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STORY: Donald Trump called immigrants who were illegally in the United States "not human" in a speech in Michigan on Tuesday, as he intensified his focus on border issues with incendiary rhetoric on his campaign trail.

The Republican presidential candidate spoke in Grand Rapids, appearing with several law enforcement officers.

He focused on several criminal cases involving suspects who may have been in the country illegally and labelled them as sub-human.

"The 22-year-old nursing student in Georgia who was barbarically murdered by an illegal alien animal. The Democrats say, 'please don't call them animals, they're humans.' I said 'no, they're not humans, they're animals.'"

Trump also described meeting the family of Ruby Garcia, a local 25-year-old murdered last month.

Police say a suspect in the case was in the country illegally.

Garcia's sister denied the former president spoke with the family, according to local media reports, which also said she was angry about her sister's death being used as a political tool.

Trump titled his Michigan speech "Biden's border bloodbath" and warned that chaos would consume America if he did not win the election in November.

"This is country changing, it's country threatening and it's country wrecking. They have wrecked our country. But I stand before you today to declare that Joe Biden's border bloodbath, and that's what it is. It's a bloodbath.

... if we don't win in November 5th, I think our country is going to cease to exist."

Later on Tuesday, he gave a similar speech in Wisconsin, calling the 2024 election the nation's "final battle."

"...prisoners, murderers, drug dealers, mental patients, terrorists..."

Trump frequently claims that immigrants crossing the border with Mexico had escaped from prisons and asylums in their home countries and are fueling violent crime in the United States.

While available data on criminals' immigration status is sparse, researchers say the violent crime rate is not higher among those in the U.S. illegally than native-born Americans.

Some 38% of Republicans, and about one in five independents, say immigration is the country's top issue in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released late February.

Democratic President Joe Biden's campaign team said Trump is "engaging in extreme rhetoric that promotes division, hate and violence in our country."

Biden, who is Trump's rival in the November presidential election, also accused Trump of pushing Republican lawmakers to block bipartisan legislation that would have beefed up border security and brought in measures to reduce illegal immigration.

Michigan and Wisconsin are two swing states that could determine who returns to the White House next year.

Although both Trump and Biden have mathematically clinched their presidential nominations, they were still on their party's presidential primary ballots in Wisconsin on Tuesday.

Original post:
'Animals': Trump ups rhetoric on illegal immigration - Yahoo! Voices

(WIBC) One in 4 Indiana Republicans say that stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into the state is the most important issue for the governor and state legislature to focus on.

Thats according to a recent poll from Indy Politics and Crossroads Public Affairs.

In a survey of 500 likely Republican primary voters, the data says stopping the flow of illegal immigrants is their most important issue to 31% of respondents; 18% said tackling inflation was their top issue; 14% said creating jobs and attracting and retaining businesses, and 11% said fighting violent crime and drugs.

Immigration is a major issue all around the country and Indiana is no exception, said pollster Andrew Weissert. Itll be front and center in the presidential election this fall and its an issue very important to Republican voters right now.

You may recall the legal battle between the state and now-former Senate candidate John Rust. He sued the state over its election laws that state you have to have voted in the previous two primaries of the party you are running as in order to run for statewide office; 61% of Republicans surveyed say they agree with that law.

On the subject of legalizing pot in Indiana, 67% support some type of legalization, with 33% indicating support for recreational use and 34% supporting medicinal use only.

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Illegal Immigration, Legal Pot Top Of Mind For Hoosiers - WISH TV Indianapolis, IN

A federal judge has ruled that illegal immigrants stuck in makeshift outdoor detention sites in Southern California are technically in the governments custody and agents must now follow strict rules for delivering care to the children among them.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gees ruling deals with a particularly tricky situation where large groups of migrants have been crossing the border illegally and demanding to be arrested by Border Patrol agents, expecting to be caught and then quickly released.

But agents are so overwhelmed they say they cant process the migrants fast enough and often leave them to camp out on the U.S. side of the border for days, enduring the cold, lack of food, and the threat from snakes and scorpions as they wait to be arrested.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents said the migrants can walk away, disappearing into the country without even being processed, and thus are not actually in custody. Judge Gee disagreed, saying that since CPB agents exert a lot of control over the staging area, the agency has custody of those in it.

Although it may be true that CBP did not initially intend for these locations to become [open-air detention sites] collectively holding thousands of migrants, it is nonetheless true that the situation has evolved such that the minors held there are in the legal custody of CBP, she wrote in the April 3 decision.

She said the government is required to provide better bathroom facilities and supplies of water, offer meals every six hours, at least some of them hot, and work faster to process the children and get them into more stable situations.

Its not yet clear how the Border Patrol will adjust to the order.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reviewing the courts order. CBP will continue to transport vulnerable individuals and children encountered on the border to its facilities as quickly as possible, the agency told The Washington Times.

The ruling is the latest in a yearslong odyssey surrounding the treatment of illegal immigrant children. The Flores settlement, a 1990s-era agreement revised about a decade ago, governs much of that treatment, and by extension much of U.S. immigration policy.

Under Flores, illegal immigrant children must be quickly released from the Department of Homeland Securitys custody. For most unaccompanied children, that means being turned over to government-run shelters to await placement with sponsors.

For children who come with parents, it means the government must either find a way to deport them quickly or release them, virtually guaranteeing they will slip unmonitored into the U.S.

Complying with Flores requirements has become a major burden as illegal immigration has surged under President Biden.

The government set up tent cities to handle all of the children it was facing in 2021, and wrote new rules cutting corners to speed up placement of children with sponsors.

More recently, as migrants surged into Southern California, CBP officials could not deal with the numbers they have been seeing, leaving people at the staging sites until agents can get to them.

CBP blames smuggling cartels, saying theyre orchestrating the mass incursions and telling migrants to hole up and wait for agents.

Agents said they do try to keep an eye on the crowds, offering some snacks and water. They also separate single men from the families and children to try to prevent dangerous situations, and they do some crowd control and maintain a perimeter.

But the Border Patrol said the migrants it is dealing with are not actually under arrest.

Single adult men, like other populations, are free to leave areas where large groups congregate at any point prior to arrest, Brent L. Schwerdtfeger, the chief of law enforcement operations for the Border Patrols San Diego sector, told Judge Gee.

The judge ruled that the migrants are in custody nevertheless.

Immigrant rights advocates say migrants are being denied adequate medical care, suffer hypothermia from cold nights without any shelter, and have to sleep in the dirt, where they face scorpions and snakes.

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Judge rules DHS must deliver better treatment to illegal immigrants awaiting arrest - Washington Times

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. Surging border crossings are putting a strain on communities in Southern California, where hordes of migrants are often spotted at transit hubs after immigration officials resumed street releases, local politicians say.

"Theres no end in sight," San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond told Fox News. "This is a new norm, which I think we're going to get a rude wake-up call someday."

Approximately 30 migrants lined up in an empty parking lot near Jacumba Hot Springs, California, on March 27, 2024. Border Patrol agents have encountered record numbers of illegal immigrants in the San Diego area in recent years, straining both federal and local resources. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)

SHOULD BIDEN PAY THE MEXICAN PRESIDENT'S $20 BILLION DEMAND OR GET TOUGHER ON IMMIGRATION? AMERICANS WEIGH IN

Migrants' first days in Southern California often follow a similar schedule.

After going over, around or through gaps in the border fence, they surrender to Border Patrol agents. Maybe its immediate, maybe they have to wait on the side of the road for a few hours to be caught, or maybe they make a dangerous trek through mountains that Customs and Border Protection warns range from snow-covered in the winter to perilously hot and dry in the summer.

They get searched, processed at a CBP facility tucked amid truck repair shops and car auction businesses, and released. The majority but not all get dropped off at local transit stations, Desmond said, gone from San Diego County before many residents have even registered their arrival.

"A lot of them are going to the East Coast," Desmond said of the folks he has spoken to at the border. "So a lot of them leave. But there's a lot we don't know."

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Located about 15 minutes from downtown San Diego, El Cajon has become one of a handful of drop-off sites for migrants. Mayor Bill Wells said the border has "always been a problem," but the federal government always made an effort to prevent "bad actors" like cartels and gang members from entering the country.

"Now the gates are wide open," Wells told Fox News. "We're no longer even trying."

The San Diego sector saw an 85% increase in encounters in February compared to the same month last year, according to CBP data. Agents there made more than 230,000 encounters during fiscal year 2023, a record 2024 is on track to shatter.

AMID BORDER PATROL RECRUITMENT CRISIS, ONE STEP OF THE HIRING PROCESS IS WIPING OUT TONS OF APPLICANTS

While the Biden administration promises "our borders are not open," those on the front lines describe a contradictory scene. Border Patrol agents are overwhelmed with "give ups," people who walk across the border and claim asylum so they can be detained, processed and then released into the United States.

"I dont blame the Border Patrol agents," Desmond said. "Their hands are tied."

Both Wells and Desmond have documented crowds at local transit stations. Desmond said CBP releases between 600 and 900 people on a given day, usually at locations that lack bathrooms and other amenities. Sometimes nonprofits or "entrepreneurial" taxi drivers are there waiting, he said.

Now the gates are wide open. We're no longer even trying.

"Unfortunately, San Diego Airport now has become the de facto migrant shelter, where they sleep there," he added, estimating that around 90% of migrants continue to other cities around the country like Chicago or New York. "Hopefully a lot of them leave. But we have no, really, idea of if they do or not."

Until late February,migrants would likely have been taken to a vacant elementary school-turned processing center in San Diego. But the $6 million in county funding that was supposed to sustain the center from October through March ran out early, after processing 81,000 migrants, according to local news reports.

The Board of Supervisors approved a plan to seek federal dollars and charitable donations to fund a replacement center to stem the tide of street releases. Desmond cast the sole "no" vote, arguing a long-term shelter would just be complicit in the federal governments mess.

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, left, and El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells are frustrated with the federal government's handling of the border. They said hundreds of migrants are dropped off daily in their region and, while many continue on to other cities or states, those who stay put a strain on local resources. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)

ALL ROADS 'LEAD BACK TO FENTANYL': CITY OVERRUN WITH DRUGS SEES PROGRESS AFTER OVERWHELMED POLICE GET NEW HELP

"What were allowing is a very undignified and inhumane process where people have to come over a 30-foot fence [or] through a river," he said. "We should enforce our laws and have a legal, dignified immigration process."

Americans increasingly rank immigration as the most important problem facing the United States. In California, nearly two-thirds of likely voters surveyed earlier this year by the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, said the border is not secure enough.

Californians Fox News spoke with largely said border security was an important voting priority for them and that they support immigration so long as its done legally.

"If you have a fence around your house, if you lock your door at night, then we don't need to explain to you the value of having a border fence. It's not rocket science," Mark Good said.

In California, 65% of likely voters surveyed earlier this year said the border is not secure enough to prevent people from entering the country illegally. (Ramiro Vargas/Fox News Digital)

Goods son-in-law spent five years waiting to immigrate to the U.S. from Bangladesh "the right way," he said.

"Then you see people coming over the border and getting given things," his wife Pat said. "Its hard. I feel bad for them, but its hard."

Wells, who is running for Congress, and other local leaders initially worried there would be a surge of migrants on the street after the welcome center closed. That hasnt happened yet, he said, speculating that private organizations and nonprofits have been able to get migrants on planes and buses fast enough to keep up with the influx.

Border agents in the San Diego sector have recorded more than 150,000 migrant encounters since October 2023. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)

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"Pretty soon the system is going to be overwhelmed to the point where there's not going to be enough money to send people everywhere they want to go," Wells worried.

With homeless shelters already full, he said migrants could end up on the streets.

"Everything is already full because of the migrants and the homeless people that have flocked to California in the past couple of years," Wells said. "So there's very little in the way of safety net in California."

Ramiro Vargas contributed to the accompanying video.

Hannah Ray Lambert is an associate producer/writer with Fox News Digital Originals.

Read more:
Crisis in California: Migrants overwhelming state with 'no end in sight,' local officials warn - Fox News

Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for his fraud and conspiracy convictions — but he will probably spend less than 60 percent of it, or roughly 15 years, in an actual prison. Bankman-Fried thus may serve a significantly smaller percentage of his sentence than the thousands of immigrants convicted each year for crossing the border do. This disparate treatment is unjust.

Bankman-Fried will likely receive this sentence reduction through the First Step Act. Signed by then-President Trump in 2018, the First Step Act gives some federal inmates the opportunity to shave years off their sentences. If an inmate meets the law’s qualifications, they are entitled to 15 days of “earned time credit” for every 30 days they serve. One year of that credit goes toward ending the sentence early, and the rest goes toward moving from prison into a halfway house or home confinement. If federal prisoners receive all possible earned time credit, on top of the 54 days of “good time” credit they can get each year, they will serve only about 207 days in prison for every year of their sentence. For example, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was sentenced last year to 11 years and three months in prison, will likely serve a little more than six years.

This is a major benefit to white-collar defendants like Bankman-Fried. Unfortunately, immigrant defendants with a deportation order cannot receive earned time credit — and they make up a significant portion of federal defendants. Since the early 2010s, the most commonly charged federal crime has been reentering the United States after deportation. Between 10,000 and 25,000 immigrants are charged with this crime every year, depending on the presidential administration.

While unlawful reentry is a victimless crime that simply involves entering the U.S., a conviction can carry up to 20 years in federal prison. The average sentence for unlawful reentry in 2022 was 13 months, but many of the sentences are much higher. And more than 99 percent of the defendants in these cases are from Latin America.

The First Step Act has thus created a federal prison system that discriminates by immigration status. One of the largest classes of federal defendants, which is almost entirely made up of Latin Americans, serves a much higher portion of their sentences. A deported immigrant defendant with an 11-year sentence like Holmes’s would serve nine years rather than six. Adding to the injustice, the great majority of immigrant federal defendants (unlike Holmes and Bankman-Fried) are in prison for victimless crimes. They have not been convicted for defrauding billions from customers or investors, but merely for crossing the border.

This discrimination cannot be justified by arguing that the Bureau of Prisons should save its programming resources for U.S. citizens. The First Step Act does require that a prisoner participate in programming like drug treatment and other classes if the prison recommends them. But if such classes are unavailable or deemed unnecessary, the prisoner still earns 15 days off for every 30 days served. If the Bureau of Prisons chooses not to use programming resources on immigrants, that is its prerogative, but it should give them the same treatment other prisoners receive.

The First Step Act’s system of earned time credit is a major step toward a more humane criminal justice system. It provides prisoners like Bankman-Fried with hope that they will be able to return to the community sooner, and an incentive to spend their time in prison productively.

It should not be denied to the tens of thousands of Latin American immigrants we imprison for reentering the United States. Congress should end this discrimination. And if it will not, federal judges should reduce immigrants’ sentences to correct the disparity.

Eric Fish is a law professor at the University of California, Davis. Previously, he was a federal public defender.

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Why is Sam Bankman-Fried treated more leniently than someone facing illegal immigration charges? - The Hill