Migrants pose hefty cost to U.S.
Former President Barack Obama is ridiculing President Trump and other Republicans for vowing to stop the caravan of 4,000 Central American migrants heading toward our border. Republicans are “trying to convince everybody to be afraid of a bunch of impoverished, malnourished refugees,” Obama says. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi blasts Republicans for stoking “baseless fear” for political purposes.
Baseless fear? Democrats aren’t leveling with you about the welfare, health care and education resources these migrants will consume, if they’re allowed in. Democrats are also claiming the U.S. has to let the migrants in, because they’re seeking asylum. The truth is the U.S. Constitution and federal law give the president the authority to block their entry.
Trump’s critics portray migrants as families fleeing for their lives. Don’t believe it. Few are legitimate asylum seekers. Mexico launched a “Make Yourself at Home” program, offering migrants shelter, food, work and schools for their kids. Most turned it down. They’re heading to the U.S. for a lifestyle upgrade, knowing that uttering the words “asylum” and “credible fear” to a U.S. border agent is a getin-free card.
More than half never apply for asylum, according to now former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. They just melt into the interior of the U.S. Of those who apply, only a minuscule 8.3 percent qualify. These migrants are making a mockery of asylum.
Trump is halting this hoax. At the White House last Thursday, he previewed an executive order expected this week. Step one: targeting migrants who cross the border illegally.
Every month, thousands wade across the Rio Grande or scale fences, and then request asylum if they’re apprehended by a border agent. They’re taken into custody briefly, released and told to appear at an immigration hearing. Sur- prise: They almost never do. Trump announced an end to this “catch and release” fiasco. Soldiers are laying barbed wire to deter illegal crossings, but those who get through will be detained in tent cities until their claims are heard.
Already, there are 22 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., according to new research by Yale and MIT statisticians — double what is commonly acknowledged. Federal taxpayers pay billions of dollars a year to fund community health clinics primarily used by illegal immigrants, while local taxpayers foot school bills for their children.
When migrant children lacking English skills and school experience are placed in public schools here, they drain enormous resources. Too bad for the rest of the kids.