How much of America’s “success” against illegal immigration is based on pure dumb luck?
Consider the following story from the tiny town of Lisbon, Maine. Authorities were recently investigating a hit-and-run accident that led them to the discovery of an “elaborate human smuggling scheme” and the capture of 17 illegal aliens, according to a March 21 press release.
In other words, had that car crash never occurred, it seems unlikely that officers from the Rangeley, Maine, Border Patrol station would have uncovered that an unnamed Massachusetts-based company was allegedly hiring foreign nations while housing them in a Maine rental. That is not their fault though, the lack of immigration enforcement can be attributed to the Biden administration.
“We are seeing a sharp increase in the flow of illegal labor in and out of Maine,” Chief Patrol Agent of the Houlton Sector William Maddocks said of the case.
Maddocks also argued that these individuals were being taken advantage of by greedy business owners.
“Housing 17 people in one house is unsafe and degrading,” he added. “The exploitation of the undocumented population will continue as long as there is no consequence. We will do all we can to remove the incentives that drive such exploitation, including the continued issuance of civil penalties, fines, and seeking federal criminal prosecution through the U.S. Attorney’s office for every criminal law violation we encounter.”
While illegal immigration has been a decades-long problem, this story also highlights a major problem with President Joe Biden’s approach toward the matter.
Biden has reintroduced what is known as “catch-and-release.” That means that when illegal immigrants are first arrested they are “released” into the interior of the U.S. and told to come back for certain court hearings and removal proceedings.
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There is currently a years-long backlog in immigration proceedings, which means that these individuals are free to roam about the country. In this specific instance, four of the illegal aliens arrested “were found to have entered the United States illegally along the southwest border” and were subsequently released by authorities.
They then traveled all the way from the Sun Belt to the state of Maine. What they did in the interim, nobody knows. So long as they do not get caught committing a crime in the continental U.S. or caught up in one like that hit-and-run in Maine, U.S. authorities will likely never look for them.
We know that because Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has made it clear that being a foreign national unlawfully in the U.S. is not enough of an offense for removal. Deportation efforts and immigration enforcement efforts will focus on those illegals who have only had run-ins with the fuzz for new transgressions committed in the U.S.
The bad news for Americans is that deportations for even “criminal illegal aliens” are down 85% from the Obama era.
So if those illegal aliens were smart — and it seems that they are for taking advantage of a porous southern border — then they will flee New England entirely. Perhaps they will go to New York City where they can hope to get a cushy life of hotels, meals, and more — all provided for on the taxpayers’ dime.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.