Parsing Immigration Policy

The border crisis has reached historic levels under the Biden administration, but one of the many roots of this crisis extends beyond the current administration. This episode of Parsing Immigration Policy highlights the Flores settlement, an agreement that established requirements for the federal government’s detention of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) and requires their release “without unnecessary delay”. This week, we are joined by Hart Celler, the pseudonym of a Marine Corps veteran and longtime federal employee involved in immigration policy.Celler walks listeners through the general history of Flores, from the start of the lawsuit in 1985 to the initial agreement in 1997 to today. A key development occurred under the Obama administration when Judge Dolly Gee re-interpreted the agreement to cover all alien children, not just those who arrive without a parent or legal guardian. Children who arrive with an adult are not generally released alone, so the U.S. government ends up releasing the adult and the child together. Celler refers to this as a “golden ticket” for entry into the U.S. for any illegal alien who brings a child. This practice encourages and rewards adults – some of whom are not even be the child’s parent – to bring children on the dangerous journey to the U.S.Celler provides potential solutions for Congress to eliminate the magnet for child migration and highlights how organizations purporting to advocate for child welfare are actually putting these children in harm’s way. “The groups that are representing the [unaccompanied alien] children don’t want the children detained ever, at any point, for any reason, and don’t seem to be bothered by the fact that the government releases them to … literal strangers, and doesn’t follow up with them.”In his closing commentary, Mark Krikorian, host of the podcast and executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, discusses negotiations over the supplemental funding bill in the Senate, which would include funding for more personnel on the border. Negotiations have been ongoing, as Senate Republicans have demanded policy changes from the Biden administration, rather than simply providing more resources. As Krikorian explains, the primary sticking point is the insistence by Republicans on narrowing the president's authority to parole illegal aliens into the country, an authority Democrats and the administration want to keep as broad as possible.HostMark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.GuestHart Celler is the pseudonym of a Marine Corps veteran and longtime federal employee involved in immigration policy.RelatedHart Celler's X AccountAmenables and CollateralsThe History of the Flores SettlementCourt Approves Settlement So-Called ‘Family Separation’ CaseFollowFollow Parsing Immigration Policy on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.Intro MontageVoices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

The Center for Immigration Studies hosted a panel discussion December 11. The featured experts delved into the findings of the Center’s latest report, which revealed that the total foreign-born or immigrant population (legal and illegal) was nearly 50 million in October 2023 — a 4.5 million increase since President Biden took office and a new record high.Rich Lowry, editor of the National Review, and Roy Beck, the former president of NumbersUSA, joined Steven Camarota, Center’s director of research and author of the new report. The panelists, who have all written extensively about the impact of immigration on the United States, will discuss what caused this rapid growth and the broad implications this has for American society, including the labor market, public coffers, politics, the environment, and culture.Mark Krikorian, the Center’s executive director and host of Parsing Immigration Policy, moderates this rebroadcast of the Center's panel.HostMark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.GuestsRich Lowry is the Editor-in-Chief of National Review.Roy Beck is the Founder and former President of NumbersUSA.Steven Camarota is the Director of Research of the Center for Immigration Studies.RelatedReport: In October 2023, the Foreign-Born Share Was the Highest in HistoryPanel Video: The Size and Implications of the Immigrant PopulationPanel Press Release: The Size and Implications of the Immigrant PopulationFollowFollow Parsing Immigration Policy on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.Intro MontageVoices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

This week’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy brings a global perspective to the immigration debate with Nicolas Monti and Maxime Aymar, co-founders of L'Observatoire de l'immigration et de la démographie (OID), an immigration think tank based in Paris. The guests share information on immigration trends, policies, and public sentiment in France.The French organization was founded three years ago in response to the public’s growing distrust in immigration policies in France. France, one of the first countries to experience massive levels of immigration, especially non-European immigration, has seen immigration become an especially polarizing political topic. It is at the forefront of French political debate and an important topic for all political parties; but, as Monti and Aymar explain, the conversation has primarily become an ideological conversation. OID fills a gap in French politics by providing non-partisan facts, research, and analysis of the immigration issue.Monti and Aymar explain immigration trends in France over the past four decades, and their impact on France’s economy, culture, and society. They also explore what motivates French people to be in favor of or against higher levels of immigration. In a unique collaboration, OID, along with like-minded research organizations in Israel, Hungary, and the United States, has established the International Network for Immigration Research (INIR), of which the Center is a member.In his closing commentary, Mark Krikorian, host of the podcast and executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, highlights Lukeville, Ariz., the latest hotspot on the border. He references insights from the Israeli Immigration Policy Center, another member of INIR, emphasizing the importance of addressing “pull factors” for illegal aliens alongside physical barriers to maintain border security. Krikorian also emphasizes the role of the Biden administration’s catch-and-release policies in incentivizing mass illegal immigration.HostMark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.GuestsNicolas Monti and Maxime Aymar are co-founders of L'Observatoire de l'immigration et de la démographie (OID), an immigration think tank based in Paris.RelatedL'Observatoire de l'immigration et de la démographie (OID)Israeli Immigration Policy CenterFollowFollow Parsing Immigration Policy on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.Intro MontageVoices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

SummaryThis week’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy delves into the issue of marriage fraud, an arrangement where individuals enter into marriages solely for the purpose of securing a green card. David North, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, joins host and executive director of the Center, Mark Krikorian, to discuss the prevalence and need to curb fraudulent marriage-based green cards.Marriage-based green cards, whether fraudulent or legitimate, make up a large portion of the legal immigration system in the U.S. One in six new legal immigrants in 2022 gained their status by marrying either a U.S. citizen or a green card holder. This visa category does not have a numerical cap, making it an attractive way to become a legal permanent resident with work authority and a path to citizenship.North explores different facets of marriage fraud, highlighting how the U.S. immigration system inadvertently provides opportunities for deception. The legal landscape favors the alien and presents challenges in policing individual cases, although USCIS has had recent successes in dismantling criminal rings that facilitate illegal green card marriages.The discussion covers the often-overlooked perspective of victims of marriage fraud, where the citizen partner, often misled into believing in a genuine relationship, faces unexpected consequences post-divorce, including extended alimony payments. North also highlights how a provision in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which allows aliens to self-petition to obtain their green cards if they are married to an abusive spouse, encourages aliens to falsely accuse the American citizen spouse of abuse. North and Krikorian offer insights into preventive measures, drawing attention to Canada’s educational approach, which involves a mandatory marriage fraud video session. They emphasize the need for a proactive stance by authorities to curb marriage fraud, urging a shift from the role of a “stupid Cupid” to a more vigilant approach.HostMark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.GuestDavid North is a Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies.RelatedTopic Page: Marriage FraudAnother Tale of a Phony Green-Card MarriageImmigration Marriage Fraud in ReverseVictims of Marriage-Related Immigration Fraud Tell Their StoriesIn One Subclass of Immigrants, 100 Percent of the Visas Reflect a FailureFollowFollow Parsing Immigration Policy on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.Intro MontageVoices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

On this week’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy, we are joined by Colin Farnsworth, the chief FOIA counsel at the Center for Immigration Studies, to discuss a powerful tool that promotes transparency and accountability from federal agencies – the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Farnsworth notes that FOIA essentially “shines a light on government actions.”The FOIA process empowers individuals outside the government to compel the disclosure of information that should be public. According to the Supreme Court of the United States, the purpose of FOIA “is to ensure an informed citizenry, vital to the functioning of a democratic society, needed to check against corruption and to hold governors accountable to the governed.”Farnsworth walks listeners through the FOIA request process, outlining some limitations, such as its inability to force the creation of new records by the government.The Center recently filed a FOIA request, and subsequently a lawsuit, to obtain the names of U.S. airports that received flights of illegal aliens being paroled into the country through Biden’s CBP One parole scheme. Once CBP did respond, the crucial details were redacted from the documents; CBP justified the redactions under the claim of protecting law enforcement techniques. Farnsworth shared that the Center plans to challenge this dubious explanation, in hopes of unveiling critical insights into the impact of the influx of illegal immigrants on various cities.Mark Krikorian, the Center’s executive director and host of the podcast, encourages anyone with tips or information to share through the Center’s encrypted email account.In his closing commentary, Krikorian highlights a recent Center analysis of the Institute for International Education’s study on foreign students. The study found that over a million foreign students are in the country. However, an estimated 200,000 of these are on student visas, but have actually already graduated and are now working under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program — a foreign worker initiative that exempts companies from payroll taxes when hiring foreign graduates for up to one year (three for STEM). David North, a Center fellow, estimates that this taxpayer-funded subsidy, aimed at encouraging the hiring of foreign workers over Americans or legal residents, totaled one billion dollars last year.HostMark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.GuestColin Farnsworth is the Chief FOIA Counsel at the Center for Immigration Studies.RelatedNew Records Unveil Surprising Scope of Secretive ‘CBP One’ Entry SchemeBorder Informants and Immigration WhistleblowersNew Report Shows Increase in Foreign Students, but Downplays SubsidyFollowFollow Parsing Immigration Policy on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.Intro MontageVoices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

In this week’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy, the Center for Immigration Studies looks at the number of illegal aliens released into the United States by the Biden administration in FY 2023 and their pathways for entry. Andrew Arthur, the Center’s resident fellow in law and policy, joins us for this episode to reveal how the administration permitted 140 percent more illegal aliens than legal immigrants with green cards to enter the country in FY 2023, despite the U.S. Constitution vesting Congress with the authority to regulate immigrant admissions. Arthur outlines four pathways through which the administration facilitates the entry of illegal aliens.CHNV Parole Program. In January, to curb illegal entries at the Southwest border post-Title 42, the Biden administration announced a new scheme under which 30,000 nationals per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela are allowed to fly to the U.S. in lieu of entering illegally. Nearly 250,000 foreign nationals have been paroled in under this program.CBP One App Interview Scheme. The administration’s CBP One scheme, the topic of a recent podcast episode, allows inadmissible aliens from all over the world – including countries of terrorism concern – to pre-schedule their illegal entries to the United States. The administration is using this scheme to parole up to 1,450 inadmissible aliens into the country every day, with 235,172 paroled in for FY 2023.Ports of Entry. Aliens are also allowed to present themselves to CBP officers at the ports of entry and then be released on parole. The administration is using its very limited parole powers far outside the strict limits set by Congress.Got-Aways. With Border Patrol agents overwhelmed processing more than 5,600 illegal entrants a day, 600,000-plus other aliens entered illegally and evaded apprehension in FY 2023.“More than two million inadmissible aliens have been allowed entry into the country in just one year –a population that would qualify as the 37th largest state in the country,” said Arthur. “This undermines the rule of law and puts tremendous pressure on local and state governments to provide housing, food, education, and medical care to those joining their communities.” In his closing commentary, Mark Krikorian, host of the podcast and executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, draws attention to the International Network for Immigration Research. This newly created network establishes a cooperative arrangement between research organizations, including the Center, from four countries that share similar perspectives on immigration.HostMark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.GuestAndrew Arthur is the Resident Fellow in Law and Policy at the Center for Immigration Studies.RelatedBlockbuster House Report Reveals How Badly Biden’s Broken Our Immigration SystemBiden Funneled Nearly 1.4 Million Illegal Aliens into the U.S. — in FY 2023 AloneThe (Misleading) DHS ‘Fact Sheet’ That Really Didn’t Age WellIs the Administration Ignoring Federal Court Orders on Migrant Releases?Biden’s Secretive CBP One SchemeFollowFollow Parsing Immigration Policy on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.Intro MontageVoices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

In this week’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy, the Center for Immigration Studies delves into the critical issue of addressing national security threats posed by foreigners, both legal and illegal, residing in the United States. Podcast guest George Fishman, a senior legal fellow at the Center, discusses legal tools that are available to serve the country in time of crisis.Fishman explores the potential application of the Alien Enemies Act, a federal statute dating back to 1798, to expel cartel members and criminal alien gang members from the United States. The Trump campaign was the first to suggest this option. The Act grants the president the authority to deport natives or citizens of a nation with which we are in a declared war or that has invaded, or launched a “predatory incursion” against the United States. Fishman contemplates whether this statute could be applied to a country in which organized crime has become integrated into the government.Fishman also discusses the role immigration law can play in dealing with Hamas sympathizers. Since 2005 federal law has rendered any alien deportable who endorses or espouses terrorism or who provides material support to a foreign terrorist organization like Hamas (designated as one by the Secretary of State in 1997). Material support includes aid such as funding, expert advice or providing equipment. President Obama weakened the provision, and then this summer President Biden did further, deeper damage by deciding that it is acceptable for an alien to provide “insignificant material support” and “limited material support” under specific circumstances, which has raised concerns about national security implications.Non-citizens, even those here legally, who endorse or espouse terrorism are also deportable, and Fishman discusses his new paper examining calls by members of Congress to deport foreign students and others who have endorsed Hamas in the wake of its attacks on Israeli civilians.In his closing commentary, Krikorian highlights a different security threat related to immigration: weaker countries employing mass migration as a weapon against stronger countries. For instance, Nicaragua has actively encouraged large numbers of Haitian migrants to enter Nicaragua, then funneled them towards the U.S. The intention is to use the promise of slowing down the flow as leverage, compelling the U.S. to loosen sanctions imposed on Nicaragua.HostMark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.GuestTodd Bensman is a Senior National Security Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies.RelatedThe 225-year-old ‘Alien Enemies Act’ Needs to Come Out of RetirementWhat Specific Actions Can President Biden Take to Fight the Sheer Evil of Hamas?Deport Foreign Students Who Celebrate Mass Murder: Should We? Can We?Nicaragua is ‘weaponizing’ US-bound migrants as Haitians pour in on charter flights, observers sayFollowFollow Parsing Immigration Policy on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.Intro MontageVoices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

On this week’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy we are joined by Todd Bensman, the Center for Immigration Studies senior national security fellow, to discuss crucial details about the Biden administration’s CBP One scheme revealed as the result of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation by the Center. The data was analyzed in two reports released this week (linked below).The strategy of the CBP One scheme is to let inadmissible aliens who would otherwise cross illegally make an appointment to cross at an official port of entry instead, to make border crisis less visible and politically damaging for the Biden administration. The scheme, which includes a work permit, has been going on since May 2021, paroling into the U.S. nearly a quarter million inadmissible aliens from nearly 100 countries, including thousands from countries of terrorism concern.Ushering in these “special interest aliens”, Bensman explains, is different from catching such people who cross illegally. “The ones that are crossing illegally, we sort of don’t have a choice in that. We just have to contend with them when they enter of their own volition. But with all of these nationalities that we are approving for CBP One appointments and parole, it is done by affirmative choice. We don’t have to choose them. We could deny their applications for appointments and parole.”In essence, “the Biden administration is knowingly overwhelming our ability to do the kind of close vetting and interviewing and what have you that is warranted for people from these potentially dangerous countries,” says Mark Krikorian, podcast host and executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies.In his closing commentary Krikorian draws attention to the dismal situation at the Southwest border as revealed by the end-of-fiscal-year DHS data.HostMark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.GuestTodd Bensman is a Senior National Security Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies.RelatedThousands of ‘Special Interest Aliens’ Posing Potential National Security Risks Entering via CBP One AppNew Records Unveil Surprising Scope of Secretive ‘CBP One’ Entry SchemeTruly Wretched Border Stats Released in a Saturday Morning “News Dump”More Startling Takeaways from CBP’s Saturday Morning ‘News Dump’ StatsFollowFollow Parsing Immigration Policy on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.Intro MontageVoices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

The illegal immigration crisis at the southern border overshadows discussion about the existing legal immigration system in the United States. But on this episode of the Center for Immigration Studies’ podcast, Phillip Linderman, a Center board member and retired State Department senior Foreign Service officer, discusses two outdated legal immigration programs, ‘extended’ family reunification and the visa lottery, with guest host Jessica Vaughan, the Center’s director of policy studies.The U.S. accepts more than 1.1 million legal immigrants every year, over two-thirds of whom enter via family-based categories -- meaning they enter because of who they are related to, not because of any skills they possess or humanitarian needs they might have. Linderman explains how the legal immigration system currently in place exists primarily to grow the number of family members of immigrants in the U.S. As Vaughan points out, each legal immigrant brings an average of 3.4 additional immigrants into the country through chain migration.This episode also covers the controversial Visa Lottery program. Linderman and Vaughan question its value, highlighting how the program’s poor vetting has attracted criminal activity. Four policy suggestions emerge from the discussion on legal immigration:Prioritize spouses and minor children, as opposed to extended family units that include parents, adult sons and daughters, and adult siblings;Shift toward skill-based immigration, aligning with proposals such as the RAISE Act;Eliminate the Visa Lottery;Simplify the immigration process.In her closing commentary, Vaughan flags a concerning rise of sanctuary policies in Utah. As explained in separate posts by Ron Mortensen, a Center fellow, and Jon Feere, the Center’s director of investigations, two county sheriffs in the state recently canceled their contracts with ICE due to the burdensome requirements of the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman.HostJessica Vaughan is the Director of Policy Studies the Center for Immigration Studies.GuestPhillip Linderman is a Center Board Member and retired State Department Senior Foreign Service Officer.RelatedChain Migration and the Diversity Visa Program: Legal Immigration at Its WorstChain Migration: Burdensome and ObsoleteICE Loses Cooperation with Jails in Utah, Nebraska, and Nevada over Burdensome AuditsUtah: The Reddest (and Stealthiest) Sanctuary StateICE Internal Info MemoFollowFollow Parsing Immigration Policy on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.Intro MontageVoices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".

This week’s Parsing Immigration Policy episode raises awareness of a disturbing aspect of the border crisis – a large and increasing number of unaccompanied alien children who are delivered by the government into the hands of labor and sex traffickers. Guest Tara Lee Rodas, a Health and Human Services (HHS) whistleblower who recently testified before Congress, speaks about current U.S. immigration policies and court rulings that lead to the rapid release of unaccompanied minors (UACs) to unvetted sponsors in the U.S.Guest host Jessica Vaughan, the Center’s director of policy studies, and Rodas discuss the flaws in the immigration system and the Biden policies, revealing shocking details about the lax vetting of sponsors who are given custody of unaccompanied alien children without proper background checks or monitoring.Rodas describes the process as “government-sponsored, taxpayer-funded child trafficking,” as the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and its contractors literally complete the final stage of human smuggling schemes, which frequently end up with the transfer of minors to criminal enterprises, forced labor arrangements, cartels, or gangs.“It is easier to get a UAC than to get a pet,” says Rodas.Vaughan, who also testified before Congress on the trafficking of UACs, said, “We urge lawmakers to act with urgency to disrupt and de-fund this system, and demand reforms from the agencies involved. What higher priority can there be than the safety and well-being of vulnerable children? It is shameful for our government to allow this to continue under the pretense of helping migrants.”The conversation concludes with specific federal and state policy suggestions that can be implemented to help end the trafficking of UACs.In her closing commentary, Vaughan highlights an alarming proposed regulation announced by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) that would further institutionalize Biden policies granting more freedom to ORR and contractors while reducing accountability. The public comment period for these troubling changes will close in 60 days.Vaughan also announced that the Center will be co-sponsoring a conference to combat human trafficking to be held in Houston on December 12th and 13th.HostJessica Vaughan is the Director of Policy Studies the Center for Immigration Studies.GuestTara Lee Rodas is a Federal Inspector General Employee at Health and Human Resources.RelatedWatchdog Report Blasts Treatment of Migrant Kids in CustodyTestimony by Tara Lee Rodas. The Biden Border Crisis: Exploitation of Unaccompanied Alien ChildrenTestimony by Jessica Vaughan. The Biden Border Crisis: Exploitation of Unaccompanied Alien ChildrenVideo: Former Biden Transition Official Andrew Lorenzen-Strait Describes His “Corrupt Bargain” SchemeVideo: Trafficked in AmericaFlorida Emergency Rule on UAC ResettlementFlorida Grand Jury Report on UACsFollowFollow Parsing Immigration Policy on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.Intro MontageVoices in the opening montage:Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".