Many Californians Back Strict Measures

Although California leans to the political left, many Californians support strict immigration measures. According to a recent poll, 24 percent say it is "very important" to increase deportations of illegal aliens, and 35 percent said it was "somewhat important" to do so. It also found that 49 of percent of Californians support a temporary ban on people coming to the U.S. from Muslim majority countries. The poll was conducted by UC Berkeley's Hass Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society. 

Immigration Doesn’t Make Us Great

More Misinformation from the Media: Among the daily noise of a dysfunctional government, the immigration debate has dragged on in Washington for so long that...

Evangelicals Call for Reform

An Evangelical Christian group has called for immigration reform. The group, Evangelicals for Biblical Immigration, endorses six legislative proposals: 1) Build the  border wall, as promised and funded years ago. 2 ) Upgrade Border Patrol and ICE staffing. 3) End chain migration and diversity visas. 4) End "sanctuary cities." 5) Add voter integrity verification measures in all states. 6) Implement E-Verify in all states to help millions of Americans back to work.

Sanctuaries Release Gang Members

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) notes that sanctuary jurisdictions are releasing alien gang members rather than turning them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation. CIS states: "According to ICE statistics provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee, over a nine-month period in FY2017, 142 gang members that ICE was seeking to deport were released by the local law enforcement agency instead of transferred to ICE custody.  Two-thirds of the releases occurred in California, which has had a strict sanctuary policy in effect since January 2014. Fifteen of the aliens were members of the MS-13 gang and 127 were members of other gangs."

Study: Most Leave for Economic Reasons

Some claim that fear of violence is the main force driving Central Americans to migrate illegally to the U.S.  This, they maintain, should give them the right to apply for asylum.  A recent study study in Honduras, however, gives a different perspective. Conducted by a Jesuit-run research center, it found that 82.9 percent of people migrating during the previous four years left for economic reasons. Only 11.3 percent left because of violence. These figures show a significant shift from three years ago when the same organization found that 77.6 left for those motives, compared with 16.9 percent for fear of violence. Since 2012 the the level of violence in Honduras as declined. From 2016 to 2017, the number of homicides decreased by 24.97 percent.      

Northam Breaks Sanctuary Promise

Virginia's Democratic Gov. Ralph Northham broke the promise he make during his election campaign to oppose sanctuary cities in Virginia. When asked if he would sign an anti-sanctuary bill, he stated, "If that bill comes to my desk . . . I sure will. I've always opposed sanctuary cities." At the time many questioned the sincerity of this statement because Northam, as lieutenant governor, cast a tie-breaking vote that killed a bill against sanctuaries. On April 9th, Northam broke his campaign pledge by vetoing legislation which would have outlawed sanctuary cities. The legislation, HB 1257, stated "No locality shall adopt any ordinance, procedure, or policy that restricts the enforcement of sanctuary cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia."

Iowa Bans Sanctuaries

Iowa has passed a law which outlaws sanctuary cities and counties in the state. It bans any action by cities and counties which "prohibits or discourages the enforcement of immigration laws." Supporters of the legislation said it came in response to a policy in Iowa City which prohibited local assistance to immigration law enforcement.

Trump: End ‘Catch and Release’

President Trump has called on federal agencies to "expeditiously end" the catch and release policy. Under that policy people who cross our border and claim asylum are set free in the U.S. with the promise that they will appear at an asylum hearing to present their claim. Often they don't show up and blend into the population. The alternative is to hold them in custody until their hearing comes up. It present, however, there are not enough detention facilities to meet that need. President Trump also directed the agencies to locate other  facilities, such as military bases, which might be used for detention.   

Orban Wins in Hungary

Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban was re-elected for a third term, and his  Fidesz party won two-thirds of the seats in Hungary's parliament. Orban made defense of his country against mass immigration a major issue in his campaign. His victory will encourage patriots in other European countries to resist demands by the European Union to open their borders to mass entry. Following his electoral success Orban proclaimed, "We and won [and] Hungary has won a great victory."

‘Caravan’ May Still Be Coming

President Trump dispatched troops to the border in response to reports that a "caravan" of migrants from Central America was moving through Mexico with plans to enter the U.S. Subsequent reports claimed that the caravan broke up. Dailymail.com, in the U.K, maintains this is not the case:   "Hundreds of immigrants from Central America are in a 'caravan' through Mexico which Trump had claimed was 'broken up' thanks to 'the strong immigration laws of Mexico.' [But] . . . the marchers are being issued passes which give them as long as 30 days to stay in Mexico and tell them to report to immigration centers which dot the U.S. border. Members of the caravan are being moved in a fleet of buses north to the outskirts of Mexico City for a rally where they will be given tips on how to apply for asylum in the U.S."