LOS MARGINADOS: America’s immigration loopholes, by the numbers

miércoles, 20 de junio de 2018

America’s immigration loopholes, by the numbers

The White House • June 19, 2018

The Day Ahead

•	President Donald J. Trump will address the National Federation of Independent Businesses' 75th Anniversary Celebration. Watch live at 12:25 p.m. ET.
•	Vice President Mike Pence will speak to workers at Nucor Steel Auburn, Inc. in Upstate New York. Watch live at 2:20 p.m. ET.
•	President Trump will welcome Their Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain to the White House for an expanded bilateral meeting.

America's immigration loopholes, by the numbers

Legal loopholes have hamstrung immigration enforcement and contributed to the crisis at our border. The number of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) at U.S. ports of entry increased by a staggering 636 percent from April 2017 to April 2018. In the last three months, illegal immigration on the southern border exceeded 50,000 people per month—"multiples over each month last year," Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said yesterday.

At the same time, loopholes in our asylum laws have led to a significant spike in asylum claims. Because current law sets an easily met standard for "credible fear," refugees fleeing actual persecution and violence are bogged down in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services backlog, which has swelled more than 1900 percent since the end of the 2012 fiscal year.

Any real, lasting solution will require Congress to close these loopholes. Smugglers and human traffickers understand and have exploited these glaring weak points in our immigration system. "Until these loopholes are closed by Congress, it is not possible, as a matter of law, to detain and remove whole family units who arrive illegally in the United States," Secretary Nielsen said.

The crisis at America's border, by the numbers

Watch: Secretary Nielsen's press briefing on illegal immigration

'Reclaiming America's proud destiny' in the heavens

"When it comes to space, too often, for too many years, our dreams of exploration and discovery were really squandered by politics and bureaucracy," President Trump said yesterday as he announced his Administration's third Space Policy Directive. "We don't want China and Russia and other countries leading us. We've always led—we've gone way far afield for decades now."

As space becomes increasingly contested, the demand for the U.S. Department of Defense to focus on protecting American space assets and interests also increases. At the same time, the rapid commercialization of space requires a traffic management framework that protects U.S. interests and considers the private sector's needs.

The new directive builds on President Trump's efforts to reinstate the American leadership role in space. Last June, the President revived the National Space Council for the first time in 24 years. "This is a giant step toward inspiring future generations and toward reclaiming America's proud destiny in space," President Trump says.

The Trump Administration is achieving a safe and secure future in space.

More: What an "America first" National Space Strategy is all about