Border to Border. What a Difference a Week Makes – Top 3 Takeaways

Border to Border. What a Difference a Week Makes – Top 3 Takeaways – January 28th, 2025 

  1. 5,000+. What’s that number? That’s how many criminal illegal immigrants were detained by ICE during the first week of the Trump administration. From Martin County to Seattle ICE raids led to the arrests of an average of greater than 700 criminal illegal immigrants per day with deportations totaling about half of that number per day. And obviously the Trump administration is just getting warmed up. Commenting on the Trump administration's first week of tackling their top priority, border czar Tom Homan had this to say to ABC: When we see the crime rate from illegal aliens go down, that’s a success. Every public safety threat removed from this country is success. Every national security threat that we find and remove from the country is success. It stands to reason that if more than 5,000 criminal illegal immigrants who were on our streets just over a week ago no longer are, and with at least 700 more being taken in per day, that crime rates will begin to come down. And there’s no doubt that if about half of them are quickly deported that’s some meaningful early success. But you might be wondering why the deportations are happening just about as half quickly as the detentions are taking place. The answer is that it’s a matter of money. As Homan said he’ll...Do what we can with the money we have. Homan mentioned that the Trump administration doesn’t currently don’t have the funding to carry out mass deportations. On that note he said: We can do what we can with the money we have. We’re going to try to be efficient. My success’s gonna be based on what Congress gives us. The more money, the better I’m gonna do. What’s been revealed is that the Biden administration not only handed the Trump administration an illegal immigration crisis through its intentional open border policies but...it also, likely intentionally, bleed ICE’s budget dry. When Tom Homan talks of a lack of funding for his plans he’s not kidding. When Biden handed the keys over to Trump, ICE’s budget shortfall stood at $230 million... Meaning ICE doesn’t even have the money to do the basic daily tasks it’s charged with doing let alone carrying out a mass deportation plan, or potentially for that matter, the current targeted plan to capture and expel criminal illegal immigrants who weren’t detained and deported as they should have been under the Biden administration. When you heard that the Biden administration in its closing days was doing what it could to impede the Trump administration's plans – this was one of the ways... To bleed ICE’s budget dry to limit deportation operations. To put in perspective how much money is needed to carry out deportations... An analysis by the American Immigration Council has estimated that if every illegal immigrant in the United States were detained and deported the total cost would be $315 billion. But let’s say that a more realistic goal of deporting half of all illegal immigrants during Trump’s next four years is the plan. That would come with a cost of about $158 billion, or under $40 billion per year. By way of comparison how much money do you think the US government spent under the Biden administration funding Ukraine’s war against Russia? $183 billion. In other words, team Trump can deport half of all known illegal immigrants in this country for $25 billion less than what Biden handed over to Ukraine. Here's another number for you... 
  2. 1.4 million. What’s that number? That's the number of illegal immigrants that judges ordered the removal of during the Biden administration that were never removed. Never mind for a moment the greater than 11 million illegal immigrants that are estimated to have been allowed into this country through Biden’s open border policies. There were 1.4 million who went through a legal process and were court ordered to be deported but weren’t. And here’s the point and how this all ties together. As nice as it was to see the Trump administration detain and deport criminal illegal immigrants who were allowed to roam free under Biden... At the first week’s pace for detentions and deportations it would take over five years to simply detain and deport the 1.4 million people who had already been court ordered to be removed from this country (let alone an expanded operation). So, here’s the thing and it’s a considerable one. A big battle over money and priorities is looming in congress but the answer is clear. It’s time to stop funding endless wars we aren’t even directly involved with and it’s time to show Tom Homan the Money to ensure he can carry out the policies Americans elected Donald Trump to do. Closer to home... 
  3. The fear mongering has begun. On Monday Florida’s special state legislative session got underway. Then it abruptly ended. Then it started up again. What happened? GOP leadership, which expressed displeasure at Governor DeSantis’ decision to call a special session, convened and quickly voted to end the governor’s session and to instead call their own which was to be singularly focused on illegal immigration and specifically their ideas for addressing the issue rather than DeSantis’ too. In particular focus, a plan to create state oversight of illegal immigration and to appoint a state official tasked with enforcing Florida’s policies (including aiding Trump’s deportations). DeSantis wanted the official to answer directly to the governor and to serve at his direction. The legislature wants to make it the state’s agriculture commissioner who’s an independently elected official. So that happened. And so too did the media’s fear mongering. Take this NBC News headline for example: Deportation fears grow for migrants in Florida under Trump and DeSantis. With the lead line: Immigrant rights advocates in Florida face a double whammy with the state's and the federal government's promises to increase deportations. Question for you. If you’re an “immigrant rights advocate” how is it that deportations would represent a double whammy? After all, if you’re advocating legal immigration, and working with legal immigrant families these policies wouldn’t have any impact on you. Oh, that’s right because they’re not immigrant advocates but rather illegal immigrant advocates a la the Florida Immigrant Coalition cited in the story. Isn’t it fun how news organizations run to get input from those who attempt advocate (if not outright assist) the facilitation of federal crimes and then spin it to tell a tale woe is the warm fluffy migrant story? If anything, these “advocates” are accessories to federal crimes. The noise surrounding deportations in Florida was always going to be loud given that Florida is still estimated to have the third highest total of illegal immigrants, at over 1.2 million, living within the state. But it’s grown louder more quickly with the prospect that this week the state of Florida stands poised to pass policy to assist the Trump team with the effort. As of Monday’s first day of the special session, 2 policy proposals aimed at combating illegal immigration and facilitating deportations were proposed. But it’s quite clear Florida will stand ready to assist the Trump administration in helping to facilitate the deportation plans... When there’s funding for it.  

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