The Battle Over Border Security: Assessing Trump and Biden's Claims

[Social Media]

 

As immigration and border security take center stage in American political discourse, the rhetoric from former President Donald J. Trump and current President Joe Biden has been scrutinized. With high migrant apprehensions at the southern border, both leaders' statements on their immigration policies deserve a closer look. Public polling indicates substantial support for Trump's hard-line approach, while Biden, who initially campaigned on overturning Trump's immigration policies, has recently adopted a more restrictive stance. Despite their fervent declarations, both leaders have made misleading or exaggerated claims about their records and the current state of border security.

 

In a May radio interview, Trump claimed, "We had the strongest border ever. I built 571 miles of wall. We’re going to add another 200 in three weeks. It was all made, all fabricated. They sold it for five cents on the dollar. The wall was all fabricated. I built much more wall than I said I was going to build." This assertion is false. During his 2016 campaign, Trump promised to build a wall spanning at least 1,000 miles along the southern border and have Mexico pay for it. However, the Trump administration only constructed 458 miles of border barriers, most of which reinforced or replaced existing structures, with new primary barriers erected along just 47 miles.

 

According to a Government Accountability Office report, contracts were awarded for a total of 631 miles of barriers, but these projects were in various stages of completion when Biden took office and halted construction. The claim that 200 miles of wall were ready for installation is inaccurate, and while it's true that some procured materials were sold at a discount, it was far less than Trump suggested.

 

Trump's assessment of border security under his administration as the "strongest" in history is subjective and not supported by data. Apprehensions in the 2020 fiscal year were higher than in 2011, 2012, and 2015. In the 2019 fiscal year, apprehensions topped 800,000, the highest in a decade, indicating that the border faced significant challenges during his tenure.

 

In a June interview on Fox News, Trump stated, "And the numbers are probably 16 million, 17 million or 18 million people. You’re going to have over 20 million people, I think, I believe, and a lot of other people do, too, by the time he hopefully gets out." This estimate is exaggerated. Since February 2021, Customs and Border Protection has recorded 9.6 million migrant encounters nationwide. This figure includes repeat encounters, as one migrant can be "encountered" multiple times. Government and independent analyses estimate that repeat offenders account for a quarter to more than half of all encounters. Border officials estimate about 1.7 million migrants have evaded capture and entered the United States since the 2021 fiscal year, but Trump's figures suggest vastly higher numbers than these estimates.

 

Furthermore, Trump has baselessly claimed that recent migrants are criminals being "dumped" by other countries and are receiving a host of U.S. government benefits. At a May rally in Michigan, he said, "Prison population all over the world is down, and nobody knows why except for us. We know why. Because the prisons are being emptied into the United States, and the mental institutions are being emptied into the United States of America, like we’re a dumping ground." He also remarked, "He’s letting millions of people from jails, from prisons, from insane asylums, from mental institutions, drug dealers, pour in. Venezuela, if you look at their crime statistics, they’ve gone down 72 percent in crime because they’re releasing all their criminals into our country because of this horrible president that we have."

 

These statements lack evidence. The global prison population has actually been increasing. Penal Reform International reported that the global prison population reached a record 11.5 million in 2023, an increase of 500,000 since 2020. Claims about Venezuela's crime rate dropping due to prisoners being sent to the U.S. are also unsupported. While an article in Breitbart mentioned an unspecified number of Venezuelan inmates headed for the U.S., no other news organization or government source has verified this report. The Venezuelan Prison Observatory stated that the prisons in the country were at 170 percent capacity, contradicting Trump's claims. 

 

Trump's assertion that unauthorized immigrants are burdening U.S. social programs is also misleading. At a May rally in New Jersey, he declared, "If the Biden invasion is not stopped, it will also demolish Medicare and Social Security. It cannot survive, but it cannot survive 20 million people coming into the country." In reality, unauthorized immigrants contribute positively to both Social Security and Medicare. While they are generally barred from receiving benefits, they pay taxes into these systems. The Social Security Administration estimated that 3.1 million unauthorized immigrants were working and paying Social Security taxes, contributing about $12 billion to the trust in 2010 and about $100 billion over a decade. Similarly, a study estimated that unauthorized immigrants contributed about $35.1 billion to Medicare from 2000 to 2011. The Center for Immigration Studies noted that unauthorized immigration benefits these trust funds but warned that legalizing these immigrants could reverse these gains.

 

In contrast to Trump's sweeping and often inaccurate claims, Biden's statements have also been prone to exaggeration. For instance, Biden said in a speech at the border in February, "On my first day as president, I introduced a bill I sent to Congress: a comprehensive plan to fix the broken immigration system and to secure the border. But no action was taken." He repeated a similar claim in March, stating, "The first bill I ever introduced as a president of the United States was essentially what got passed this time out, led by the conservative Republican who they’re vilifying now for having worked out this deal." These statements are exaggerated.

 

While Biden did release a framework for the "U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021" on his first day in office, the legislation was formally introduced about a month later. This bill focused on creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and expanding legal immigration, including some border security measures, but it did not include provisions for hiring more border patrol agents or significantly altering the asylum process. In contrast, the bipartisan border deal that Congress rejected this spring, negotiated by Senator James Lankford, focused more heavily on border security, including funding for additional Customs and Border Protection agents and stricter asylum measures.

 

Biden has at times acknowledged the need for a shift in his approach to illegal crossings. In announcing his new asylum policy in June, Biden stated, "While I’m still fighting for comprehensive immigration reform, we must first secure the border." This new policy prevents migrants from seeking asylum at the border if illegal crossings exceed a certain threshold, with exceptions for minors, trafficking victims, medical emergencies, and visa holders. The Center for Immigration Studies criticized the policy's loopholes but noted it would likely reduce illegal entries in the short term.

 

The debate over immigration and border security remains a contentious and complex issue. Both Trump and Biden have made statements that require careful scrutiny and fact-checking to understand the true state of affairs. As voters consider their positions, it is essential to rely on accurate information and recognize the exaggerations and inaccuracies in the claims of both leaders.

 

Credit: NYT 2024-06-18

 

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[Tug]

Uh ho the trumpers ain’t gonna like this article trump exaggerating and lying……the bipartisan border bill the most comprehensive in decades should have ben signed trump killed it because he needs the problem to lie about 

[nauseus]

40 minutes ago, Tug said:

Uh ho the trumpers ain’t gonna like this article trump exaggerating and lying……the bipartisan border bill the most comprehensive in decades should have ben signed trump killed it because he needs the problem to lie about 

 

 

Jumping in early again to try and defend your sleepy hero?

 

The liars are more likely to be Mayorkas and the NYT.

 

https://thehill.com/opinion/4423296-matthews-illegal-immigrants-double-under-biden-and-thats-just-the-start/

[Tug]

57 minutes ago, nauseus said:

 

 

Jumping in early again to try and defend your sleepy hero?

 

The liars are more likely to be Mayorkas and the NYT.

 

https://thehill.com/opinion/4423296-matthews-illegal-immigrants-double-under-biden-and-thats-just-the-start/

Naa the threads post about the time I finish my day and pick up the computer it is kinda fun to be first tho

[thaipo7]

Can anyone really be this lame in their head?  12 million illegals from 100 countries, with thousands from China, most are military aged people.   150 known terrorist stopped at the border so far this year.  No one knows how many are in the country.  Biden's first responsibility and he took the Oath to Protect and Defend this country.  This is protecting the country?  What would Trump exaggerate and lie about on this subject?  The whole world sees it.  Maybe Trump will say 15 million?  WTF is the difference between 12 and 15 million on this subject?

[wwest5829]

8 hours ago, Tug said:

Uh ho the trumpers ain’t gonna like this article trump exaggerating and lying……the bipartisan border bill the most comprehensive in decades should have ben signed trump killed it because he needs the problem to lie about 

Nana, Tug they will just continue to ignore documentation of fact. Driven by emotion, they do not deal with reason …

[candide]

7 hours ago, thaipo7 said:

Can anyone really be this lame in their head?  12 million illegals from 100 countries, with thousands from China, most are military aged people.   150 known terrorist stopped at the border so far this year.  No one knows how many are in the country.  Biden's first responsibility and he took the Oath to Protect and Defend this country.  This is protecting the country?  What would Trump exaggerate and lie about on this subject?  The whole world sees it.  Maybe Trump will say 15 million?  WTF is the difference between 12 and 15 million on this subject?

According to the OP, it's not 12 million either... 😃

[morrobay]

8 hours ago, thaipo7 said:

Can anyone really be this lame in their head?  12 million illegals from 100 countries, with thousands from China, most are military aged people.   150 known terrorist stopped at the border so far this year.  No one knows how many are in the country.  Biden's first responsibility and he took the Oath to Protect and Defend this country.  This is protecting the country?  What would Trump exaggerate and lie about on this subject?  The whole world sees it.  Maybe Trump will say 15 million?  WTF is the difference between 12 and 15 million on this subject?

Unfortunately there are about 80 million not in their right mind who will vote for Biden. Something very wrong with these people in denial.https://nypost.com/2024/06/15/us-news/rachel-morin-murder-illegal-immigrant-from-el-salvador-charged-in-rape-killing-of-maryland-mom-of-5/

[Tug]

5 hours ago, morrobay said:

Unfortunately there are about 80 million not in their right mind who will vote for Biden. Something very wrong with these people in denial.https://nypost.com/2024/06/15/us-news/rachel-morin-murder-illegal-immigrant-from-el-salvador-charged-in-rape-killing-of-maryland-mom-of-5/

Sooo a BIPARTISAN bill the toughest in DECADES gets killed by the felon because HE needs the problem to LIE about hummm???and you wonder why people vote for Biden sorry ain’t buying it 

[morrobay]

55 minutes ago, Tug said:

Sooo a BIPARTISAN bill the toughest in DECADES gets killed by the felon because HE needs the problem to LIE about hummm???and you wonder why people vote for Biden sorry ain’t buying it 

No Mas "bills" We need Walls

[riclag]

Biden at the Three-Year Mark: The Most Active Immigration Presidency Yet Is Mired in Border Crisis Narrative
 

The Biden administration’s 535 executive actions through January 17, as calculated the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), were issued in one of the most turbulent migration periods within the Western Hemisphere and indeed globally in recent history. 
 

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/biden-three-immigration-record

 

biden owns this proudly,he called for a surge to the border .

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2021/03/24/column-biden-called-for-the-border-surge-and-now-he-owns-it/

 

another murder rape by a illegal who crossed the the border illegally as he escaped a murder in  El Salvador 

 

Rachel Morin murder: Illegal immigrant from El Salvador charged in rape, killing of Maryland mom-of-5

 

https://nypost.com/2024/06/15/us-news/rachel-morin-murder-illegal-immigrant-from-el-salvador-charged-in-rape-killing-of-maryland-mom-of-5/