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By Bethany BlankleyThe Center Squarehttps://www.thecentersquare.com

Gov. Greg Abbott has sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris asking them to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

The cartels are bringing terror into Texas communities, Abbott said in his fourth letter to the administration about the border crisis.

The cartels smuggle narcotics and weapons into the United States to fund their illegal enterprises, Abbott writes. They force women and children into human and sex trafficking enriching themselves on the misery and enslavement of immigrants. They murder innocent people, including women and children. These Mexican drug cartels are foreign terrorist organizations, and it is time for the federal government to designate them as such.

The questions and concerns addressed in the previous three letters have remained unanswered by Biden and Harris, Abbott says. Harris, tasked with managing the illegal immigration crisis last month, has yet to visit the border, let alone Texas.

Meanwhile, Texas ranchers are left to fend for themselves defending their property from trespassing cartels and illegal immigrants evading law enforcement.

Landowners and ranchers living near the Texas-Mexico border have long dealt with illegal immigrants trespassing and evading Border Patrol and law enforcement. Ranchers explain that they regularly leave gates open, destroy fences and gates, light fires, break into properties and steal property.

Susan Kibbe, executive director of the South Texas Property Rights Association, said the smugglers Texans are dealing with now are heavily armed, and the illegal immigrants they are smuggling are often convicted criminals.

Kibbe obtained a video of smugglers from law enforcement after they posted it on TikTok and shared it with the media. In it, two heavily armed suspected smugglers are seen driving down a dirt road to transport people to the next alleged smuggler. The individual recording it is yelling in Spanish and pointing an AR-15 with a drum magazine out the windshield.

The video was recorded in Jim Hogg County, Texas, roughly 70 miles north of the U.S.Mexico border.

The Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol sector in south Texas is the busiest in the U.S. for illegal crossings. Since Oct. 1, 2020, 1,625 criminal aliens almost four times the number during the same time period last year have been arrested.

These criminal aliens were convicted here in the United States for crimes other than immigration, ranging from murder, sexual crimes, assault and narcotics trafficking, according to a statement from the Rio Grande border sector.

Currently, more than 1,000 illegal immigrants are evading capture by Border Patrol daily along the border, and many will end up traversing private ranchlands to get further into the interior of the United States.

As a result, federal and local law enforcement are advising landowners to carry firearms on their own property.

These [smugglers] have become a lot more militant, Scott Frazier, Texas Farm Bureau board member, told GOP congress members in their recent trip to the border April 7. Youre kind of scared of them. Youre kind of scared to be out on these ranches by yourself nowadays. Definitely scared to have your family here.

In the small Texas town of Cotulla, 70 miles north of Laredo, so much criminal activity by smugglers is occurring that the local school district sent a letter to warn parents: Please be watchful of your children as they are playing outside, walking home from school, or generally out of the house.

Cotulla Independent School District Superintendent Jack Seals and La Salle County Sheriff Anthony Zertuche said, Both our communities and the rural areas of the county have experienced a great increase in law enforcement chases and bailouts.

Bailouts occur when law enforcement agents attempt to stop a driver who is transporting illegal immigrants and they jump out of the vehicle and run away before they can be detained.

Zertuche said his deputies have been responding to eight to 10 car chases per day.

These chases sometimes end in bailouts inside the city limits, the letter states. The sheriffs office has been on top of these and are apprehending all of those trying to flee after bailing out.

Although the sheriffs office has increased patrols around the schools, parents are advised to lock their vehicles and their property.

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Gov. Abbott calls for Biden to label Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations as Texas ranchers fend off criminals - The Highland County Press

Three people have been arrested following an investigation into the alleged supply of small boats to cross-Channel people smugglers.

On April 8, a 33-year-old woman from the Hammersmith area of west London was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) at a location in Glasgow. She was taken to Carlisle police station where she was questioned by NCA investigators on suspicion of attempting to facilitate illegal immigration. A property in Hammersmith was also searched. She was released under investigation on April 9.

Her arrest followed the detention of two U.K.-based suspects on April 7 by officers of the Dutch Royal Marechaussee (KMar) in The Hague, Netherlands. The pair, a 33-year-old from Hammersmith, and the other a 28-year-old man of no fixed abode, remain in custody and now face potential prosecution by the Dutch authorities. A number of deflated boats were also seized.

The arrests are all linked to an NCA investigation into the sourcing of rigid hull inflatable boats in the U.K. and Europe, which are then transported to the Netherlands for storage.

The boats are allegedly then supplied to organized crime groups involved in smuggling people across the English Channel from northern France and Belgium.

NCA Regional Head of Investigation Jacque Beer said: Smuggling people across the Channel in small boats is extremely hazardous and can have tragic consequences. The organized crime groups behind these attempts dont care about safety or preservation of life, they just see migrants as a commodity to profit from and exploit.

In our view those who supply them with boats knowing what they are going to be used for are equally as culpable in these criminal enterprises.

This operation is a demonstration of our determination to disrupt and dismantle people smugglers business models at every step, and we are grateful for the assistance of the Dutch authorities.

Read the announcement at the National Crime Agency

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Three Arrested Over Supply of Boats to People Smugglers Homeland Security Today - HSToday

HARLINGEN, Texas (KVEO) Armed intrusions, economic losses, fever ticks, trespassing and property damage, are just a few ways ranchers along the Rio Grande are affected by the influx of migrants crossing the border illegally.

Imgoing to step lightly and tell you we do carry ourguns. Ive had armed intrusions here before, said Richard Guerra, Starr County Rancher

Guerra owns 8,000 acres along the Rio Grande. Guerra said that when the migrants cross illegally, it can come at a cost.

Some of these people do a lot of damage because they leave the gatesopen, they tear down the fences. Some of these people on the highwaythey are chases, they knock down your fence, they cut down your fence. All of that is an expense that I have tobare,nobodypays us for that, he said.

Apart from property damage Guerra said cartels on the Mexican side force ranchers to abandon their properties, leaving their animals behind which can bring across fever ticks.

People that cross sometimes bring the fever tickon humans. Plus the cattle, horses and everything that comes across the river, if they haveticks on them, then Im most likely going to be quarantined,Guerra told KVEO.

The quarantine can be costly for ranchers because they cant move their cattle until they are free of ticks.

Guerras property is patrolled by an aerostat which he said gives him some comfort and security, but there have been talks those could go away.

Itsworrisomebecausetheadministrationis saying well it cost too muchor they are going tocome up withnew technologyto replace some of that, but whenis that going to happen?Instead,they are shutting these things down, with nonew technology. Well, were going to have a tsunamiof people comingacross, Guerra said.

Guerra said that ranchers concerns need to be addressed and they need to be compensated for their losses either from the state or federal government.

Ihope that this president and administration wakes up, he said We do have a crisis, they need to address it, do not sugar coat it, its a problem.

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Impacts of illegal immigration on ranchers, armed intrusions, fever ticks - KGBT-TV

Senate Appropriations Committee member John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Fox News on Tuesday that illegal immigrants who are given notice-to-appear tickets by federal immigration authorities are receiving court dates that are several years into the future, as the border crisis overwhelms government resources.

Hoeven told "Your World" that the flow of illegal immigrants has increased so exponentially, little is known about most of those coming across the Rio Grande river from Mexico.

He said that those illegally entering the United States from near Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico are being processed in a makeshift area under the Anzalduas International Bridge, which connects that city with Mission, Texas.

"What is happening isinsome cases they were beingprocessed under thebridge. We saw hundreds andhundreds of children and mothersand they essentially didn'tgo to the processing center," said Hoeven, who toured the border with 17 other Republican senators hosted by the border patrol union.

"They were actually -- they gointo town and like I said, are givena bus ticket and off they go.They're given a notice thatthey're supposed to appear incourt, but in many cases that'snot for three or four years," the North Dakota lawmaker continued.

Hoeven said giving illegal immigrants such a long gap between their entry and the adjudication of whether they are qualified to receive formal asylum essentially incentivizes more migrants from all over the world to come illegally.

"So think about it.They're being sent into theinterior of the country.They may have a contact, may bea family member -- or maybe eventhe cartel because the cartelsare operating in our country aswell as on the border...Of coursethey don't come backfor that."

Host Neil Cavuto noted, in that regard, that as the crisis continues, migrants from outside the so-called Central American "triangle countries" are attempting to enter the United States as well.

He said some migrants have come from as far as Eritrea, on the Red Sea in East Africa.

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During his trip, Hoeven told Cavuto, he and the other lawmakers viewed things the Biden administration "wouldn't [show]", he claimed.

"We were in the RioGrande Valley and saw the trailswhere minors were coming overthe border illegally. They're processed for 8 or 9 hours ...and sent into McAllen.They're turned over to NGO's andthey get on a bus and they go aoff to wherever in the country.

"So once they're here and they gointo the country, that's it.They're here.That's why they're coming.They know that's what's goingon."

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Sen. Hoeven: Illegal immigrants being given court dates 'three to four years' away, as crisis worsens - Fox News

This week, a 14-year-old Rohingya girl, detained for two years in India,faced a peculiar situation: authorities wanted to deport her back to Myanmar, but her family was in Bangladeshs refugee camps. She drew public attention for being the first person India officially attempted to deported since a military coup began in Myanmar; a minor forced to flee violence was sent back to even more violence,critics decried. The deportation didnt take place in the end, because Myanmar authorities refused to accept her, The Wire reported Friday. But it is the governments firm stance that stands out: the girl, along with more than 150immigrantRohingyas who escaped persecution in Myanmar and were living in Jammu andother states, wasillegal and must exit Indian premises, they maintained.

The persistent labeling of people as illegal immigrants is a poignant issue, one that has perturbed western countries like the U.S. for long. Perhaps, the human rights crisis unfolding right under our eyes gives India sufficient reason to mull over the moral concerns at playin the language we use to discuss them.

The most evident is the way this dubious attribution frames vulnerable people seeking a better life. The use of the term illegal to refer to a person is a usage which is confined to exactly one group of people: Migrants. As a result, illegal, when used as a noun, always means immigrantspeople whose only crime is the victimless pursuit of liberty and prosperity, Felix Salmon wrote about what we understand when we hear the word illegal in Fusion. Human rights groups have called illegal immigrant a slur and pejorative as well; arguably, it strips people of the dignity and humanity to which they, like everyone, are entitled to.

The language of immigration, or any socio-cultural issue, is more than minor semantic hiccups; it is inherently political. In calling people illegal, there is an implication that someone poses a security threat; several political parties and organizations in Jammu have claimed Rohingyas presence is a threat to peace and a conspiracy to alter the demographic character, The Print reported. During a hearing in the Supreme Court last week, the Centre called Rohingyas absolutely illegal migrants who posed serious threats to the national security. The counsel pushing for their deportation told the bench it would start a dangerous trend by interfering with a diplomatic issue relating to illegal migrants.

Rohingyas, in particular, are doubly oppressed; as a Bengali-dialect speaking Muslim minority from Myanmar, they also bear the stigma of being Muslims in a country witnessing growing religious friction. Indias most recent policy around displaced people from neighboring countries (the Citizenship Amendment Act) still weighs fresh in public discourse; many have argued that Islamophobic sentiments underline the contentious national policy. The term illegal, used more and more by the state, only works to alienate them.

American media houses have recalibrated their style guide over the years; the Associated Press, NBC, and ABC have banned illegal immigrant; they recommend the usage of undocumented instead, reiterating the idea that even language can be violent.

Related on The Swaddle:

J&K Government Rounds Up 168 Rohingya Refugees, Places Them in Holding Centres

Beyond linguistics, the term alters, and ignores, a grim social reality. The Rohingyas fled to parts of India and Bangladesh not out of whim: as a persecuted ethnic minority in Myanmar, they have been facing an ongoing genocide since 2017. The United Nations has called the Myanmar armys campaign against the Rohingya a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. Rohingyas displacement is as much a state issue as it is a humanitarian one; but by casting their presence in refuge countries as illegal, the discourse stops being about the people and their persecution, and instead transforms them into perpetrators of harm against the state.

Sabber, a Rohingya Myanmar who reached India in 2008, recounts the scale of violence to The Wires Ismat Ara: We will be killed if we return They were burning us to death back there. My family sent me because I was the only one who could manage such a long journey, my parents were old and my sister was weak. His mother, father, and sister are still in Myanmar.

An article in The Swaddle last month also pointed out the pathos of the deportation exercise: It is not clear where the Rohingya people would be deported. In Myanmar, they would likely face death following the recent coup by the military, a key institution driving the genocide of the community. Bangladesh, at the forefront of the Rohingya influx from Myanmar, hasrefused to acceptforcible returns of the people and is undertaking its own questionable process ofmoving Rohingya people to Bhasan Char, a newly-formed sediment island in the Bay of Bengal. This may leave the Rohingya people in J&K, and potentially elsewhere in India, in permanent residence at the sub-jail, an incarcerated state that cannot be the solution to the crisis even if it ismutually acceptableto the state.

The debate around refugee rights and citizenship is not a new one. In 2017, Indias Ministry of Home Affairs issued an urgent notice to all states and union territories saying that Rohingya illegal migrants must be identified and deported without delay. While hearing the Rohingya deportation issue on March 26 this year, the Supreme Court remarked: The fear is that once they are deported, they may get slaughtered. But we cannot stop it. The Chief Justice also added that India cannot become the international capital of illegal migrants, according to a Hindustan Times report.

A commonly recognized principle under the international human rights framework asserts the idea of non-refoulment, noting that people should not be returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and other irreparable harm which Rohingyas do. But since India is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, the global treaty to protect the interests of refugees, India faces no legal qualms in carrying out the present deportation exercise.

The tussle between law and human rights could continue till the end of time. But in the end, it boils down to: can a person be illegal? The word illegal in itself is evil and fundamentally wrong There can be irregular migrants or undocumented migrants, not illegal human beings, Fazal Abdali, an associate with the Human Rights Law Network, reflects in The Wire.

Language carries the imperative of evolution; our linguistic understanding has progressed to find better substitutes for many objectionable terms: we have found wisdom in using oppressed instead of lower while talking about the Indian caste system; historians now prefer the usage of enslaved persons to slaves. More recently, people pointed out the erroneous labeling of migrant workers; they have been invisibilized, and arent invisible, as many media reports termed them. Perhaps, the phrase illegal immigrant could come to a much-needed halt.

New York Times writer Jeffrey Toobin, in a 2015 article titled Should I Use The Term Illegal Immigrants?, argued that the term has proved to be slanderous and should retire from civilized discourse. His conclusion was this: There does seem to be a consensus against the use of the term by the people most affected by it, who happen to be a vulnerable minority seeking a better life, and thats good enough for me.Personally, Im dropping the use of the term illegal immigrant.' This battle over words seems primed for a moral resolution.

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Why We Need To Stop Calling People 'Illegal Immigrants' - The Swaddle