Written by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
President Joe Biden authorized the deployment of reserve troops to the southern border to combat “international drug trafficking” under the National Emergencies Act in an executive order signed on April 27.
President Joe Biden speaks with a member of the Border Patrol as they walk along the US-Mexico border fence in El Paso, Texas on January 8, 2023. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
The executive order authorizes the secretaries of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to order reserve troops to active duty when they “deem necessary.”
“I authorize the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to order to active duty those units and individual members of the Ready Reserve under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned,” Biden wrote in a subsequent letter to Congress. “The authorities that have been invoked will ensure that the Department of Defense can properly maintain its support to the Department of Homeland Security regarding international drug trafficking along the southwest border.“
The administration explained that the reservist authorization is a response to an earlier national emergency declaration, signed by Biden in December 2021, related to drug trafficking on the southern border.
This 2021 executive order authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to impose sanctions on foreign persons involved in illicit drug trafficking worldwide.
“I … find that the trafficking of illicit drugs in the United States, including fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, is causing the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans annually, as well as countless more non-fatal overdoses with their own tragic human toll.” Biden wrote in the 2021 executive order. “Drug cartels, transnational criminal organizations and their enablers are the primary sources of illicit drugs and precursor chemicals fueling today’s opioid epidemic, as well as the drug-related violence that harms our communities.”
DHS, State Department announces new “sweeping” measures.
The Biden administration also announced “sweeping” new measures Thursday to “further reduce illegal migration in the Western Hemisphere” after the Title 42 public health order ends.
“But lifting the Title 42 order doesn’t mean the border is open,” according to a DHS fact sheet announcing the new measures. “When the Title 42 order is lifted at 11:59 p.m. on May 11, the United States will once again use Title 8 immigration authorities to quickly process and remove people arriving at the US border. USA illegally.”
Title 8 consequences for illegal entry include a five-year ban on re-entry and possible prosecution for repeat offenders.
“The return to prosecution under Title 8 is expected to reduce the number of repeat border crossings over time, which increased significantly under Title 42,” DHS officials say in the fact sheet. “Individuals who cross into the United States at the southwest border without authorization or having used a lawful route, and without having scheduled a time to arrive at a port of entry, would be presumed ineligible for asylum under a new regulation proposal, in the absence of an applicable regulation. exception.”
DHS and the State Department say the measures will be implemented in “close coordination” with Mexico, Canada, Spain, Colombia and Guatemala. The agencies are calling on Congress to take action, saying Congress “alone” can provide reforms and resources to manage the “migration challenge.”
The measures announced by DHS and the State Department include tougher consequences for not using legal channels, accelerated removal, the launch of an anti-smuggling campaign in the Darien Corridor, and additional “legal channels” for the entry, including expanded access to the CBPOne application and new family reunification processes.
Another effort the agencies announced is to combat “disinformation” from smugglers.
Read more here…