The Porcupine Tribune

As Nancy Pelosi regained her speakership after spending the past eight years in the minority, she gaveled in the end of Republican unified government for the foreseeable future. One of her first acts in the role was to call a vote to reopen the government, noticeably and poignantly, lacking any funding for the border wall. What is sure to be remembered as a Republican mishandling of a previously bi-partisan issue, the question has shifted to “Now what?” for many on the Right who have been left, unceremoniously, without closure. Has border security become an afterthought? Will Republicans go home and tell their constituents “we’ll get ‘em next time?”

One hopes not, there is still much to be done and fight left in the administration. What Republicans need to be asking is what actions can President Trump take to unilaterally protect the border? Back in November, the Center for Immigration Studies released a backgrounder by Dan Cadman which provided an overview of the President’s emergency immigration powers. Among the many listed, use of the military, border agent force multipliers, and modifying the asylum policy show the most promise.

In late October 2018, the President deployed more than 5,000 active-duty soldiers to the US-Mexico border to assist Border Patrol agents in preparation for the arrival of the caravan of migrants making their way from Central America. Troops were utilized for their specialized skills in setting up the logistical supply chains and infrastructure needed to handle the asylum seekers, numbering in the thousands.

With the operation set to end on Jan. 31st, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing to request that the Pentagon not only extend the deployment, but send additional troops. One hopes the severity of this crisis will not be lost on the new Democratic majority in the House and urges them to reconsider their stance on the border wall funding. As they have a history of ignoring the expertise of border officials in the past, it’s unlikely they will change course now.

As mentioned previously, President Trump’s options don’t solely rely on the armed forces. Per Cadman in the backgrounder, “the president can assign as many federal law enforcement personnel as he chooses, en masse, to be temporarily assigned to border security duties.” The federal agency most likely to be readily prepared to deal with this issue and most impact the border security goals as a force multiplier is the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). DEA agents are already active along the US-Mexico border battling the ever present threats of drug trafficking by illegal immigrants affiliated with the cartels. They possess the specialized training (language, logistics, terrain) to deal with the migrants, and by securing the border they also work towards their agency’s mission of reducing the flow of drugs and gangs entering the Country.

The President is also empowered by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to cross-designate and deploy local and state law enforcement officers to assist in the enforcement of immigration laws. Section 103(a)(10) of the INA reads:

(10) IN the event the Attorney General determines that an actual or imminent mass influx of aliens arriving off the coast of the United States, or near a land border, presents urgent circumstances requiring an immediate Federal response, the Attorney General may authorize any State or Local law enforcement officer, with the consent of the head of the department, agency, or establishment under whose jurisdiction the individual is serving, to perform an exercise any of the powers, privileges, or duties conferred or imposed by this chapter or regulations issued thereunder upon officers or employees of the Service.

Empowering local and state agencies to assist in border security has numerous positives. Chief among them is that these local officers operating in the region are familiar with illegal immigration and are best equipped to know what solutions would work best in their jurisdiction. Additionally since it is unlikely that the Governor of California, Jerry Brown, would condone such actions, but Doug Ducey (Governor of Arizona) or Greg Abbott (Governor of Texas) might, it would allow for the President to focus federal law enforcement resources on the California border and entrust the state/local officials in Arizona and Texas to be dedicated to the cause of protecting their communities.

The options listed above are all reactionary in nature. To truly impact our broken immigration policies, we will need to close the loopholes in the asylum system. Too often illegal immigrants are able to shirk a quick deportation by claiming asylum. With a success rate of around 10% actually being granted asylum it is clear that the system is broken. On December 20th, the Administration took steps to deal with the issue when Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen accounted that the United States will begin the process of invoking Section 235(b)(2)(C) of the INA, better known as the Migration Protection Protocol (MPP).

Under the MPP, individual who enter the United States from Mexico illegally may be returned to Mexico for the duration of their immigration proceedings. In the announcement Nielson said, “We will confront this crisis head on, uphold the rule of law, and strengthen our humanitarian commitments. Aliens trying to game the system to get into our country illegally will no longer be able to disappear into the United States, where many skip their court dates. Instead, they will wait for an immigration court decision while they are Mexico. ‘Catch and release’ will be replaced by ‘catch and return.’”

The impacts of this move will serve to reduce the number of asylum claims by removing the incentive to attempt to game the system and skip their court appearance and never be seen again. Those who actually need asylum will receive the focus they deserve and experience faster processing times since the system will not be burdened by false claimants. Our border security personnel will be able to focus on their primary mission of keeping our borders secured instead of reducing the asylum backlog.

In an age when the Left is calling for the dissolution of ICE and CBP and refuse to fund a physical barrier along the border, this Administration must find a creative solution to surpass the barriers and ensure that the border is secure. This is not only an immigration issue, but much broader national security issue. Something must be done, if not a physical barrier then we must use what tools and options we have at our disposal.

- William F. Buckley Jr. Jr.