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The Biden administration quietly ended the Remain in Mexico migrant protocol for those seeking to enter the U.S. illegally.

This controversial policy was one of several tools that the Trump administration used to manage illegal crossings at the U.S. southern border and to discourage illegal immigration entirely.

People from around the world got the message that they should not attempt to illegally enter our southern border because the government would not let them in. The actions of the Biden administration have since reversed this message.

The end of the Remain-in-Mexico policy comes at a time when illegal border crossings at the southern border are set to surpass a record-breaking 2 million crossings by the end of this fiscal year.

Illegal immigration is at crisis levels. Instead of prioritizing national security, public safety, human rights, and public resources, they are undermining our immigration system and encouraging the migrants and cartels to exploit our vulnerable southern border.

Recently, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it was ending the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)also known as Remain in Mexicoquickly. This followed the U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk lifting his injunction that blocked Biden officials from ending the MPP. The Supreme Court ruled in the Biden administrations favor, finding that it had the authority to end the MPP.

DHS noted that although MPP was ending they could still turn away migrants under the Title 42 health measure.

President Biden weakened Remain in Mexico before ultimately killing it off. One of his earliest actions in office was to end the program which was started in January 2019. Legal challenges aside, the Biden administration neglected to use the protocol to keep people from crossing. Between December 2021 and June 2022, only 5,800 asylum seekers were sent back to Mexico as they awaited a U.S. court date to hear their asylum claim. Compare that to the nearly 70,000 people the Trump administration returned to Mexico after starting the program.

Activists have lauded the end of MPP. They claim that migrants have been exposed to violent crimes such as assaults and kidnappings while staying in Mexican border towns. Its sad that this vulnerable population has become the target of crime. Still, the reality is that many placed themselves in the situation by attempting to cross the border illegally and claiming asylum.

Lets also be clear that most asylum claims will be denied. Its very likely that many of these migrants are fleeing harsh economic conditions or crime-ridden neighborhoods or they simply want a shot at the American dream. These are understandable motivations, but they do not rise to the level of asylum status.

Smugglers are exploiting desperation among would-be migrants to spread the word through social media apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook that those who reached the border could stay. Migrants will pay whatever they can to try their chances.

Then, migrants are coached to claim asylum to gain entrance into the U.S. and a court date. Because so many people are claiming asylum, immigration courts are backlogged with 1.6 million cases. The current wait time for an asylum case is on average 1,621 days or nearly four and a half years.

In the meantime, those migrants can live and work in the U.S. Effectively, asylum abuse has become a backdoor entrance policy for migrants. Cartels and traffickers exploit this system.

The Remain-in-Mexico policy at least reduced the incentive to come to the U.S. by weeding out those who did not want to wait out the time it might take before their case would be heard in a Mexican border town.

President Biden has eliminated the disincentive to abuse the asylum system. It should be no surprise that about 1.82 million migrants have been arrested at the southern border so far this federal fiscal year. These numbers beat last fiscal years record of 1.66 million apprehensions and are on track to eclipse 2 million apprehensions.

There are clear public policy implications for ignoring illegal immigration at the southern border: fentanyl being smuggled in, human trafficking becoming a $1 billion business, sexual assaults of women and children on the rise, terrorists and MS-13 gang members seeking entry, and the burden on public resources in cities and states that migrants settle in.

Bottom Line

The end of the Remain-in-Mexico policy removes an immigration tool that was effective in addressing and discouraging illegal immigration. As we approach a historic two million border apprehensions, the federal government has few good answers to the quandary of how it will slow illegal immigration and address the problems that come with it.

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Quiet End to Remain in Mexico Wont Silence the Crisis at the Southern Border - Independent Women's Forum

DUBAI: Even before the economic collapse in Lebanon, Syrian and Palestinian refugees living there were struggling to get by. Many chose to uproot themselves once again and set out in search of greater security overseas, often turning to people smugglers for help.

Now, the situation looks so hopeless that a growing number of Lebanese citizens who lack the means to pay for safe and legal passage abroad are also risking the same dangerous, illegal sea crossings to Europe.

In early June, the Lebanese military apprehended 64 people in the north of the country who were attempting to board a smuggling vessel bound for Cyprus. Among them were several Lebanese citizens, driven to desperation by severe economic hardship.

I cannot feed my family. I feel like less of a man every day, Abu Abdullah, a 57-year-old delivery worker from Tripoli, the poorest city in the country, told Arab News. I would rather risk my life at sea than hear the cries of my children when they grow hungry.

Inflation, unemployment, shortages of food, fuel and medicine, a crumbling healthcare system, and dysfunctional governance have created a perfect storm of poverty and hopelessness.

Shortage of grain as a result of the war in Ukraine has compounded Lebanons economic woes, with the prices of staples skyrocketing. Queues for bread are a common sight in many towns while public-sector workers have often gone on strike demanding better pay.

The nations currency has lost about 95 percent of its value since 2019. As of July, the minimum monthly wage was worth the equivalent of $23 based on the black market exchange rate of 29,500 Lebanese pounds to the dollar. Before the financial collapse, it was worth $444.

About half of the population now lives below the poverty line.

My salary barely lasts a few weeks and the tips I get amount to nothing, said Abu Abdullah. One of my sons roams around the neighborhood dumpster diving, looking for tins and plastic to sell. It breaks my heart having to see him do this. But in order to eat we dont have another choice.

Since 2019, Lebanon has been in the throes of its worst-ever financial crisis. The effects have been compounded by the economic strain of the COVID-19 pandemic and the nations political paralysis.

For many Lebanese, the final straw was the devastating explosion at Beiruts port on Aug. 4, 2020. At least 218 people were killed and 7,000 injured by the blast, which caused at least $15 billion in property damage and left an estimated 300,000 people homeless.

These concurrent crises have sent thousands of young Lebanese abroad in search of greater security and more opportunities, including many of the countrys top medical professionals and educators.

For those who remain and feel they no longer have anything left to lose, the thought of paying people smugglers to illegally ferry them across the Mediterranean to an EU country has become increasingly appealing, despite the obvious dangers.

In April, a boat carrying 84 people capsized off Lebanons coast near Tripoli after it was intercepted by the navy. Only 45 of the people on board were rescued. Six are known to have drowned, including a baby. The rest are officially classified as missing.

A relative of mine lost her husband and toddler at sea around two years ago, said Abu Abdullah. The tragedy still haunts the family. And yet, here I am mulling and entertaining the thought that I should get on the next boat.

The situation is perhaps even tougher for the millions of Syrian and Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon. Long treated as an underclass and denied access to several forms of employment and welfare, many of them now face a similar dilemma of whether to stay put or attempt a risky journey.

I escaped the war in Syria and lived in Lebanon for three years, Islam Mejel, a 23-year-old Syrian Palestinian, told Arab News from his new home in Greece.

I tried time and time again and applied for visas to travel legally by land but who would give a Syrian Palestinian man a visa? I fled from Lebanon I had to. I am the eldest and have to take care of the family I left back in Lebanon.

Mejel described the terrifying ordeal he experienced while crossing the sea to Greece.

INNUMBERS

* 22% of Lebanese households now considered food insecure.

* 1.3m Syrian refugees in Lebanon categorized as food insecure.

(Source: World Food Program)

We were a group of 50, he said. They split us between two small boats. The boats couldnt handle the passengers. The second boat sank. Some survived and the rest were lost at sea.

When we finally made it to a Greek island, the captain scuttled the boat and radioed for organizations to come and help us. Then he left. I knew the chances of me dying were high but I had to try.

The extreme risks that refugees are willing to take to find security and economic opportunity abroad, often after having been displaced several times, speak volumes about the severity of Lebanons socio-economic collapse.

For Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, there were already multiple layers of vulnerabilities they were exposed to prior to the crisis, such as the prohibition on owning houses or property and prohibitions on working in liberal professions, alongside limited social and political rights, a researcher of Palestinian refugee issues in Lebanon, who asked not to be named, told Arab News.

Whats happening now is an accumulation of crises built over time COVID-19, the economic collapse that have built upon pre-existing vulnerabilities the Palestinian refugee community previously faced in Lebanon.

The researcher said the rate of illegal immigration, according to some sources, has increased in recent months, particularly among the youth.

One well-known trafficker is said to charge more than $5,000 to get a person out of Lebanon by plane, transiting through three airports before arriving in Europe where the migrants tear up their identity papers and apply for refugee status. For those without the financial means for this air route, the option of traveling by sea is less expensive but much more risky.

However, some sources the researcher spoke to said the rate of illegal emigration is currently in decline owing to the astronomical sums charged by smugglers even for the cheaper options. Such is the desperate state of personal finances in Lebanon that even a potentially deadly sea crossing is now beyond the means of many.

This is why some are reportedly opting to apply for a program called Talent Beyond Boundaries, which offers work visas for Palestinian youths seeking employment in other countries.

Lebanon was regarded by its citizens and foreign investors as a land of promise after the end of the civil war when the buzz of reconstruction replaced the rhetoric of sectarian slogans.

But these days, its citizens, as well as the people from neighboring states who found refugee in Lebanon, are looking abroad for opportunity and economic security. As a result the country is being deprived of the skilled young workers it will need to recover from the current crisis.

The general consensus is that until Lebanons political paralysis can be overcome and long-delayed economic reforms are implemented, the human tide is unlikely to stop.It was a humiliation, day in, day out in Lebanon, said Mejel. I couldnt take it anymore.

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Why Lebanese citizens are joining the migrant tide out of the Middle East - Arab News

M. Felix has taken in at least seven refugee families since Texas Governor Greg Abbott started busing migrants to the U.S. Capitol in the spring. The Washington, D.C., resident, who chose to remain partially anonymous, part of the volunteer response to the citys recent influx of people apprehended on Americas southern border, says they have helped mothers who arrived after being assaulted in front of their children, fathers with broken ribs, families that had been dumped on the side of the road in front of Union Stationsometimes in the middle of the night. Felix has slept on their couch while a family of seven sheltered in their home. They have accompanied migrants to medical appointments. They have helped arrivals to D.C. arrange travel to their final destinations.

Felix has been happy to do it; they fled to the United States from the Philippines in the 1970s, they say, and want these new refugees to be similarly welcomed. We need to provide that to them, Felix says. If we dont, we just push the responsibility elsewhere. But the work has also taken a toll on Felix and other volunteer responders, who say the local and federal government have treated the situation as a political hot potato while abdicating their responsibility to address the issue, leaving a network of overworked mutual aid volunteers and small, overwhelmed organizations on their own to assist the nearly 5,000 migrants that have arrived in the city since the busing programs began in April.

There is just no support, says Bianca Vazquez, a leader in the mutual aid response. Were crowdfunding a resettlement effort.

The busing program is part of Abbotts controversial Operation Lone Star border mission, which is reportedly under investigation by the Department of Justice for potential civil rights violations. It was implemented in April as a kind of protest against what the Texas governor called the Biden border disaster. Its a volunteer policymigrants processed by the Department of Homeland Security must choose to board the busesbut some migrants have reported they were promised there would be support and resources waiting for them in Washington, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser suggested in July that some migrants had been tricked into participating. (Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who instituted a similar program in May, have denied misleading asylum-seekers.) In any case, the GOP governors are exploiting migrants to make a political point about federal immigration policy under President Joe Biden, shifting a humanitarian crisis at the border to the nations capital.

Local organizers have been frustrated for months at what they say is a vacuum of leadership among officials in D.C. as about 4,700 migrants and 153 buses have arrived from Texas and Arizona as of the end of July, according to the mutual aid network. But their outrage escalated last week when Bowser called for the National Guard to help bring the situation under control, which aid volunteers condemned as a militarized response to a humanitarian crisis that could further traumatize vulnerable migrants. When you are met with the military, Vazquez recalls one migrant telling her last week, you are treated as militants.

Bowser has aligned herself with Governor Abbott, Vazquez says, warning that activating the National Guard could be used as justification for the hardline immigration policies of the right-wing governors. It really, to me, emboldens and cosigns the cruelty of Governor Abbott and Governor Ducey, Vazquez tells me. We could prove that a community response is possible. This is an opportunity to show what welcome looks like and what it is to be a sanctuary city.

Immigrant rights advocates decried the policy when it was announced in spring, as did the White House: I think its pretty clear this is a publicity stunt, thenPress Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at the time.

But the program has continued, with what has appeared to be little formal government action amid the influx, aside from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants that have helped support SAMU First Response, one of the nonprofits that is helping the arriving asylum-seekers. But the current FEMA grants are not nearly enough to help the humanitarian group, which can only respond to a small fraction of the buses arriving, and it has not received meaningful support from the District government, according to D.C. Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau. Cities across the borderlands have shown real leadership in ways to provide local responses to migrants, Nadeau, chair of the councils human services committee, cowrote in a letter on July 14 to Bowser. Now that the border has come to D.C., it is our responsibility to meet the moment.

Bowser responded to the letter by saying in a news conference that D.C. wont be able to bear the responsibility for the arriving migrants and that it is a federal issue that demands a federal response. But Amy Fischer, a core organizer with the mutual aid network and a volunteer with Sanctuary DMV, says the mayor is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars, including in federal funds, that could be used to provide a more humane reception to the arriving migrants.

Bowsers office did not respond to Vanity Fairs request for comment.

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GOP Governors Have Successfully Created a Migrant Crisis in Washington, D.C. - Vanity Fair

August 5, 2022 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard are continuing to work together to secure the border, stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas, and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry.

Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to more than 290,700 migrant apprehensions and more than 18,000 criminal arrests, with more than 15,400 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 325.9 million lethal doses throughout the state. Texas has also transported over 6,500 migrants to the nation's capital--and now New York City--since beginning the busing mission in April to provide much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border communities.

Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration's refusal to secure the border. Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Biden's open border policies.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS FROM OPERATION LONE STAR:

Governor Abbott Announces First Bus Of Migrants Arrives In New York City

Governor Abbott today announced the arrival of the first group of migrants bused to New York City from Texas. New York City will now be a drop-off location with Washington, D.C. for the busing strategy as part of the Governor's response to the Biden Administration's open border policies that are overwhelming Texas communities.

"In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city, said Governor Abbott. I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief."

Read the Governor's announcement.

Governor Abbott Invites Mayors of NYC, D.C. To Texas Border

On Monday, Governor Abbott sent a letter to New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, inviting the mayors to visit Texas southern border to see the humanitarian crisis firsthand. With President Bidens open border policies continuing to invite record-high numbers of illegal immigrants and transnational criminal activity into Texas communities, the Governors migrant busing mission has provided much-needed relief to overwhelmed local communities along the border.

"As Governor, I invite you to visit our border region to see firsthand the dire situation that only grows more urgent with each passing day, and to meet with the local officials, who like yourselves, realize this matter deserves immediate federal action, reads the letter.

Read the full letter.

WATCH: Governor Abbott Discusses Democrat Mayors Reaction To Texas' Busing Strategy

In an interview with Fox News Sean Hannity, Governor Abbott pointed out the hypocrisy of the New York City and Washington, D.C. mayors, who were unconcerned about the influx of illegal immigrants when it only affected southern border states like Texas. With buses of migrants arriving in her city, D.C. Mayor Bowser last week requested assistance from the National Guard in managing newly arrived migrants into her city.

As soon as they have to deal with the real consequences of the crisis, they are up in arms calling for the National Guard when they are only dealing with a faction of what we have to deal with every single day, Governor Abbott said. Were going to keep sending those buses up there until they fully understand, and most importantly, until the Biden Administration does its job to enforce the laws concerning the border."

WATCH: Governor Abbott Stresses Need For Federal Response To Border Crisis

This week, Governor Abbott joined Maria Bartiromo for Fox Nations Broken Border Crisis Summit to discuss how President Bidens open border policies have led to chaos at the southern border. With the Biden Administration undoing President Trumps major border security initiatives, Texas is left responding to the crisis by busing migrants to the nations capital--and New York City. The Governor notes that more than 6,000 people have been bused to Washington, D.C. since the April launch of the mission, but thousands more illegally cross the border each day.

If we could educate more leaders across this country about the chaos caused by the Biden Administration, that would compel the Administration to step up and do its job under the Constitution and enforce the immigration laws that have been passed by Congress, said Governor Abbott.

WATCH: Governor Abbott Rebukes D.C., NYC Mayors' Claims Illegal Immigration Is Texas' Problem

Governor Abbott discussed with Fox News host Jesse Watters the ongoing border crisis and how it affects national security for the entire nation, not just Texas and other southern border states. Following New York City Mayor Adams' claims that Texas bears responsibility for the thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the border each day, the Governor invited Mayor Adams and D.C. Mayor Bowser to visit the southern border and see firsthand the magnitude of the chaos created by President Biden's open border policies.

"They're up in arms about a few thousand people coming into their communities over the past few months. In any one sector in the State of Texas, we have more than 5,000 people coming into that sector every single day," said Governor Abbott. "Our communities are overrun."

WATCH: DPS Lt. Olivarez Gives Fox Nation Tour Of DPS Drug Warehouse, Describes Coordinated Smuggling Effort

DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez participated in Maria Bartiromos Broken Border Crisis Summit and gave a tour of the DPS drug warehouse in McAllen, where bundles of illegal drugs seized by Operation Lone Star are processed by DPS personnel. With dangerous cartels running multibillion-dollar smuggling businesses, Lt. Olivarez explains that once the bundles of packaged drugs are carried across the border they are broken up at stash houses and smuggled further into the country.

What were seeing thats unique from previous years is luring younger, juvenile Americans into criminal activity like human smuggling and drug smuggling because its being advertised through social media platforms, said Lt. Olivarez. Theres a lower prosecution risk for these juveniles, so theyre exploiting that."

Texas National Guard Employ Advanced Assets To Stop Illegal Activities Along Border

The Texas National Guard use an array of assets to prevent, deter, and interdict transnational criminal activity in Texas border region, including advanced optic systems for detecting illegal crossings. The Tactical Response Units (TRU) employ boats to patrol the Rio Grande and respond to criminal activity and illegal crossings. The boat assets are used on water and land, while TRU soldiers communicate with multiple law enforcement agencies. Through tracking tools and radios, the cross-agency communications is crucial to the mission.

We call in our teams and law enforcement to see if they have any suspected traffic coming across and then move up or down river to try to meet the rafts and people, a member of the TRU boat crew explained.

WATCH: DPS Lt. Olivarez Shares Update On Border Crisis As Bused Migrants Continue To Arrive In D.C.

DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez told Fox News that the communities along the border are completely overwhelmed with the relentless surge of illegal immigrants. He explained how Governor Abbott listened to the concerns of local officials with the migrant busing mission.

I think its a great idea what Governor Abbott has done with inviting these mayors to Texas to see firsthand what were dealing with every day, said Lt. Olivarez. Some of these border communities have a population or 15,000 or 20,000 and theyre seeing 2,000 to 3,000 immigrants who are crossing every single day."

VIDEO: Texas National Guard Soldiers Take Pride In Operation Lone Star Mission

Texas Military soldiers describe their pride in contributing to the Operation Lone Star mission by keeping Texans across the state safe from transnational criminal activity.

This mission is important, because I am out here on the frontlines. We have stopped sex offenders and gang members from coming into our borders, said Senior Airman Gabriel Figueroa. We are protecting our communities in Texas by minimizing the flow of drugs through our borders.

VIDEO: Smuggler Leads DPS Troopers On High-Speed Pursuit In Cloned Work Truck

A smuggler driving a cloned work truck led DPS troopers on a high-speed chase in the Mission area. The smuggler and several illegal immigrants eventually bailed out and ran toward a residence. With the assistance of a U.S. Customs Aircraft Division, the smuggler and seven illegal immigrants were apprehended.

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Operation Lone Star Ramps Up Busing Of Migrants To NYC, D.C. To Provide Relief To Border Communities - Office of the Texas Governor

Rome: Italy is receiving assistance from France and Germany in coping with the migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Africa, some two months after a European Union (EU) agreement on distributing migrants arriving by boat, the Interior Ministry in Rome said.

A French delegation had over recent days selected a group of migrants in the south-eastern city of Bari for resettling in France, and Germany was planning a similar mission this month, dpa news agency reported citing the Ministry as saying on Friday.

Italy, the main first destination for migrants attempting the hazardous crossing from the North African coast, has for years called for greater assistance from other EU member states, and on June 10, 21 members agreed on a solidarity mechanism to help southern European members.

To date, 13 member states have stated their willingness to absorb more than 8,000 people, a spokeswoman for the European Commission said this week.

Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese referred to an historic step for the union.

The Italian authorities have registered more than 42,000 migrants arriving by boat so far this year, well above the comparable figure for last year of around 30,000.

If a centre-right political alliance win the September 25 elections, as pre-election polling predicts, they have pledged stronger action against migrants.

Matteo Salvini, head of the right-wing League (Lega) in the grouping, said on Friday during a visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa off the Tunisian coast, that he would like to appoint a special commissioner to halt the flow of migrants.

Giorgia Meloni, leader of the extreme right-wing Fratelli dItalia (Brothers of Italy) party, which is leading in the polls, says she plans to intern migrants in camps in North Africa.

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Italy receives help from France, Germany in migrant crisis - The Siasat Daily