The Biden administration continues to block reporters from seeing what's happening at various sites processing foreign children, asylum-seekers and others who crossed into the U.S. illegally.
The system has been overwhelmed by the crush of illegal border crossers.
The White House recently confirmed what I first reported in my Full Measure border investigation weeks ago: Border Patrol is not testing some illegal immigrants before releasing them into U.S. communities.
It's been reported that hundreds of children are being held in spaces designed for about half the number, and in violation of CDC's recommended Covid-19 procedures.
Amid criticism over its refusal to allow media in to see conditions the illegal immigrants are facing, officials have now released a series of videos and still photos taken by Border Patrol, rather than reporters.
Here's video of temporary processing facility in El Paso, Texas:
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/787998/b-roll-processing-facilities-el-paso-texas
Here's video of temporary processing facility in Donna, Texas:
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/787996/b-roll-temporary-processing-facilities-donna-texas
Some of the images are below:
Would the reference to "Potemkin Villages" strike a familiar note?
Including the NYT' s praise of such deceptions?
Who the heck is paying for all of this? Just when did we become the welfare state for the whole world?
What's Pravda in English?
Babblefish translates it as "Biden-Harris Administration."
Terrible propaganda generated by this Biden clan. Honestly they don’t care about people when they lie to the American people and the immigrants. Shameful to lie about the state of things on the border. But sadly typical of the Biden and Obama administration 2021. We deserve so much better than lies.
When are good people going to wise up to the Death, Deception, Destruction, of the Democrat Party????
These are not illegal immigrants trying to sneak across the border. They are asylum seekers; they are legally presenting themselves at the border and requesting asylum. I’m surprised you would not be more careful with your wording, since I’ve read and heard your well-considered opinions about the importance of word choices in journalism.
You are incorrect. There is a great deal of confusion surrounding most things immigration these days, and the line between legal and illegal sometimes becomes blurred because some of our laws are not being enforced.
It is not accurate to assume that most people crossing the border are seeking asylum or that they are "legally presenting themselves at the border."
We aren't even sure that we intercept "most people crossing the border" and definitely don't know the actual number. We only have estimates. We know that tens of thousands in a short period of time are known to have "gotten away" because they are seen on some type of surveillance, but not caught.
In parts of Arizona where I recently visited, the vast majority of known and captured illegal border crossers (83% by one county's calculation) are not seeking asylum, but are single adults, mostly male, trying to evade capture. This is typically because they are moving drugs or taking part in human trafficking (or both).
Texas tends to have more people seeking asylum (rather than simply drugs moving through) because the drug cartels, which control every person and caravan that crosses into the US and gets a payment from each person, controls where they enter and when. The cartels send the people and minors into certain parts of Texas to use up Border Patrol resources so they can move drugs into sections that have no patrols left.
Also, because minors and any adults they enter with (even unrelated) were allowed to stay in the US under previous policies, children are recruited by the cartels, and used to traffic groups of unrelated adults who have paid the cartels. Then the children may go back to Mexico to get another load. Or the children may be required to report to trafficking centers in the US where they must perform work for slave wages or none at all while their family members are threatened at home, or even be looped into sex rings. So because of our policies, using minors has become a big business for the cartels and it exploits the kids who are sometimes tortured and forced to move drugs as well.
As for the groups that do seek asylum: the legal way to seek asylum is to have a legal visa to enter the US and then, while here legally, request asylum. For example, I did a story with some legal asylum requesters from West Africa a few years ago. They had a legal visa to come into the US for a visit and then, when they landed at Boston airport and applied for asylum. Another legal way to seek asylum is to present yourself at a port of entry prior to entering the US.
Unfortunately, it is not legal for anyone to cross illegally into the US and then seek asylum; at that point they are an illegal immigrant seeking asylum. They may be granted the asylum in the future or they may be denied. The majority who are allowed to stay (90%) do not show up for their asylum court dates. Of those who do, about 80% are denied asylum because they do not meet the standard.
In short, everybody you see pictures of crossing rivers in boats (or swimming), or climbing fences, or sneaking into the US hidden in vehicles etc, are illegal immigrants.
If there is somebody who went thru a port of entry and applied there, that person legally applied for asylum. The reason they are not doing this, from what I'm told, is that they can risk be processed and sent back very quickly, whereas if they enter illegally they get into our system and, depending on the policy of the moment, may be allowed to stay.