border patrol Archives

U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville) criticized his colleagues on the other side of aisle for continuing to vote against funding the federal government.

The government shut down continued into it’s ninth day on Thursday as a majority of Democrats in the Senate again voted against a continuing resolution that would re-open the government.

Strong discussed the issue during an appearance on News Nation and spoke to the negative impacts to national security.

“Well, DHS, of course, TSA, border security, these are the ones that they’re out there every day and might not be getting a check,” Strong said.

“People are sick of it. You look at air traffic control right now, we’ve had a couple of locations that have closed, but I can assure you this, that we believe in what they’re doing, we know what they’ve done, what they’re going to do in the days ahead, and we’re going to fight to get this government back open.”

https://x.com/HomelandGOP/status/1976367498623898012

Republicans have criticized the Democrats for wanting expand subsides for Obamacare, which they argue means some of that money will pay for the healthcare of those who have entered the country illegally.

The congressman said Democrats needs to put partisan politics aside and vote to fund the government.

“They’ve got a government shutdown right now because they want health benefits for illegal aliens,” Strong argued.

“The want hundreds of millions for National Public Radio. The people in my district and throughout America are sick of it and I think that Chuck Schumer and his gang are going to pay the price in the midterms this year because people see right through it.”

https://x.com/RepDaleStrong/status/1976360410258473029

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee

There have been a lot of suggestions, some from President Donald Trump himself, that amnesty is on the table for farm workers and the hospitality industry.

NO!

This is not what Trump voters voted for, they actually voted against this exact issue, and Republican politicians need to remember this and speak out.

Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) is defending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from those who are comparing them to ‘Nazis.’

President Donald Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan said this week that attacks against ICE officers and federal agents conducting immigration enforcement are up nearly 700% compared to the same time last year.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 10 individuals have been charged with shooting a police officer in the neck and opening fire on other correctional officers outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, on the Fourth of July.

Tuberville, who was joined by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) discussed the issue Tuesday on Fox Business.

“Well, first of all, it was a disaster, what the Biden administration did for four years, open borders, it was insane,” Tuberville said.

“Senator Scott and I went down several times. You can’t put a number on what is number one going to cost the American taxpayers over the next years to get all these illegals back out of the country, but the law and order in this country…If you can be educated, you can have money, you can have everything you want, but as an American citizen, if you don’t have safe streets and neighborhoods, you don’t have anything, and so we have to take our country back.”

The attacks on ICE agents are a DIRECT RESULT of Democrats’ radical, extreme, and VIOLENT language.

In America, we don’t shoot cops.

My message to ALL our law enforcement officers under attack.👇 pic.twitter.com/wXQ43Bavl1

— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) July 9, 2025

Tuberville blasted some of his Democratic colleagues over their extreme rhetoric against ICE agents in recent weeks.

The Democrats did this on purpose. It was all by design,” he argued. “They want to run over our law and order. They want social justice people running our police departments. That’s not going to happen. I’m all for ice. If you need to defend yourself, shoot back. Do not take this from these people. Do not take it from the Democrats. We have to take our country and neighborhood back.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee

Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth announced on Friday that the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) has formed a task force to work “hand-in-glove” with federal agencies in carrying out the Trump administration’s orders related to illegal immigration – including the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.

Ainsworth said in a video message that he will be actively involved in partnerships to ensure illegal immigrants marked for deportation in Alabama are returned home.

“As Lieutenant Governor, I pledge my full 100% support to President Trump and field agencies like ICE [U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement], the DEA [Drug Enforcement Agency], Homeland Security and others that are enforcing his executive orders, arresting the law-breakers, and marching them into cargo planes headed back to where they came from.”

“I’m going to help these federal agencies pinpoint the problem areas in our state and help resolve the illegal immigration and crime problems. I’ve consulted with Alabama Law Enforcement Agency director Hal Taylor, and a state task force is now working hand-in-glove with federal agencies to carry out President Trump’s roundup,” Ainsworth said.

In less than two weeks since taking office, President Trump has directed federal agencies to rapidly escalate a “whole-of-government” approach to secure the border and remove individuals residing in the U.S. illegally.

ICE has been publicizing daily arrest and detention statistics of illegal aliens. Over a seven-day period, the agency reported over 5,000 arrests and over 4,000 detainers lodged.

Ainsworth emphasized that illegal Immigrants “commit a crime the moment they jump our border and set foot on U.S. soil” and that President Trump is doing something about it.

“Since 1923, Alabama’s state motto has been ‘we dare defend our rights.’ But it’s time now for illegal immigrants who reside here to quickly learn that Alabamians also ‘dare defend our borders’ as well,” Ainsworth said.

Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.

U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Monrovia) is continuing to demand answers from officials about how the Biden administration’s immigration policies are impacting communities across Alabama and the United States.

Strong raised the issue Wednesday during a Homeland Security Committee hearing entitled “A Country Without Borders: How the Biden-Harris Open-Borders Policies Have Undermined Our Safety and Security.”

https://x.com/RepDaleStrong/status/1836465452723159198

The Congressman questioned Jim Desmond, member of the Board of Supervisors in San Diego County California, about the continuing crisis.

“You recently wrote that ‘millions of local taxpayer dollars have been diverted to cover the costs associated with the mass immigration of asylum-seeking immigrants – money that could have been better spent on our residents and vital services.’ Like you, I have serious concerns about the burden communities face as a consequence of this Administration’s border crisis – especially small and rural communities,” Strong said. “News outlets in Alabama have reported that ‘several communities have expressed concern over a steady increase in Haitian immigrants, especially in rural areas with stretched-thin resources.’ I have heard this very sentiment myself.”

Strong also expressed frustrations at the lack of answers from the Biden administration on this problem.

“There are countless examples of this Administration’s policies and failures that have gotten us to this point,” he said. “One that has come to the forefront is of course the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, which at the end of July this year, had paroled over half a million migrants into the United States. I sent my concerns about CHNV to Secretary Mayorkas over a month ago. I wish I had answers to share here today, but I have yet to receive a response from the Secretary.”

Strong said he’s not surprised that the president’s team doesn’t care about how this is effecting Alabama families.

“I also find it ironic that those responsible for the situation that you’re in today – Vice President Harris and Secretary Mayorkas – are two of California’s finest,” he argued. “It sends a clear message to every American that they would allow this to happen in their own communities… if they don’t care about what’s happening in their own backyards, why would they care what is happening in Alabama? I think the evidence is obvious.”

“Mr. Desmond, you also mentioned witnessing mass street-releases, which buses dropped off hundreds or thousands of illegal aliens at a time into your communities, many of whom have no idea where they are or where they’re going,” Strong added. “And it’s not just happening in California.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

U.S. Rep. Dale Strong believes now is the time for Republicans to fight for real border security funding despite the threat of a potential government shutdown.

Negotiations have continued in the Senate in recent days over a compromise funding bill that would give aid to Ukraine and Israel, while also adding measures that will help secure the U.S. southern border.

Once it passes the Senate, it will then head to the House where many Republicans are warning that they won’t vote for legislation that doesn’t address the current border crisis.

Strong (R-Monrovia) discussed the issue Friday on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show.”

“The big thing is that southern border. If you want to draw a line in the sand, that’s the issue,” Strong said. “8.5 million people have illegally crossed into this country since Joe Biden has took over.”

The congressman said there are simple solutions to the border problem.

“Well, I’ll tell you, it’s really easy. Stay in Mexico would fix it immediately,” he argued. “And then the other thing is Biden could take a couple of notes from Donald Trump. He fueled up ICE Air, processed these illegal aliens, and sent them back to the country of their origin. And when he did that stopped it.”

Strong also believes the open border is putting U.S. national security at risk.

“What people might not understand, this isn’t just Latinos coming from Mexico,” he explained. “You look since Joe Biden has taken over, they’re coming from 160 different countries from all over this world. It’s unacceptable. And the other thing that came up the other day is we’ve got 73,000 of what Border Patrol classifies as special interest aliens.”

Currently many Republicans in the House are calling for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to be impeached, a move Strong wholeheartedly endorses.

“Joe Biden has failed. Secretary Mayorkas has failed,” he argued. “And that’s why we need to move forward with the impeachment on him. He is failing to carry out the laws of American and that’s why they’ve created this debacle at the southern border.”

Strong said he’s hopeful Congress will be able to pass strict security measures as many of his colleagues on the other side of the aisle are showing their frustrating with the current system.

“The tune that has changed up here. You’ve got Democrats that are sick of it finally,” he said. “It’s finally started to affect them. You look at what happened in New York, where they just absolutely created a bunker house our of a school for illegal aliens. I bet you that wouldn’t happen in Alabama. The people in Alabama wouldn’t let that happen.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” Weekdays 9-11am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

As in 2023, U.S. Senator Katie Britt is continuing calls for Democrats in Washington to address the illegal immigration crisis in 2024. Britt has accused President Joe Biden, Senate Democrats, as well as the media of ignoring a “national security and a humanitarian crisis on our border,” that multiplies each day.

Secretary Mayorkas here 1) pretends catch and release isn’t a mass migration magnet, and 2) doesn’t tell truth on removals.

1.3+ million illegal border crossers w/ final orders of removal haven’t been removed— & this number is only growing, not shrinking.pic.twitter.com/F0UVWpopRp

— Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) January 9, 2024

Britt (R-Montgomery) argued Wednesday that the president is misleading the American people on the issue by abusing the immigration parole process.

“This is a critical problem,” Britt said on X. “Parole doesn’t stop people who have no real legal basis to be in the U.S. from entering. The Admin abuses parole to reroute some of them to ports of entry, misleadingly making crossing numbers look better. The crisis needs to be ended. Not covered up.”

This is a critical problem—Parole doesn’t stop people who have no real legal basis to be in the U.S. from entering. The Admin abuses parole to reroute some of them to ports of entry, misleadingly making crossing numbers look better.

The crisis needs to be ended. Not covered up. https://t.co/bWbMJDkTsr

— Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) January 10, 2024

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted earlier this week that more than 85% of illegal immigrants caught at the border are eventually released into the interior of the country.

Britt reacted to the numbers and called on the Biden administration to end its catch and release program.

“There are already 6.8 million illegal border crossers in our nation’s interior on the non-detained docket—about 20% have their final orders of removal,” she explained. “This docket is rapidly growing, because the Biden Admin continues catch & release and doesn’t prioritize interior enforcement.”

There are already 6.8 million illegal border crossers in our nation’s interior on the non-detained docket—about 20% have their final orders of removal.

This docket is rapidly growing, because the Biden Admin continues catch & release and doesn’t prioritize interior enforcement. https://t.co/mCN1iMMFmd

— Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) January 10, 2024

Her comments come as a bipartisan group of senators are still in the process of trying to negotiate a deal that would fund aid to Ukraine and increase border security measures.

While the House has already passed a border security bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has refused to take up the issue, causing Britt and other Republicans to condemn his inaction.

“Sen. Schumer has refused to bring appropriations bills to the floor for months, instead prioritizing more partisan nominees,” Britt said. “The result is another government shutdown deadline looming and a total legislative logjam. The American people deserve better.”

.@ChuckGrassley is right.

Sen. Schumer has refused to bring appropriations bills to the floor for months, instead prioritizing more partisan nominees. The result is another government shutdown deadline looming and a total legislative logjam. The American people deserve better. https://t.co/p96dppiR8K

— Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) January 9, 2024

Britt believes this border crisis is a direct result of bad policies by the Biden administration.

“American students’ education is now being disrupted because of this Administration’s border crisis,” she said. “Yet another consequence of mass migration on our nation’s interior— and another reason that catch and release must end, and Remain in Mexico must return.”

American students’ education is now being disrupted because of this Administration’s border crisis.

Yet another consequence of mass migration on our nation’s interior— and another reason that catch and release must end, and Remain in Mexico must return.https://t.co/PmHQXFwRnZ

— Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) January 10, 2024

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville said President Joe Biden’s border policies could result in future terror attacks in America.

The House Homeland Security Committee released transcripts this week of depositions with Border Patrol Chiefs claiming they have seen an “unprecedented surge” in illegal immigrants coming to the U.S. in 2023.

Tuberville (R-Auburn) reacted to the news on Monday’s edition of Newsmax TV’s “The Balance.”

“We’ve had hundreds and hundreds of terrorists come across the border, and you know what? We could care less, not we, but the Biden administration,” Tuberville said. “It is going to get us into so much trouble. We’re going to have a 9/11 attack every few weeks if we don’t watch it.

“It is out of control, but this group could care less.”

The senator said the Biden administration should have changed its border policies after the terrorist attack in Israel by Hamas.

“What happened in Israel and Hamas,” he said, “that catastrophe going on over there, when that happened Joe Biden should have woke up and called Secretary Austin and said, ‘Ok, send every available personnel to the border immediately. Close it down. Nobody else comes in.'”

Tuberville also said there isn’t enough urgency from most members of Congress to fix the problem.

“I’m up here watching what’s going on and I’m thinking, ‘Who cares? Who cares about the American people? Who cares about the taxpayers of this country?’ I can’t find anybody, on both sides of the aisle,” he said. “It’s about spending damn money and I’m sick of it. I’m telling you, I’m sick of it. I’m sick of watching what’s going on up here and if we don’t wake up it’s going to be over.”

. @JoeBiden’s border crisis is the worst in American history – by far.

CBP is overwhelmed, and deadly drugs are pouring into our communities.

We need to secure our border now.

— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) November 24, 2023

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

This week, U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) joined two of her colleagues, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) in visiting the U.S.-Mexico border.

Fentanyl-driven overdose deaths are now the leading cause of death for adults 18-45 years old in our nation.

Securing the border is imperative to ensuring communities across America are safe and strong. pic.twitter.com/9UzawcPo3i

— Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) January 11, 2023

Thursday on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program,” Britt discussed how President Joe Biden’s policies are continuing to exacerbate the crisis at the southern border.

“They showed us real life examples of how President Biden’s failed policies are affecting the safety and security of our nation,” Britt said. “The trip to the border was remarkable in all the wrong ways.”

The senator said she was surprised by how the border policies are putting the Border Patrol in tough situations.

“It was unfortunate,” she said. “Many of them spoke up and said ‘we came into this line of duty because we want to provide a service to our nation. We want to protect our borders and keep our communities and our people safe.’ But unfortunately, what has happened, particularly with Border Patrol agents, is because of our open border policies that the Biden administration has enacted, there are so many migrants coming across our border that they end up spending their time actually processing that paperwork … instead of patrolling our border.”

Britt explained how the crisis at the border is already causing real problems for the rest of the country.

“The effects of that are real,” she said. “You look at what is happening right now in our communities, particularly with fentanyl. We are seeing the effects of it in every community across our state, in our schools. We have to say enough is enough. We need a secure border to protect from that flow of drugs, and also human trafficking.

“Without having a secure border, we have given the upper hand to the drug cartels and tied the hands of our courageous law enforcement officers.”

Britt said there are things the Biden administration could do right now to help secure the border that they just won’t do.

“First finish building the wall,” she said. “So, in places where we can have a physical barrier, continue to do that. In places where technology is the best avenue to sealing an securing the border, utilizing that, because what happens is when you have those barriers … then the migrants are forced to come through other points of entry. It helps them to make sure that they know who is coming and when they’re coming and all of those things.”

She also said she will continue to work hard in Washington to get something done on this issue.

“If you look, it took President Biden 718 days to go to the border, it took me 6,” she said. “Our time right now is huddling to say what legislation, what package can we put together to help create solutions that can help solve this problem. I believe Washington, D.C., is plagued by an all talk, no action mentality, and that’s just not my style. So you can expect us to do more. To go back down there, to continue to figure out what resources they need, what policies work, and how we can make sure that our children and our country are safer and stronger.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

The illegal immigration crisis is “getting worse,” U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) said during a Friday visit to the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Alabama’s junior senator, a staunch border security advocate, met with U.S. Border Patrol agents to discuss how the mass influx of illegal immigrants continues to overwhelm the agency.

While at the Rio Grande, National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd noted that migrants were taking up residency across the nation, including Alabama.

“So all of these people when they cross, they’re going to Alabama,” Judd told Tuberville. “They’re going to Ames, Iowa, they’re going to Maine, they’re going throughout the entire United States … And of course the drugs, which comes right across this river when these cartels pull Border Patrol resources out of the field.”

More than 3.8 million foreign nationals have illegally crossed the border since President Joe Biden took office, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.

Border Patrol agents made 2.38 million encounters with illegal immigrants during fiscal year 2022, which ended in September. This is the highest number of encounters ever recorded and represents a 37% increase from the previous fiscal year, the Associated Press reported.

“What makes the National Border Patrol Council so upset is knowing that policies, if this administration actually wanted to stop this, they could stop it tomorrow,” said Judd. “But they care more about illegal immigrants than they do United States citizens.”

According to a release issued by Tuberville’s office, more than 900,000 illegal immigrants have escaped CBP and penetrated the nation’s interior.

Tuberville described the crisis as being “a huge problem” that is “getting worse.”

“Thank you, American taxpayers, because you’re paying for every dime of this, which costs billions of dollars,” said Tuberville.

We’re across the river from Piedras Negras, Mexico, where cartels bring chaos and crime to our doorstep at the expense of American taxpayers. Democrats have decimated border security and created a national security and humanitarian crisis. pic.twitter.com/A3kGQFt4A5

— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) October 28, 2022

Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Representative Mike Rogers (R-Saks) joined Fox News Channel’s “Outnumbered Overtime” with Harris Faulkner Tuesday to discuss the crisis at the southern border and his recent trip with President Donald Trump to see the progress being made on the new barrier.

In the interview, Rogers shared Trump is getting barriers put up at the border and shifting around Border Patrol agents to get more on the ground “to do their policing functions” rather than administrative roles.

“[Trump] is going forward with getting the fencing built. We went down with him last Friday,” Rogers said. “We were able to see the fence and demonstrate to the American public how different this is from what we’ve used in the past, how successful it is and to highlight the problem. What he can do right now is what he is doing. He’s moving forward and putting the barriers up and trying to shift personnel to work the borders.” (more…)

While ICE & CBP agents are defending themselves against partisan political rhetoric from the left, Attorney General Steve Marshall is working to highlight the important role they play in defending the rule of law and thus, securing our borders.

Last month, Marshall accepted an invitation to speak on a select White House Panel discussion on border security and how border crime and illegal immigration affect the citizens of Alabama.
(more…)

Border Patrol agents patrolling the area of San Luis, Arizona arrested a Mexican national with previous felony convictions of first-degree rape, second-degree kidnapping, and first-degree burglary early Thursday evening, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced Friday.

Yuma Station agents arrested the male subject at approximately 4:34 p.m. on Thursday after he illegally entered the United States two miles east of the San Luis Port of Entry.

(more…)

U.S. Border Patrol agents are now refusing to turn over criminal illegal aliens with felony warrants to police in California due to uncertainty that local authorities will return the illegal aliens to federal custody.

Chief patrol agent in the patrol’s San Diego sector, Rodney Scott, said that California’s state sanctuary law was undermining cooperation between his agency and local law enforcement. (more…)

The circumstances of U.S. Border Patrol agent Rogelio Martinez’s death this week remain murkier than the Rio Grande River.

Agent Martinez succumbed to critical head injuries early Sunday morning. An unnamed partner, who came to Martinez’s aid after he radioed for help from a remote area of the Big Bend sector in Texas, also suffered serious wounds. Whether by deliberate ambush or accident, one of our border enforcers is dead and the other hospitalized.

This much is clear: Dumb sensors + depleted forces = deadly border disorder.

Agent Martinez had ventured out alone to check on a ground sensor to determine who or what had set it off. He confirmed to his colleagues that human activity had activated the alarm before he died.

Here’s the scandal: Our federal government has been squandering billions of dollars on inferior border technology for years. It’s a monumental waste of taxpayer funds and a dangerous redistribution of wealth to crony contractors, whose ineffective pet projects are putting our men and women on the front lines at risk.

Nearly 14,000 ground sensors have been littered along the southern border over the past several decades — some dating back to the Vietnam War era. Untold numbers have simply been buried and lost by federal workers who failed to record where they put them. Twelve years ago, a Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s report found that agents couldn’t determine the cause of 62 percent of the sensor alerts because they were “unable to respond to the dispatch, or it took the agent too long to get to the sensor location.”

Compounding staff shortages are outdated sensors unable to distinguish between humans, vehicles and animals. They can’t tell cows from criminals or wild boars from dirty bombers. Thirty-four percent of alerts were confirmed false alarms in the 2005 review. Only 2 percent resulted in apprehensions of immigrants in this country illegally, the feds admitted.

The Arizona Republic reported that “a possible false alarm from a ground sensor, and faulty radio communications, may have contributed to the death of Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie in a friendly-fire incident” in 2012. “(A)gents didn’t detect anyone but each other when they arrived. Ivie, responding separately, apparently mistook the other agents for smugglers and opened fire. One of the agents shot and killed him.”

A $1 billion integrated fixed tower project, fronted by Boeing, was supposed to remedy the flaws of the ground sensor system. A surveillance program along the southwest border in Arizona, the IFT systems “are fixed surveillance assets that provide long-range persistent surveillance” using radars that send pictures back to a central hub to monitor illegal crossings and criminal activity.

But the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general reported this summer that the towers had never been properly tested for suitability and operational effectiveness. Its successors haven’t fared much better.

On a trip to the Sierra Vista, Arizona, region earlier this summer for my CRTV.com show, “Michelle Malkin Investigates,” I talked to ranchers who pointed out fancy new towers with fatal blind spots, out of reach of deep washes and heavy forests where illegal immigrants and drug smugglers travel.

“We have $50 million of infrastructure on this ranch now,” fourth-generation Arizona rancher John Ladd told me during a tour of his property, “and none of it has worked. Camera towers, radar, fence, roads, street lights.” All the technology in the world is useless, he has long pointed out to politicians and bureaucrats, without boots on the ground. And Border Patrol agents parked in air-conditioned cubicles hours from the border don’t count.

“You got 600 (agents) in Tucson” who “take 6 hours to get to the border. Move them down! You got Nogales … and Naco and Douglas that are within a mile of the border,” Ladd points out. “All the rest of them are more than 50 miles north. Why do we have that? What good is that?”

Longtime illegal immigration activist and systems engineer Glenn Spencer, who I first met in California in the 1990s, has lived and worked on the Arizona border for more than decade. He patented and tested a pilot system of seismic detection and ranging on 1.5 miles of his friend John Ladd’s property called Seidarm and paired it with a drone, dubbed Hermes, which automatically launches when border activity is detected within 500 feet of the smart sensors. It can be manufactured and built at a fraction of the cost of the big defense contractors’ systems. Unlike much of the government’s gold-plated technology, Ladd said: “It worked.”

“If they had SEIDARM/HERMES installed, they could have checked out the ground sensor without putting the agent in jeopardy,” Spencer told me after Agent Martinez’s death hit the news this week.

But politicians in both parties have spurned Ladd’s pleas and Spencer’s proposals. Special interests have raided public coffers to fund border security Kabuki theater and stave off meaningful assessments. Spencer doesn’t mince words:

“They don’t want to measure it; they don’t want to secure the border; they want to make it LOOK like they are.”

Beltway business as usual. Another agent’s life sacrificed. President Trump, the clock is ticking.

Michelle Malkin is host of “Michelle Malkin Investigates” on CRTV.com.

Above: U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions discusses the Gang of Eight’s immigration proposal on CBS’s “Face the Nation”

As the U.S. Senate prepares to vote Monday on a 1,200-page border security amendment to the “Gang of Eight’s” immigration bill, Senator Jeff Sessions continues leading the charge against the bill’s passage.

During an appearance Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” host Bob Schieffer asked Sessions if South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham was correct in saying the GOP’s future prospects are dim if Republicans oppose comprehensive immigration reform.

“Bob, we need to do the…right thing for America and…appeal to all people, particularly Hispanics and African Americans and minorities that are here,” Sessions replied.

Schieffer then asked Sessions why he opposes the Corker-Hoeven amendment, which advocates say bolsters border security, a major concern of Sessions’.

“Well, I’m opposed to the bill because it doesn’t do what it says,” Sessions quipped. “This bill grants amnesty first, and a mere promise of enforcement in the future, even with the Corker-Hoeven amendment… These promises of 20,000 agents won’t take place, or are not required until 2021. No money is being appropriated for that… We passed a law to have 700 miles of double-wide fencing, double-layered fencing… This bill is weaker than that, and… it has a specific provision that says that [Homeland Security] Secretary Napolitano does not have to build any fence if she chooses not to, and she’s publicly said we’ve had enough fencing.”

“So the reason this bill was in trouble — the reason this amendment was thrown in here at the last minute — was because the promises weren’t fulfilled,” Sessions continued. “This amendment doesn’t fulfill its promises, either, frankly. We’re going to have amnesty first, no enforcement in the future.”

Sessions warned that the bill would result in a further increase of illegal immigration, as well as lower wages and higher unemployment.

“Why would any member of Congress want to vote for a bill — at a time of high unemployment, falling wages — to bring in a huge surge of new labor that can only hurt the poorest among us the most?” He asked.

Sessions also emphasized that the bill would dramatically lower the wages of Hispanics who are currently in the country legally, and have a negative impact on all U.S. workers — allegations he says are supported by the Congressional Budget Office, The Federal Reserve in Atlanta and Harvard economists, among others.

“Hispanics are here today by the millions,” he explained. “They’re working in the $20,000 to $40,000 income level. Their wages will be impacted adversely… somebody needs to speak up for them. And I really believe that the numbers in the bill, the lack of enforcement effectiveness in the bill, puts us in a position where it will impact all Americans that are out there working today adversely.”

Members of the Gang of Eight have indicated they have close to 70 senators ready to vote in favor of the bill, but Sessions says his colleagues are less inclined to vote for the legislation once they get more details.

“[I]t started sinking when people learned more about it,” he said. “If people find out this amendment does not accomplish what the sponsors believe it does, I think the bill could be back in trouble again.”

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2. Nodine gets a shout out on MSNBC
3. Alabama delegation votes 6-1 along party lines in unexpected defeat of farm bill
4. Shelby co-sponsors bill to repeal Death Tax
5. PERSONAL BLOG: Does God only help those who help themselves?