Americans Want Immigration Fixed
As the US Government makes legal immigration - doing the right thing - as challenging as possible, the Biden Administration gives illegal immigrants 5-star service.
From the Washington Times, the day before the election:
Taxpayers fund hotels, full service for illegals
Families sheltered better than vets
BY STEPHEN DINAN THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Homeland Security Department not only put illegal immigrant families in hotels at taxpayer expense but the contract it signed also insisted that they be given five-star treatment with laundry service, mattress choices and guards — not to keep them in, but to keep others out.
Some of those contracting details were revealed by America First Legal, a conservative group run by former top Trump aides, which obtained documents through an open-records request and called some of the accommodations for illegal immigrants “astounding.”
Immigrants were given the option of meat at every meal, 24-hour access to drinks and snacks, babysitters to watch their children, television with programming in English and Spanish, and choices of mattresses for their beds.
The hotels were part of the Biden administration’s response to the unprecedented surge of illegal immigrants that overwhelmed Homeland Security’s resources in early 2021.
The department used the hotels to house migrant families it was trying to process.
Family Endeavors Inc. won no-bid contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Health and Human Services despite having no experience with a contract of that size.
The contracts were awarded after the company hired Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, who had served as a senior ICE official overseeing treatment and then worked as a member of the Biden administration’s transition team after the 2020 election.
“We thought that it was important to make this information public so that the average citizen can see what the government is up to,” said Reed D. Rubinstein, senior counselor and director of investigations at America First Legal. “That’s where this contract is really helpful because it gives you a window — a small window, but a window nonetheless — into how the Biden administration is conducting itself.”
Hotels were used in El Paso, Pecos and Cotulla, Texas, and Chandler and Phoenix in Arizona.
Among the things Family Endeavors promised ICE in the contract was that it would never refer to the illegal immigrants it was detaining as “detainees” or “aliens” — even though they were, legally, both of those. The contracting document uses those legal terms repeatedly to refer to the immigrants.
ICE did not respond to a request for comment for this article.
America First Legal said the illegal immigrants seemed to get more consideration than Americans, including veterans. The organization pointed out that Texas and Arizona, where the hotels were commandeered, have nearly 40,000 homeless residents — including 3,000 veterans.
The group obtained more than 150 pages of documents from an open-records request, though it took more than a year for ICE to produce them.
The hotels reported in the documents were two Best Westerns, one Comfort Suites, one Wood Springs Suites, one Holiday Inn Express, one MicroHotel and one Hampton Inn.
Key details were redacted, including the prices paid for specific services. Even the room rates for the hotels are blocked out in the documents. Officials call it sensitive proprietary information.
What did emerge from the contract were efforts to ensure that illegal immigrants were made comfortable, had “unfettered” access to lawyers and were not disturbed by the general public.
The document specifically told Family Endeavors that it had no obligation to prevent the illegal immigrants from leaving the hotels — though it could try to impose unspecified “consequences” on those who did leave.
“Service provider shall provide security to ensure resident safety; but said security primary function [sic] is to ensure no unauthorized individuals enter the residential
facility,” the contract said.
The contract said each migrant must be provided with at least a 4-inch-thick mattress. If that wasn’t to their liking, they could ask to double up with at least two 3-inch pads.
Meat had to be a part of all three daily meals. Kosher, halal and vegetarian meals also were available. All were delivered as room service. The documents said migrants were to be instructed on the proper use of trash cans and “proper use of toilet tissue.”
ICE encountered problems over the past decade as the demographics of the illegal immigrant population shifted and newcomers were unfamiliar with U.S. plumbing’s ability to handle toilet paper. ICE detention facilities reported that soiled paper was strewn about cells after migrants found no trash cans or other means to dispose of the refuse.
Migrants were also to be instructed in the proper use of toothbrushes.
Mandatory roll call was banned. Instead, service employees were told to check in with the illegal immigrants a few times a day “in a manner approved by ICE.”
The hotels also provided a “suggestion box” to receive complaints.
Read the rest here.
From TIPP Insights:
Americans Seek Big Changes In Immigration Policy After Election: I&I/TIPP Poll
Americans are tired of the way things are and want big changes.
Among the many different issues that have roiled the electorate in this 2020 midterm-election cycle, perhaps none has had as large an impact as illegal immigration. American voters are fed up with the status quo and want major changes made, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows.
Given the more than 500% increase in illegal crossings in the last five years, we asked poll respondents what should be done about the "costly disruption of border cities, human trafficking, higher crime and suspected terrorists crossing the border."
One answer stood out as unworkable to the 1,359 voters who answered the online I&/TIPP Poll, taken from Nov. 2-4: "Keep the current policy in place," which was supported by only 11% of those responding. The poll has a margin of error of +/-2.8 percentage points.
So which policy responses were most popular among voters?
Among the five possible answers, 45% responded that "Close the border to all illegal entrants and immediately deport those who are caught," making that the No. 1 response.
That response was followed by "Implement a temporary worker visa program to allow in those that have skills that fit into our economy," not far behind at 36% of the responses.
The third most cited response was "Build a wall, close the border," at 29%. "None of the above" garnered 11% support.
Not surprisingly, while most respondents wanted something new done to stanch the flow of illegal entrants into the U.S., which reached 2.7 million in the 2002 fiscal year, political affiliation had a big impact on how the answers broke down.
For instance, the policy response of "Close the border to all illegal entrants and immediately deport those who are caught," received support from just 31% of Democrats, compared to 67% of Republicans. As is often the case, independents were somewhere in the middle, at 41%.
As for implementing a temporary visa program to let in skilled workers, that was most favored by Democrats, at 44%, while just 23% of Republicans chose that as the best path forward. Independents were closer to the Democrats, at 40%.
"Build a wall, close the border"? Just 15% of Democrats liked that response, versus 52% of Republicans and 24% of independents.
As for the "status quo," 18% of Democrats said that would be best, while just 4% of Republicans and 9% of independents agreed.
Recent polls suggest that immigration has become a serious issue for many voters, in particular those who are considered center or right-of-center. Our own October I&I/TIPP poll found that 43% of Americans felt Republicans would do a better job on border issues than Democrats, at 34%.
In a number of other recent polls, immigration ranked in the top four or five of voters' concerns, putting it on a par with inflation, crime and the economy in importance.
Within those polls, voters likewise made it clear: They feel that the Republican Party, not the Democratic Party, is paying more attention to their problems and is most likely to address them. And one of those key issues that will likely drive voters to the polls is immigration.
Read the rest here.