(RepublicanPress.org) – Border security and immigration have long been wedge issues in the country. Candidates are focusing heavily on the issue as the US enters the last phase of the campaign before the November general elections. The Democratic and Republican Party presumptive nominees have differing plans to address the crisis.
Candidates Outline Different Plans
Donald Trump says he wants to warehouse illegal immigrants and migrants in detention camps until he can arrange the unprecedented mass deportation of millions of individuals.
Inversely, Joe Biden recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program during a White House ceremony. He also announced his decision to take executive action to implement “new measures to clarify and speed up” the process for obtaining work visas and “obtaining legal status for immigrants married to… American citizens.”
Against this backdrop, media outlets recently reported that the Department of Human Services is scurrying about trying to determine the whereabouts of dozens of migrants linked to ISIS released into the US by Customs and Border Protection agents.
Migrants Trafficked by ISIS
On June 25, NBC News published a report detailing DHS’ ongoing effort to track down those missing individuals. The media outlet spoke with three unnamed US officials about the situation.
The sources told the media outlet that DHS recently identified more than 400 immigrants from Central Asia that entered the US over the past three years. The sources said the department categorized them as “subjects of concern” because they crossed the border with the help of an international human smuggling network operated by individuals affiliated with ISIS.
The officials confirmed that DHS agents had arrested more than 150 of those immigrants. However, they haven’t managed to track down more than 50 others. The officials said the government knew the whereabouts of those other concerning subjects scattered across 17 states and indicated their arrests were imminent. Government officials believe several others may have left the US voluntarily or been deported already.
Two of the anonymous sources claimed that federal law enforcement officials weren’t “panicking” about the outstanding immigrants. But, they have prioritized their arrest out of an abundance of caution, considering their links to a violent international terrorist organization like ISIS.
NBC News reported that it remained unclear whether ISIS itself was running the smuggling operation to raise money to fund the group’s activities. The government sources indicated that some of the human traffickers could be helping the Asian immigrants to supplement their incomes or provide for their families.
Several Republican lawmakers responded to the report shortly after NBC News broke the story. For instance, House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green (R-TN) noted that “There’s literally no one President Biden won’t turn away, including illegal aliens… smuggled in by networks connected to ISIS.”
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