Border and asylum policies are some of the harshest ever, and it is about to get worse. With likely White House sign-off, Congress is poised to limit asylum further and allow for more rapid deportations in exchange for aid to Ukraine and Israel. Texas has adopted a law that creates a state-level deportation scheme.
So, high numbers of arrivals at the southern border are not a result of generous immigration policies as some politicians claim. Rather than doubling down on failed border enforcement and deterrence strategies, we need a new approach.
Migrants journey to the border because of danger in their home countries, such as Cuba, Venezuela and Afghanistan, with horrific human rights situations the United States condemns. According to the U.N. refugee agency, forced displacement worldwide has risen dramatically and is comparable only to the period immediately after World War II. The lack of legal U.S. migration pathways for family reunification or work also pushes migrants to make the trek to the border.
Rather than recognizing the humanitarian situation, though, we have seen a decades-long ramp-up of barriers to asylum. Currently, asylum seekers who are unable to secure numerically limited appointments through the glitchy CBP One app are physically prevented from reaching or crossing through border checkpoints. Those who manage to enter the United States outside of official entry points, despite razor wire and floating buoys, generally turn themselves in or are...
Pop superstar Taylor Swift has been falsely accused of a laundry list of absurdities: Doing "satanic rituals" at her shows. Being a government "psyop." But this time, the news about her is true: S...