(Originally published in NewsMax.)
The left desperately want us to believe that the millions of illegal immigrants coming across the southern U.S. border are simply honest, hard-working people who want a chance at a better life. This is part of the reason why some of the large Democrat-controlled cities declared themselves sanctuary cities whose city agencies, including police, were instructed not to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The media demonized President Donald Trump when he pointed out that South and Central American companies weren’t sending only economic refugees, but also criminals, drug dealers and rapists.
ICE agents in Los Angeles recently arrested 26 convicted criminals who were living illegally in the U.S. The operation took place over two days before Christmas.
According to reports, the arrestees included a rapist, 40-year-old child sex offender, and a child abuser. Some of them had also committed violent crimes in the Los Angeles area and had been convicted in court.
Thomas Giles with ICE said, “Removing these individuals and the threats they represent from our communities is our mission, and we will continue to safely and effectively enforce the immigration laws of our nation.”
This is just the latest operation to remove criminals, drug dealers, and rapists — people who the Democrats insist aren’t coming to this country illegally. Some of these immigrants were people who had been convicted in their home countries and fled to avoid jail. Some are gang members, including members on El Salvador’s Top 100 list. One was a Brazilian military officer involved in a 2015 massacre.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has also been encountering hundreds of people named on the U.S. terrorist watchlist. Last year, it was reported, “Border Patrol agents encountered 98 illegal migrants, a record high, whose names were on the terror watchlist at the southern border in fiscal year 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.”
“This watchlist has information on people reasonably suspected to be involved in terrorism (or related activities),” according to the FBI’s website.
“Anybody that doesn’t think that serious threats to this country are sneaking in right now is naïve,” former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott told the Daily Caller News Foundation at the time.
Additionally, the U.S. Border Patrol saw a similar increase this year in the number of illegal migrants flagged as “special interest.”
“A ‘special interest’ migrant is someone who isn’t a U.S. citizen who frequently travels in areas designated as national security concerns due to terrorist activity or other types of ‘nefarious activity,’ according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),” the Daily Caller reported.
Despite the reality of what is happening, the Biden administration continues to proclaim the border is secure.
“There is no question that we have to do what the president and I asked Congress to do. The first request we pass a bill to create a pathway to citizenship. The border is secure, but we also have a broken immigration system and particular[ly] over the last four years before we came in and it needs to be fixed,” Vice President Kamala Harris said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” last year.
While it is encouraging to see criminals and terrorists stopped from entering illegally, it is worrisome how many may be crossing without the knowledge of authorities. They may stay anonymous until they commit a crime or terrorist activity. Then it will be too late.
Michael Letts is the Founder and CEO of In-Vest USA, a national grassroots nonprofit organization helping to re-fund police by contributing thousands of bulletproof vests for police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs. He also has over 30 years of law enforcement experience. Read More Michael Letts reports — Here.
