revealed these different reasons for building the wall.
Assessing the effectiveness of border barriers in addressing irregular migration, illegal trade or terrorist attacks can be challenging due to the presence of complex systemic and cultural factors.
On May 11, the Title 42 public health emergency ended in the United States, marking the end of the only effective border enforcement measures remaining under the Biden administration. This policy had resulted in the deportation of approximately 50,000 illegal aliens per month at the border.
Over the past 27 months, the American people have witnessed an unprecedented humanitarian and security crisis at the border. All illegal aliens apprehended at the southern border are undergoing Title 8 immigration proceedings and will be subject to “expedited removal.” However, there are obvious problems with the Biden administration’s portrayal of Title 8 as an effective enforcement policy.
There is a major loophole in expedited deportation exploited by the cartels, which allows migrants to apply for asylum regardless of the credibility of their claims. For the past two years, the administration has cited asylum as justification for the flood of illegal aliens into American communities, even though ultimately only 10-15% of them will be able to get asylum after years of waiting for a decision from an immigration judge.
The Trump administration’s stay-in-Mexico policy stands in contrast to that policy, as it provided protections to applicants without releasing masses of illegal aliens into American communities who likely won’t be able to get asylum under our laws Fraudulent asylum applications dropped significantly when migrants had to wait south of the border for an immigration court date.
The Biden administration has sought to hide the border crisis by deploying the National Guard. The 1,500 National Guard troops deployed to the border at the last minute are not authorized to enforce the law and, mainly, to comply with administrative and processing tasks.
The new asylum rule announced on May 10 implements the “presumption of ineligibility” for asylum, but failing to prevent fraudulent claims from being made in the first place greatly limits its impact. The rule also contains loopholes that perpetuate the trafficking of vulnerable migrant children and allow the disturbing practice of adults using children to form fake families in order to enter American communities.
The administration also uses the CBP One smartphone app to invite illegal aliens to schedule appointments to enter the US. The Biden administration has denied that this presents a security problem.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) blasted the Biden administration’s “deliberate” mishandling of the border crisis in a visit Thursday near the Rio Grande along the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas.
Sen. Ted Cruz: “Why isn’t the AOC here? She still owns the white pantsuit. Why isn’t she here with her head buried in her hands? They don’t care about dead bodies.” pic.twitter.com/gNORRGa2WR
— Becker News (@NewsBecker) May 12, 2023
“We are witnessing an absolute travesty at our southern border,” Cruz said. “On Monday, we detained more than 10,000 people at the border, the highest level ever. On Tuesday, we detained more than 10,000 people at the border. Again, the highest level ever.”
“Right now there are over 22,000 people camped out south of the border where we are, getting ready to meet,” he continued. “In this place alone, in less than a month, we have had more than 35,000 Venezuelans cross illegally, right here, not counting everything else on the border. Every day right here. Between ninety and one hundred Chinese nationals are being found. Now, for anyone who doesn’t have their globe nearby, China is not immediately south of the United States. But between 90 and 100 people a day cross this border illegally, being smuggled in by Mexican drug cartels.”
“And I have to say, I’m angry,” he added. “Because this is deliberate. This is a decision made by President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the Democrats in Congress to open the border to what is nothing less than an invasion.”
“Ask yourself: Why isn’t President Biden here? Why isn’t Kamala Harris here?” Cruz asked. “Why isn’t Elizabeth Warren here?”
“Why is it AOC, she still owns the white pantsuit, why isn’t she here with her head buried in her hands?” added. “They don’t care about corpses.”
While the current congressional budget includes provisions for Customs and Border Protection, which include technology, personnel and processing, Republicans argue that it does not adequately secure the border, largely due to the absence of additional wall construction .
House Republicans recently introduced legislation aimed at bolstering Border Patrol forces by 3,000 agents and restoring funding for the border wall. In March, the head of the Border Patrol, Raúl Ortiz, expressed his disagreement with the decision to stop construction of the wall along the southern border.
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