A Perspective On Removing Illegal Immigrants

Removing illegal immigrants from the country is not a new idea hatched by the Trump Administration. You wouldn't know it, judging by today's news coverage. Few, if any, Americans know a 1995 law signed by Democrat President Bill Clinton paved the way for millions of deportations and removals.  

Bipartisan legislation known as The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act green lighted the removal of illegals. Under Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush and Barrack Obama there were 27 million illegal immigrants ushered out of the United States.  

Likely, you are shaking your head.  That number--27 million--can't be accurate.  You won't find it in reporting by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN and MSNBC.  Those media hide behind bogus fact-checkers to claim the number is inflated.  But it's not.

The legacy media cabal claim the past "removals" data cannot be equated with Trump's deportations.  Fact checkers parse the word "due process" to argue previous administrations did not ignore the Constitution to send illegal immigrants out of the country.  

The truth is illegal immigrants were deported under previous presidents, regularly without hearings.  Whether you use the term "removals" or "deportations," the outcome was the same. Semantics aside, illegals were sent out of the country at the border and from the country's interior.   

Also, illegal immigrants who lived in the U.S. for 365 days or more were required to remain outside the country for ten years, unless they obtained a waiver. The act allowed the deportation of illegal immigrants who committed a misdemeanor or a felony. Those who overstayed visas could be removed.

Raise your hand if you knew about these provisions. Even fewer Americans know that many of the bill's provisions remain in force today. The Biden Administration chose to ignore the law, inviting in at least 10 million illegal immigrants to waltz into the country, while lying that the border was secure. 

Other Democrat presidents and President Bush viewed illegal immigration differently than Biden. 

Under Clinton, 12 million illegals were either deported, removed or returned during his two terms. The terminology doesn't matter. The fact is 11.4 million of those illegals were apprehended at the border and were given the choice: return to Mexico or face formal deportation hearings.  Most returned to Mexico. 

During the Bush Administration, more than 10 million illegals were sent out of the country. A large majority of those immigrants--8.3 million--were stopped at the border and returned to Mexico. About 1.6 million were deported over eight years.  

The data for Bush and Clinton removals and deportations comes from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The number of deportations ratcheted up during President Obama's eight years in office. Between 2009 and 2012 the administration deported 1.6 million illegal immigrants, according to Pew Research. Of those, Pew found that 690,000 had criminal records. The final tally under Obama was 5 million. 

Obama defenders prefer to point out that as president he signed an executive order in 2012 protecting certain young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children from temporarily being deported.  However, Obama's action was at least partly in response to criticism from some in his party.

Immigration activists labeled Obama the "Deporter In Chief" for his rapid removal of illegal immigrants.  

For the record,  Obama officials deportation priorities were national security threats; noncitizens convicted of three or more misdemeanors or one serious crime; those who abused visa or visa waiver programs. DHS also targeted illegals who had a pending removal issue on or before January 1, 2014, but had remained in the country.  

A Democrat untruth is that every illegal immigrant received their day in court under Obama. Not according to the American Civil Liberties Union.  Here's what the ACLU posted on its website during the Obama years:

"The reality is that this (Obama) Administration has increasingly relied on methods, such as expedited removal and reinstatements of old decisions, which bypass a judicial hearing where a judge can consider U.S. ties and individuals circumstances and also fail to offer basic protections like notice to counsel."

Obama also had the cooperation of local police in cities.  His DHS department asked local police to hold an immigrant already in custody for forty-eight hours to give the feds can opportunity to place the migrant into deportation proceedings or take the individual into custody.

Given recent history, the Democrat hysterics and borderline delirium over current Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests and deportations are hypocrisy.  There is very little daylight between the Trump Administration's deportation priorities and those of Obama. 

What's changed is the name of the president.  Obama deported more noncitizens than any president in U.S. history. Mayors didn't threaten DHS agents. No Congressmen or women demanded to peek inside detention centers. No federal judges halted deportations for lack of due process. There were no riots.

Moreover, the Border Patrol under Obama put children in detention centers , encircled by razor-wire fences.  Here's what the Arizona Republic wrote at the time:

"But they are still children in cages, not delinquents.  Just children, 900 of them, in a makeshift border town center that is longer than a football field." Similar articles appeared in the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.  When Trump later used the same detention centers, he was skewered.

Criticize President Trump's deportations if you wish. But what the administration is doing is not beyond the norm of previous Democrat presidents. Some may suggest that the Trump plan includes deporting non-criminals or individuals who have been in the country for years but are not citizens.

It is beyond naive to claim that under Obama there were no such instances.  There was no oversight by Congress or the media.   

What America is dealing with today goes beyond what Obama faced.   Former President Biden created a nightmare immigration scenario that undid decades of immigration policies aimed at protecting the country. He and his administration deserve the blame for the current chaos.

The immigration issue was at least partly responsible for Americans voting for Donald Trump.  Democrats ceded the high ground on illegal immigration during the last four years.  Their current faux outrage and performative protests are nothing more than political theater.   

Cartels Rake In Billions From Illegal Immigration

The grisly image is seared into our conscious.  Two girls, aged three and five, dangling over a 14-foot wall at the Mexican border. A male drops the girls one-by-one, their tiny bodies thudding on U.S. soil in the dead of night.  The video image was captured by border patrol agents who rescued the girls.

Two males scampered into Mexico after they dumped their human cargo.  They are smugglers for Mexican drug kingpins, likely members of either Los Zetas or the Gulf cartel, which control yawning swaths of territory along the U.S. border.  No one crosses without paying the cartel.  No one.

The media shuns the subject of human trafficking at the border, preferring to shape Americans views with coverage that focuses only on the dreadful plight of the illegal immigrants.  Their shabby clothes, the frightened mothers clutching babies in their arms and the hollow faces of innocent children.

That message resonates with most people, naturally arousing sympathy. Politicians tread on this empathy, opening the border to a flood of immigrants.  Lifting restrictions, however, exposes the underbelly of the exploitation of immigrants by vicious Mexican cartels.

The media and politicians ignore this aspect because it tarnishes the image of the humanitarian narrative of open borders. Unrestricted access at the souther border is good news for the Mexican cartels because it ensures they will have a steady flow of "loads" (human cargo) to smuggle into the U.S.

These immigrants are often physically and sexually abused, extorted and sometimes murdered on the journey through Mexico by savage cartels thugs.  The criminals charge anywhere from $10,000 for a family to $3,000-to $6,000 per person to sneak immigrants across the 375-mile Mexican-U.S. border.

Smuggling is a hugely profitable enterprise for the drug lords.  The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates the Mexican cartels rake in $4 billion annually.  The Mexican government has calculated the take could be as high as $6 billion.  Smuggling is almost as lucrative as drugs

Illegals are increasingly from Central American countries Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.  Mexican immigrants have been declining, estimates the Pew Research Center. From 2007 to 2017, the number of unauthorized Mexicans crossing the border fell from 52% to 20% of the total.

An Associated Press (AP) investigation reported most Central American immigrants are promised a care-free journey to the U.S. border in luxury buses with meals included when they leave home.  It is a rude awakening later to be sardined into oppressively hot trailer trucks without food and little water. 

Those fleeing their countries must first pay a local smuggler to travel to the Mexican border. When the arrive, they fork over thousands of dollars to cartel coyotes.  The arrivals are packed into windowless semi-trailers trucks operated by the cartel for the rugged journey north. 

As the crowded trailers trundle across Mexico, National Guard members stop the truck operators and demand more money, the AP reported. On one trip, five agents from the Attorney General's Office halted a truck and forced each immigrant to hand over $35 each.  

Immigrants are forced to pay smugglers for so-called options, such as helping the individual cross the Arizona desert or find shelter. Some immigrants eschew the trailers, traveling illegally on trains or on foot, where they are prey for bandits and dishonest police.  The cost is less, but the risks are higher.  

Danger lurks even for those in the trailers. In April, nineteen migrants were shot and burned in Camargo, Mexico, apparently as a cartel warning that travelers must pay to enter their territory.  Not long ago in San Antonio, ten immigrants died in transit after being assured the trailer had refrigeration.

"They (cartel smugglers) have no concern for humanity, none; it's a money business," says Jack Staton, acting special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigations in El Paso. "They look at people as merchandise, as a way to make money."  

ICE agents have targeted cartel trucking because of the brazen nature of the smuggling operation.  Often the trucks are emblazoned with the logos of well-known companies to disguise their nefarious operation. Although many arrests have been made, the cartels view it as a cost of doing business.

The Mexican government's claims that it is clamping down on smuggling are a hollow assertion.  The tide of humans from Central America continue to be transported with impunity across the sprawling country without interference. Bribes are the currency that paves the way in corrupt Mexico.  

During April, more than 177,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended by the U.S, Border Patrol, according to preliminary reports from Customs and Border Protection.  An additional 42,620 undocumented immigrants escaped arrest.  Each month the numbers are mushrooming. 

As the immigrant tide rises, the cartels remain one step ahead of Mexican and U.S. law enforcement. The sophistication of their operation is improving, most recently with the introduction of wristbands that help cartels track migrants and payments.  

Bands of different colors are given each migrant to indicate the price they paid and the number of border crossing attempts.  For instance, first time crossers receive red bracelets.  Those with purple bracelets have been sent back twice and are paying more for one last attempt.

Each bracelet has wording signifying whether they have paid the cartel or still owe money.  Some colors represent the cartel smuggling the immigrant.  Border experts say the cartels have high-tech data collection methods and know where to reach family members of those they traffic.  

The information on wristbands was provided by the office of Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas.  Cuellar is vice chairman of the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee. Cuellar says most migrants are now crossing near the Texas towns of Del Rio, Mission, McAllen and La Joya. 

This is a crisis, no matter how the Biden Administration tries to sugarcoat the border chaos. The Biden plan of  dispatching millions of dollars to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to stanch the inflow of migrants is senseless and shortsighted. It has been tried before and failed miserably.  

The money winds up in the pockets of corrupt politicians in those Central American countries, who have no incentive to do anything about the human wave heading to the U.S.  Local smugglers pay off the politicians. Local economies benefit when immigrants wire U.S. dollars to their home countries.

The most effective solution is to finish the border wall, double enforcement and threaten retribution if Mexico doesn't slam shut the revolving door from its country to the U.S.  Then the U.S. should increase the quota for legal entry of Central Americans seeking asylum or permanent residency.

This is also the most compassionate way to treat immigrants who dream of security in America. The current border situation enriches the Mexican cartels, who use the trafficking cash to fund their other criminal enterprises at the expense of the poor who seek a better life.

Subjecting immigrants to the inhumane treatment of cartels is cruel, not humanitarian. If Americans are moved by the media images of the mistreatment of children, then they should support legal ways for immigrants to safely enter the U.S. That is far better than allowing cartels to abuse immigrants.

Biden Amnesty For How Many Illegal Immigrants?

A plan to legalize an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the country is being hammered out by House Democrats. Nothing in the proposal addresses an accurate count of illegals in the U.S. or the inequity of the treatment for legal immigrants who wait years for citizenship.

The last time America paved the way for amnesty for immigrants living illegally in the country was 1986. The Immigration Reform and Control Act provided citizenship for three million non-citizens and made it illegal to hire undocumented immigrants while increasing funding for tightened border control.

Although the comprehensive details of the House bill are unknown, preliminary signs indicate the plan would provide illegal immigrants a five-year temporary citizenship status, after which they would be eligible to apply for a three-year green card and then citizenship following that period.  

When the topic of amnesty is raised, those who support the Biden plan virtually always cite the generally accepted figure of 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the U.S. However, there is no official government data on how many non-citizens are residing in the country at this moment.

The 11 million figure has its origins in studies done by the non-partisan Pew Research Center as early as 2005.  In 2014, Pew raised the figure to 11.1 million, then lowered it to 10.5 million in its 2017 study.  Estimates are based on modeling data and Census Bureau studies. These are not facts but guesses.

Pew's figures are extrapolated from the Census Bureau's annual American Community survey, a  method used for at least three decades by most demographers.  Assuming the estimate is accurate, granting citizenship to 11 million individuals is the equivalent of adding a state the size of Georgia.

There are recent studies that cast doubt on the 11 million number. In fact, research based on new modeling techniques indicate the 11 million number is a gross underestimate. The number matters because these undocumented immigrants would be eligible for federal and other benefits.

Is the 11 million figure accurate?

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a non-partisan, public interest group, estimated there are approximately 14.3 million illegal immigrant residing in America.  Their estimate, using more sophisticated modeling than Pew Research, was published in 2019.

In 2018, the Migration Policy Institute released a study that found there were 19 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.  Nearly one-half of all undocumented immigrants live in three states (listed with percentage of nation's total): California, 24%; Texas, 16%; and New York, 8%.

A Yale School of Management study in 2018, employing yet another methodology, suggests the actual figure for the undocumented immigrant population may be more than 22 million. The Yale researchers used mathematical modeling on a wide range of demographic and immigration data.  

Even employing parameters aimed at producing an extremely conservative measurement, the Yale study placed the low end estimate of illegal immigrants at 16.7 million.  After running 1 million simulations of the model, the 95% probability range is 16-to-29 million with 22.1 million the mean. 

A Bear Stearns report issued in 2005 estimated there were 20 million illegal immigrants residing in the country, roughly the population of New York state.  Moreover, the analysts asserted between 12 and 15 million jobs in the country were held by illegal immigrants, representing 8% of the workforce.

Bottom line: the 11 million number is most likely off by millions.  For those who support amnesty, it improves chances of public support for their position to deliberately downplay the figure as well as the costs of adding millions to the citizenship rolls.

Whatever the accurate data, it is well to remember that those who receive amnesty could then sponsor the lawful immigration of family members who still live abroad.  According to federal records, each immigrant, on average, sponsors three-to-four additional family members for green cards.

A green card means the individual obtains permanent residence permission allowing the person to live and work in the U.S.  The immigrant still must go through the legal process to become a citizen.

If you believe the number is 22 million that theoretically means legalization could potentially open the door for 66-to-88 million immigrants. Of course, the U.S. establishes annual limits on immigration.  However, the Biden plan apparently includes increasing the ceiling to allow more immigration. 

In the debate over immigration, reformers point to an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimate that illegal immigrants contribute $11.74 billion to state and local economies.  However, at least 26 states currently pay these immigrants benefits ranging from food assistance to healthcare.  

In Arizona, it adds up to about $1.6 billion annually in benefits. California and New York, two of the countries largest states, offer illegal immigrants healthcare access, food assistance and cash benefits.  Providing citizenship to millions of undocumented immigrants will hike federal and state benefit costs.

Undocumented immigrants, including 387,642 so-called DACA dreamers, are currently ineligible to receive most federal public benefits.

Legal Immigration Works, So How Do You Justify Citizenship For Illegals?

In the rush for amnesty, the media owes it to Americans to inform them our country has more legal immigrants than any country on Earth: 44.9 million.  That is the largest number of immigrants living in America since census record-keeping began. Since 1965, the number of immigrants has quadrupled.  

The next closest country is Germany with 12 million immigrants.  We are anything but a xenophobic nation.

Those 44.9 million legal immigrants waited an average of one to one-and-half years before becoming naturalized citizens.  The entire process, from gaining permission to enter the country to acquiring citizenship, can take from three to five years, according to government records.  

The 16-to-22 million undocumented  immigrants did not enter the country legally, a fact the media glosses over in its reporting about the Biden plan.  In effect, they will gain citizenship without the hardships and costs endured by those who played by the rules and immigrated legally to the U.S.

Another media tactic is to demagogue the illegal immigrant issue by raising the specter mass deportation. Legacy media conjures up images of millions of immigrants being frog-marched and sardined into buses and planes to be swiftly deported under the cover of darkness.

No one is proposing this, but it paints amnesty critics as heartless Neanderthals, a favorite Biden term.  

Legalizing current undocumented immigrants will not staunch the flow of illegals across the U.S.-Mexico border.  In 2018, Customs and Border Protection apprehended 369,579 people illegally crossing into the U.S. By 2019, the number had spiraled to 851,509.  It plummeted to 458,088 in 2020.

Last year the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau made 103,603 arrests of illegal immigrants.  Of those arrested, nine-in-ten had criminal convictions on their record.  Those immigrants had a total of more than 374,000 convictions and charges, an average of four per person.  

Immigration officials deported 185,000 migrants attempting to cross into the country illegally in 2020.  By comparison, during President Obama's eight-year tenure 1.5 million undocumented immigrants were deported, including a record 409,000 in 2012.  

Amnesty will encourage, not discourage, more illegal crossing. Thousands of Central Americana, including residents of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, have trekked through Mexico to reach the U.S. in the last five years.

Right now there are thousands more illegal immigrants clustered on the Mexico-U.S. border, wearing campaign-style tee shirts reading: "Biden: Please Let Us In!"  As soon as Mr. Biden nodded agreement to halt border-wall construction, illegal immigrants began flocking through the unfinished areas.  

The escalating influx, has spurred Mr. Biden to dispatch senior administration members to the border to report back on the situation. Leaked Health and Human Services documents show Customs and Border Protection is referring an average of 321 illegal immigrant children every day.

The promise of amnesty is exacerbating the problem at the border forcing law enforcement in Arizona and Texas to deal with this federal problem.  Amnesty acts as a magnet to lure increasing numbers of immigrants willing to breech the border to skulk into the U.S.   

Before Congress approves any amnesty plan, it should obtain an accurate count of undocumented immigrants in the country.  The federal budget agency also should be required to provide an estimate on the expected costs to states and American taxpayers of adding 16-to-22 million new citizens.

Republicans must insist the new law contain funding to continue to harden the U.S.-Mexico border to shut off the flow of illegals into our country.  If that isn't done, in another decade to two, the country will be considering yet another amnesty plan for more than 40 million undocumented immigrants.  

Lawmakers need all the facts before they take a vote on the Biden plan.  Those who argue it is too difficult to get the data are making an excuse to avoid finding the truth. Lack of transparency breaks faith with all Americans, especially those 44.9 million immigrants who entered the country legally.   

Trump: More Than Tweets, Bathrobes And Soda

The New York Times, The Washington Post and establishment media have conjured the image of President Trump spending his days tweeting, guzzling Diet Cokes and stumbling through the White House in his bathrobe.  This burlesque portrayal is a deliberate attempt to demean his presidency.

In particular, the Times and the Post have used anonymous sources for the most scandalous, outrageous stories lampooning Mr. Trump.  To be clear: this is not a blanket endorsement of everything Mr. Trump has uttered or tweeted, but the media has painted a one-sided picture.   

Consumers of exclusively mainstream news have become so biased by this reporting, many refuse to believe the president has any redeeming qualities.  Viewed through their prejudiced lens, Mr. Trump's achievements include dividing America, throttling minorities, suppressing females and immigrants.

However, facts have a stubborn way of interfering with this deceptive narrative.  The president has spurred economic growth, created record numbers of jobs, boosted median income, slashed red-tape regulations, improved security at the border and raised America's foreign policy prestige.

For the skeptics, here is a list of accomplishments in just 20 months for the Trump Administration supported by facts and figures, most of which were gleaned from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Internal Revenue Service, Council of Economic Advisers and Commerce Department:

The Economy

Four million new jobs have been created since the presidential election.  More Americans are now employed than ever before in our history.  Unemployment claims are at a 50 year low. African-American and Hispanic unemployment rates have reached historic troughs.  Female unemployment has plunged to its lowest level since 1953.  Median household income has risen to $61,372, a post-recession high water mark.  American workers enjoyed the biggest leap in pay since 2009 as the average hourly earnings for private workers advanced 3.1 percent this quarter, compared to 2017. Nearly four million Americans dropped off the food stamps rolls. In the latest quarter ended in September, the American economy grew a robust 3.5 percent, exceeding analysts projections.  Most economists credit the Trump tax cuts for the boom.

Business

Investment is flooding into the U.S. after Congress lowered tax rates for businesses.  America's corporate tax rate was the highest in the developed world.  More than $450 billion has pored into the country from overseas businesses owned by American companies. Manufacturing has bounced back after decades of decline, reaching its highest level in 14 years.  More than 400,000 manufacturing jobs have been added since the election. Retail sales have surged 6.4 percent since July of 2017, reflecting rising consumer confidence and increased disposable income.  Last year job satisfaction among American workers hit its peak since 2005. Real wage compensation paid by businesses has risen 1.4 percent over the past year after eight years of stagnation.

Health Care

This ranks as the most under reported area of improvement for Americans.  Mr. Trump enacted changes to the Medicare program, saving seniors an estimated $320 million on drugs this year.  The Federal Drug Administration, under prodding from the president, set a record for generic drug approvals, saving consumers an estimated $9 billion. The administration enabled small businesses to join together to offer affordable health insurance to their employees by removing restrictions to form Association Health Plans.  Legislation signed by the president repealed the infamous "death panels" created by Obamacare.  The Department of Agriculture funded more than $1 billion in initiatives to improve access to health care in rural areas for 2.5 million people.

Border Security

Stopping drugs, human trafficking and violent gang members from flowing into the country has been a priority of the administration.  Statistics document the success: Arrests of 796 members of the Central American gang MS-13 in 2017, an 83 percent increase from 2016. ICE rescued or identified more than 500 human trafficking victims in 2017 and more than 900 child exploitation victims.  ICE agents seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin. In a related area, the administration secured $6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic, arrested 28 medical professionals and revoked 147 registrations for physicians over prescribing opioids.

Foreign Policy

President Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and imposed tough sanctions on the rogue regime.  In the wake of sanctions, Iran's currency has plummeted, international companies have pulled out of the country and the Treasury Department has levied sanctions against key regime individuals.  The president opened negotiations with North Korea in an effort to denuclearize the totalitarian nation. Despite the media influenced image of Russian coddling, the administration has expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers, sanctioned oligarchs and their companies and enhanced support for Ukraine's Armed Forces to defend against Russian aggression.  In addition, Mr. Trump demanded European countries increase financial support for NATO, the military alliance between Europe and North America.  The result was a hike in 2017 of 4.8 percent in defense spending by member states, amounting to $42 billion. Of course, the piece de resistance was the renegotiation of the flawed NAFTA agreement.

Mr. Trump is constantly savaged because he doesn't stick to the script of past presidents.  The media and Democrats are aghast at his nonconformity.  Many elitists believe a president should be measured on style not substance.  Being "presidential" matters more than getting things done for Americans.

The U.S. had eight years of presidential style.  The country was hungry for  change.  The media has never gotten over the fact American voters chose an outsider over its favored career politician.  Irregardless, the media has an ethical obligation to report good news along with the bad.     

Immigration: The Changing Face of America

Americans are deluged daily with tearful stories and alarming statistics about illegal immigration. It creates a perception that most immigrants come to the country by sneaking across the border.  This narrative obfuscates the reality that the overwhelming majority of immigrants arrive here legally. 

Activists and the politicians claim oppressive waiting requirements, high costs and excessive paperwork 'force' newcomers to skip the legal process.  That's baloney.  The majority of foreign-born immigrants (75%) in this country played by the rules and survived these pseudo barriers.

The truth is America's process for accepting immigrants is less stringent than many countries.  Foreign-born individuals who wish to live in the United States have a straight forward path to lawfully enter the country. While it requires diligence, it is not overly burdensome. 

Without diving into the weeds,  the procedure begins with an application for a visa or green card, the first step toward becoming a lawful permanent resident.  Visas are available for immigrants with family members or relatives residing in the U.S.  Businesses also sponsor visas for immigrants.

After living in the country for five years as a legal resident, foreign-born nationals can apply for citizenship.  Each circumstance is different, but it can take anywhere from six months up to two years to complete the naturalization process and earn citizenship.  The cost is about $725.

If that process is so cumbersome, how do critics explain the fact that the U.S. welcomes approximately 680,000 new citizens during naturalization ceremonies every single year?  And applications for citizenship are increasing.  There were 239,628 requests in the most recent quarter.

Despite spurious complaints about the process, America remains the top destination for immigrants worldwide since at least 1960.  One-fifth of the world's immigrants today live in this country.  That evidence suggests America's immigration rules are not a deterrent to foreigners.

According to Current Population Survey (CPS) , more than 43.7 million immigrants resided in the United States in 2016, accounting for 13.5 percent of the total population estimated at 323.1 million.  The foreign-born population increased by 449,000 from 2015 to 2016.

To illustrate the dramatic growth, in 1970 immigrants represented 4.7 percent of the population. By 2000, the proportion of immigrants reached 11.1 percent of America's residents.  That means the number of immigrants living in the U.S. has zoomed upward 78 percent in the last 46 years.

Mexican nationals are the largest slice of the immigrant population pie chart with 26 percent. There are an estimated 11.6  million Mexican immigrants living in the country.  However, the percentage of Mexicans is lower than the peak of 30 percent in 2000 as more nationals arrive from other countries.

For example, India was the leading country of origin in 2016 with 175,100 individuals entering America.  China and Hong Kong followed with 160,200 immigrants.  Mexico was third on the list with 54,700. Cuba ranked fourth with 46,600. About 1.5 million foreign nationals arrived in 2016.

While Mexicans outnumber other immigrant populations, a glacial shift is occurring below the surface. Indians now comprise nearly six percent of immigrants with Chinese (including Hong Kong) representing five percent.  Filipinos are at four percent with Cubans and Vietnamese close behind.

Many immigrant adults today are better educated than their American counterparts.  For instance, 51 percent of Asians have at least a college bachelor's degree, compared to 31 percent for the total U.S. adult population.  By comparison, only six percent of Mexican immigrants have a college degree.

A Pew Research Center analysis found that immigrants accounted for nearly one-fourth (23%) of babies born in the United States, yet represent only 13.5 percent of the population.  This baby boom is driving overall population growth.  Without immigrants, the U.S. birth rate would be declining.

If current trends hold, immigrants and their descendants are projected to account for 88 percent of the population growth through 2065. Those figures underscore the importance of legal immigrants to the vibrancy of the American economy, boosting the labor pool and increasing economic activity.

Many of the new arrivals are doing better financially too, especially those from Asia and India.  A Pew Research analysis found that Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino and Indian immigrants have fewer family members living below the poverty line than those from Mexico and Central America. 

Immigrants have been a positive force throughout American history. That remains true today.  The media should extol the inspiring stories of successful legal immigrants instead of spotlighting only illegals.  America's face is changing.  And that is good news that should be celebrated.

MS-13: Exporting Violence To America

Their motto is "kill, rape, control."  Their bodies are branded with animated tattoos from head to toe.  These ruthless murderers terrorize their victims before brutally ending their lives.  These desperadoes are members of the MS-13 gang, a growing menace that has spread its tentacles to 46 states.

The gang with origins in El Salvador is responsible for a a rising tide of violence that worries law enforcement officials.  The FBI, which tabulates crime statistics by virtually every category, has no available data on the MS-13 crime wave.  However, many incidents have received news coverage.

In Houston, two MS-13 members kidnapped three teenage girls, holding them hostage and repeatedly raping them. The killers murdered one girl and left her body on the roadside. Two female high school students were beaten and hacked by gang members brandishing a machete and a bat near New York.

In Virginia last year, MS-13 hoodlums lured a Maryland man to a park on the outskirts of the nation's capitol.  The gang members stabbed the victim 100 times, decapitated him and sliced his heart from his dead body, according to police reports.  Even police were shocked by the excessive brutality.

MS-13 violence is not just aimed at civilians, rival gang members and traitors who attempt to flee their  flock. They brazenly threaten to kill police if they interfere with their activities, which include drug distribution, prostitution, robbery, kidnapping and home invasions, according to the FBI.

Who are these tatted goons terrorizing our country?

MS-13 traces its roots to the mean streets of Central America.  Many are El Salvadoran nationals, but others include immigrants from Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico.  The name MS-13 is a derivative of La Mara Street in San Salvador. Mara Salvatrucha translates to street gang or street smarts.

El Salvadorans with gang ties began sneaking into the U.S. in the 1990's.  Many had honed their criminal skills fighting as guerrilla soldiers in the civil wars in Central America.  They are well trained in weapons and warfare tactics.  These are no ordinary street ruffians.

Many wound up in Los Angeles, which became their operations base for exporting their brand of mayhem. Gang leaders recruited from the immigrant community, reaching into middle and high schools for new members. The gang preys on unaccompanied minors who illegally entered the U.S.

In 1994, the FBI formed a task force to deal with the looming threat posed by the notoriously violent gang. Despite a concerted law offensive, the gang has metastasized like a cancer.  Nationally, estimates peg the MS-13 membership at between 10,000 and 20,000. 

But those are just guesstimates.  The gang's rolls include about 5,000 to 6,000 members just in communities around Washington, D.C.  Once the gang was a primarily West Coast operation, but it now stretches from the heartland to the East Coast.  And they are claiming new territory every day. 

Their influence extends beyond the U.S. into Central America and Mexico.  In Mexico, officials there have called MS-13 a threat to national security.  MS-13 smuggles weapons and drugs across the Mexican border.  The gang also exploits the porous border to engage in human trafficking.

Alarmed by the gang's criminal assault on American soil, the Treasury Department in 2012 designated the outfit a "transnational criminal organization."  It was the first street gang ever accorded this tag, elevating its threat on par with deadly international cartels such as the Mexican Zetas. 

Last year Attorney General Jeff Session escalated the war on MS-13 putting the entire resources of the federal government to crush their criminal rampage.  "They leave misery, devastation and death in their wake," Sessions said.  "They must be and will be stopped."

Despite the obvious MS-13 threat, the liberal media, including The New York Times and Washington Post, recently tried to downplay the emergency.  The Post pointed out last month that MS-13 accounts for less than one percent of the approximately 1.4 million gang members in America.

Current membership numbers are not the chief threat the gang poses.  It is their intensifying violence, their recruiting success and rapid expansion that has made the gang a law enforcement priority.  Nearly every big city now has a local task force solely dedicated to dismantling MS-13.

Undeterred by facts,  the Post complained that designating MS-13 a priority will only "encourage the gang and others like it to flourish."  Placing a giant target on this gang will inflame anti-immigrant sentiment, the newspaper bellyached. This is sheer lunacy that doesn't deserve a response.

Just as stupidly, Democrat Nancy Pelosi rushed to defend MS-13 gang members after President Trump labeled the thugs "animals" for their violent behavior.  "They are all God's Children," Pelosi lectured to applause from the adoring media. Only Ms. Pelosi would champion MS-13 members.

Those who support open borders, like Ms. Pelosi, apparently believe the influx of MS-13 members is a small price to pay for granting sanctuary to whomever chooses to illegally enter the United States.  This should frighten every American, including those who back increased legal immigration.

As Americans become more aware of the MS-13 risk, the backlash will be even more thunderous than the Post predicts.  The FBI recently posted this warning about MS-13 on its website: "...this growing, mobile street gang could be operating in your community now or in the near future."

Politicians who ignore this sober assessment put Americans in danger by doubling down on their agenda to promote illegal immigration as a humanitarian cause.  Their first priority should be protecting citizens.  By soft peddling illegal immigrant crime, pols are undermining your security.

DACA: Media Deporting The Truth

The national debate over so-called 'Dreamers' has been hijacked by big media.  Instead of facts, the dishonest media establishment has dished up heaping helpings of half-truths, scare-mongering and deliberate distortions in an attempt to emotionally blackmail Americans.

The usual suspects in the fake news business are ginning up outrage by suggesting that brown-shirted immigration agents soon will be storming schools, snatching kids and herding them in cattle cars while their parents wail in horror.  It would be humorous if so many people weren't fooled.

The news coverage represents a new low even as Americans' trust of the media has skidded to historic troughs.  Nearly everything being reported about President Trump's recension of the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has been lacking in context and truthfulness.

In 2012, President Obama signed an executive action allowing illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. before age 16 an opportunity to remain in the country to study or work.  Those approved for the program were handed a work permit and protection from deportation for two years.

Even before he inked the order, Mr. Obama on several occasions had claimed it was unconstitutional for the president to act on immigration without Congressional approval.  Yet he did it anyway.  Most constitutional scholars agree Mr. Obama had no authority to unilaterally create immigration law.

After the Obama decree, what began as a trickle of DACA applicants soon turned into a roaring river. As of March of this year, the government had received 936,394 requests for Dreamer status and approved 886,814 since 2012.  Of that number, 1,056 have become U.S. citizens.

The statistics cited above were gleaned from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Mr. Trump's action triggered a media propaganda blitzkrieg which showcased smart college aged immigrants who had taken advantage of DACA to further their education.  But college graduates are a minority of the Dreamer population.

The Bipartisan Policy Center reports the average age of a DACA beneficiary is 25, a far cry from the media image of a struggling teenager. A Harvard study found less than 20 percent of Dreamers had graduated from college.  Since 2013, some 2,139 recipients forfeited their benefits because of crimes.

Mr. Obama's open-ended edict also has been abused.  DACA immigrants can renew their work permits and deportation protection every two years.  Since 2012, about 800,000 renewals have been issued, according to Pew Research's review of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data.

DACA was never intended to be a permanent ticket to remain in the United States.   In fact, in 2012 after stamping the executive order, Mr. Obama made it clear that DACA "is not a path to citizenship." That point has been trampled in the media-manufactured hysteria over deportation.

In an attempt to sway Americans, the media has dredged up photos of children riding trains through Mexico to reach our border in an attempt to escape violence and drugs in Central America.  That picture is at odds with the facts.  More than 78 percent of DACA applicants are from Mexico.

Liberal lawmakers and the media have featured Karen Caudillo as a poster child for DACA's benefits. In a tearful interview near the Capitol, she told reporters: "I have been fighting so long to be able to sustain myself, to go to school, to be productive."  It was compelling television. It was also a fraud.

Turns out the 21-year old Ms. Caudillo owns a cleaning company, is allegedly registered to vote, cast a ballot and made political campaign contributions.  She also claims to attend college. Very heady stuff for someone who is not even a citizen of the United States.  And potentially very illegal.

Mr. Trump has taken the right path in ending DACA.  As any fourth grader knows, Congress makes the laws and therefore must tackle the thorny issue.  This is where the matter should be resolved. Democrats had their chance when they controlled all three branches of government but punted.

Now the current do-nothing Congress must prove it can produce legislation.  Any legislation. Their challenge will be to avoid being compromised by the media's drumbeat of sob stories and manipulated data.  But then no one has ever accused of Congress of sticking to the facts.

Border Crisis: Blame Mexico and Obama

They are smuggled by the thousands across the United States' southern border with Mexico.  They arrive malnourished with not much more than the clothes on their backs.  Most are from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.  They are fleeing violence, poverty and drug gangs in their home countries.

Their plight has aroused national sympathy.  Americans are horrified by the pictures and reports of children huddled in crowded facilities in the U.S.  Churches, aid organizations and ordinary Americans have pitched in to help ease the humanitarian crisis created by the influx of unaccompanied children.

But even for a nation with a big heart, the situation has ignited a growing backlash against what many Americans view as a failure of the Obama Administration's effort to secure the border.  A Washington Post/ABC News poll found 58% disapproved of the president's handling of the catastrophe.

Only 28% of those surveyed supported the president's response, one of the lowest ratings on any issues since Obama assumed the nation's highest office.  Americans clearly understand that Obama's laissez- faire policies on illegal border crossing have exacerbated the current dilemma.

The president issued a policy directive in 2012 known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which allowed some illegal immigrant children to defer deportation.  Earlier this month, the administration extended the program, empowering illegal aliens to apply for a two-year extension.

Those executive actions created an incentive for Central American parents to ship their children across the U.S. border.  If you doubt this, consider Texas Republican Representative Kay Granger's assessment after she recently visited Central America.

"There is no doubt the message went out: Go across the border, the United States won't do anything about it," she told reporters after meetings with officials and parents in Central America.

Given the green light by Obama, desperate parents dispatched thousands of children into harm's way to seek asylum in the United States by way of Mexico.  The Mexican government for its part turned a blind eye to the torrent of youngsters slipping through the country's porous 600-mile border with Guatemala.

These children clambered aboard the tops of railroad cars for the treacherous trek across Mexico.  No Mexican official stopped them. Many of the children were robbed, raped and some were sold into slavery.  The Mexican police looked the other way.  This would never happen in a civilized country.

Then once the children reached the border, Mexican smugglers operating with impunity demanded thousands of dollars to sneak the bedraggled youngsters into America.  The routes are well known to Mexican officials, but no one stepped in to prevent the human trafficking.

Now it is the United States' problem.  Like Pontius Pilate, Mexico washed its hands of the humanitarian disaster it could have prevented.  For his part, President Obama has done little more that offer to throw $3.7 billion in taxpayer money at a problem he helped create.

Under the president's proposal, most of the dollars would be earmarked for emergency housing, more immigration judges, defense lawyers and overtime pay for border patrol workers.  It is obvious Obama is focused on resettlement of the illegals rather than on deportation.  

Even after Texas Governor Rick Perry offered to usher the president to the Texas border for a firsthand view of the crisis, Obama ducked the invitation and instead attended fundraisers in Austin.  It was his way of raising a one-fingered salute at southern states forced to cope with the issue.

No one, especially Obama, can claim there was no advance warning. This crisis has been brewing for months.  According to Customs and Border Protection, more than 52,000 unaccompanied alien children have been apprehended from October of last year through June 15.

There should be little doubt why the president has dithered.  Now that the waves of illegals have reached epic proportions, he will use this imbroglio to further his agenda of extending amnesty to every illegal foreigner in the country.   He will prey on Americans' good-hearted nature toward abandoned children to achieve his goal.

Americans must resist this politically calculated appeal.  The U.S. opens wide its arms to welcome legal immigrants from ever nation, but America must send the signal that it is no longer acceptable for people to ignore our sovereign borders.

Factoids That You Can Use

While the nation's spotlight has been focused on Arizona, the influx of illegal immigration is quietly swamping state resources in Texas. According to a report by the Center for Immigration Studies, there are an estimated 1.7 million undocumented aliens residing in the Lone Star state. By their estimates, illegal immigrants make up eight to nine percent of the Texas workforce. The cost to state government is a reported $4.7 billion, which includes expenses for education, medical care and incarceration. Those figures were compiled by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). The organization calculated that it costs each Texas taxpaying household $725 per year to foot the bill. The breakdown of costs shows spending for educating the children of illegal immigrants costs the state $4 billion; the tab for medical care is $520 million; and, incarceration for lawbreakers works out to $150 million annually. Even those staggering figures are on the low side. The $4.7 billion does not include costs for local jail detention, increased law enforcement and judicial expenses, welfare benefits and special English instruction in schools. Likewise, it does not take into account the monetary cost of crime on law-abiding citizens. It's no wonder that states that border Mexico are calling on the federal government to step up enforcement to stem the tide of illegal immigrants flooding into the United States. Unless something changes, the soaring costs of illegal immigration will force more states to do like Arizona and tackle the issue head on, rather than penning their hopes on federal government solutions.