Jim Geraghty of National Review and guest host Greg Knapp cover the border crisis and the Democrats’ radical ‘open borders’ proposal. They discuss the RNC distributing VIP tickets to Trump’s Fourth of July address from the Lincoln Memorial. And they address the speculation concerning Vice President Pence’s abrupt return to Washington D.C. following the cancellation of a campaign event.
Listen to “GOP Border Bill Passes, Kamala Shines, The Mystery of Marianne” on Spreaker.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America celebrate the passage of the Republican border aid bill and pop the popcorn as Nancy Pelosi and AOC butt heads again. They go over last night’s second Democratic presidential debate and the standout performance from Sen. Kamala Harris. And they chuckle at the presence of Marianne Williamson in the Democratic primary.
Listen to “Congressional Border Battles” on Spreaker.
The House and Senate will need to reconcile vastly different bills designed to provide billions of dollars in emergency aid for the humanitarian crisis building on our southern border.
On Wednesday, The Senate rejected legislation passed by House Democrats and approved its own $4.6 billion measure. House Democrats say the Senate bill is a non-starter.
While the two chambers head to the reconciliation process, Florida Rep. Ted Yoho says lawmakers cannot embrace what he considers an abandonment of law enforcement personnel along the border.
“It limits the authority of the Department of Homeland Security to surge employees at the border. [The House bill] cuts overtime hours cuts overtime for the exhausted officers that we have working overtime. They want to cut this. These are the very people doing what we hired them to do,” said Yoho.
Yoho says Democrats also want to cut funding for the National Guard at the border and voted down funding for enhanced border technology that could not only detect illegal entry into the country but also protect migrants from sexual assault and trafficking by drug cartels.
He says the partisan bickering on this issue needs to stop.
“The border crisis is not a political crisis. Well, it is a political crisis because Congress has failed to act. But we should not be Republicans or Democrats. We should come together to have a border security bill that solves this problem,” said Yoho.
“If we were doing what we were supposed to with border security and enforced the laws on the books, we wouldn’t have a crisis down there,” said Yoho.
Listen to the full podcast to hear Yoho discuss whether the House and Senate can find common ground in the border funding bill. He also details why he believes the Freedom Caucus deserves credit for forcing a fight on this issue and how his forthcoming bill to reform policy for immigrant workers in the agriculture, hospitality, and construction sectors can help address the larger need for immigration reform.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and guest host Gregory Knapp discuss the Mexican government deploying 10,000 troops to the border to crack down on illegal immigration to the U.S. They cover the real concentration camps that the Chinese have constructed. And they discuss Bernie Sanders’ plan to wipe out all student loans.
Listen to “Border Apprehensions Reach Record Highs” on Spreaker.
Illegal immigration numbers are soaring: the number of border enforcement actions more than doubled in the past year. In May alone, more than 132,000 migrants were apprehended at the Southwest border. Julie Mitchell reports.
Listen to “Bravo Bel Edwards, Illinois Abortion Agenda, Trump’s New Tariffs” on Spreaker.
Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards for making good on his promise to sign pro-life “heartbeat” legislation that was also sponsored by a Democrat. They also shudder as a pro-life lawmaker in Illinois explains just how expansive pro-choice lawmakers there want to make their abortion laws. And they groan as President Trump threatens to address the very real and very serious problem at the border by imposing tariffs on Mexican imports.
Listen to “Trump’s Sanctuary City Plan: Can It Be Done?” on Spreaker.
President Trump has suggested sending many of the people illegally pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border to so-called sanctuary cities, since those locales publicly state they will not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
But as Trump and his advisers determine whether this is feasible, should the administration pursue this idea? Is there any legal precedent for it? And can the federal, state, or local governments afford to this or maintain the status quo?
In this podcast, we get answers from Rob Henneke, director of the Center for the American Future at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Listen to “What Can Trump Do about the Border?” on Spreaker.
President Trump is backing away from threats to close the U.S.-Mexico border but a former federal immigration official says Trump certainly has that authority but other steps might make more sense.
Trump made the threat in response to the tide of illegal immigration and illicit drugs pouring into the U.S. But after pleas from both Texas senators and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to keep the border open or risk massive economic repercussions, Trump says he will revisit the issue in a year and see if Mexico is living up to its responsibilities to interdict migrants and drugs.
But a former immigration official says Trump does have the authority to close the border.
“The president does seem to have extensive powers and other presidents have actually used those powers on various occasions to close the border,” said Temple University School of Law Prof. Jan C. Ting, who served as assistant commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the George H.W. Bush administration.
He says other presidents have closed the border, most recently George W. Bush for a brief time in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
But while Trump could close the border, Ting says whether that’s a good idea is another question.
“I don’t think anyone has seriously questioned the ability of the president to exercise that power. The only objection questions have been raised about the advisability of doing so and the economic consequences of doing so.
“Some of those arguments have been found persuasive by the administration, at least to the point of holding off immediate action,” said Ting.
Ting says it’s not clear if closing the border would achieve Trump’s goals, although he believes it would put a lot more pressure on the Mexican government to cooperate with American efforts rather than playing a two-faced game of cooperating in certain situations while also facilitating the passage of Central American caravans to the U.S. border.
So what would be more effective? Ting says Congress could make a huge difference by mandating all employers use -E-Verify to check the validity of the Social Security numbers used by prospective employees. The practice is mandatory in Arizona but not nationwide.
He also says Trump’s prized goal of a border wall would be effective.
“It’s a force multiplier. You can only afford to put so many border patrol agents on the border. Having fencing up or a wall makes those agents more useful,” said Ting.
Listen to the full podcast to hear more of Ting’s analysis on closing the border and alternative methods of achieving greater control over the influx of people and drugs into the U.S. Ting also explains why he believes President Obama greatly exacerbated the crisis at the border, and he details the remarkably swift evolution of Democrats from border hawks in the 1990’s to most presidential candidates in the party today recoiling at the idea of stopping virtually anyone from coming into the U.S.
Listen to “Trump’s Emergency, AOC’s Economics, Weld 2020” on Spreaker.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America criticize President Trump’s unusual press conference decision to declare a national emergency to work around Congress and free up $8 billion for a border wall – although they appreciate his desire to confront illegal immigration and smuggling. They also react to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cheering Amazon’s decision to scrap plans for a new headquarters in New York, agreeing that crony capitalism is bad but marveling at how little she seems to understand about basic economics. And they yawn and laugh as former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld launches a GOP primary challenge to President Trump.
Listen to “New Mexico Governor Defies Trump” on Spreaker.
The governor of New Mexico is ordering National Guard troops away from her state’s border with Mexico. Radio America’s Christian Whittle reports.