On April 17, in an unprecedented move, the U.S. Senate shirked its constitutional duty and dismissed charges of impeachment levied against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Earlier, on Feb. 13, the House of Representatives had voted narrowly to impeach Mayorkas on two counts of high crimes and misdemeanors.
The first article of impeachment accused the secretary of failure to enforce existing immigration laws on the books. The second accused him of breaching public trust by misrepresenting conditions at the U.S. southern border and impeding House investigations into his conduct there.
Never in our history has the Senate denied hearing evidence of a duly voted impeachment made by the House. Many critics believe the democratically held Senate wanted to prevent the public from seeing devastating evidence brought before this administration, particularly since the press mostly avoids honest, factual coverage of the border crisis.
Before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York stood before the Senate and confidently stated: “A cabinet member cannot be impeached and removed merely for carrying out the policies of the administration he serves.”
With that statement, had Schumer announced to the world that what is happening at our southern border is this administration’s policy? And if so, are we to assume that legally adopted immigration laws are now subordinate to partisan politics?
It is estimated that between 10 million and 13 million foreigners have illegally entered the U.S. during this president’s term. Unimaginably, included in these numbers are nearly 100,000 children who have crossed the border — only to then vanish completely.
Tara Rodas is the whistleblower who uncovered the shocking plight of these minors who cross the southern border and end up in “safe houses.” With the oversight and authorized coordination of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, minors are being permitted to enter our country unaccompanied by relatives and are then transported across state lines and placed in homes where they have neither family nor friends.
Firsthand interviews reveal that these children are then trafficked for sex or labor.
I met with an undercover reporter who visited many of these so-called safe homes. With tears streaming down her face, she described how boys and girls live in deplorable conditions under shifty men who run the house. She saw no signs of any women living in any of these homes.
Young boys spoke of being forced to work to pay off the extremely high debt for their crossing into this country. Young girls spoke of being sexually abused by men whom they refused to identify.
Even to an untrained eye, this bears all the markings of a fully functioning, government-sponsored trafficking ring. The searing question is: Why is this being allowed??
President Biden signed 17 executive orders during his first week in office, three of which were aimed directly at making drastic changes to our immigration policy. Upon signing these, he said: “These orders will lead to a more fair, orderly, humane immigration system, including one that would begin the difficult process of reuniting migrant children separated from their parents after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.”
If only we had a vigilant and honorable press that would ask the hard followup questions to such political rhetoric, particularly when it involves vulnerable children.
One of the orders immediately halted all work on any sections of border walls and empowered the president and vice president to personally reallocate funding. A second order revoked President Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocol program, also known as the Remain in Mexico policy. It’s important to note that the revocation of this policy instantly unleashed a deluge of illegal border crossings before any security or system could be implemented to stem that surge. And to this day, there has not been any offsetting policy to replace the effectiveness of the Migrant Protection Protocol.
The third executive order revoked Trump’s Public Charge rule. Illegal immigrants were immediately eligible for federal government subsidies, including a housing allowance with an additional monthly stipend.
Several premier asset managers and private equity firms are currently buying scads of residential homes in anticipation of ironclad profits. For example, New York state has just declared that homeowners will be paid $125 per day for each migrant tenant. Extrapolated for a four-bedroom home, this guarantees a return of $15,000 per month, or $180,000 annually.
The question must be asked: How is this “fair, orderly, and humane” for migrants or taxpayers?
Countless more injustices are being foisted upon We the People through this mass influx of illegal migration. These include a bloated and inaccurate census, more fallacious voter rolls than ever, and a rise in crime within major cities that is statistically undeniable — not to mention the unbridled flow of fentanyl across our border. This dangerous drug remains the leading cause of death among people between the ages of 18 and 45.
(When you read that Snopes has debunked this claim and lists “accidents” as the leading cause of death in this age range, you should note that “accidental overdose” is included in the CDC’s accidents category.)
In summation of the Senate’s failure to allow Mayorkas’ impeachment to proceed in accordance with the Constitution, a Forbes columnist unironically represents Sen. Schumer’s spurious stance well: “After four years of restrictions placed on immigrants by the Trump administration, it is refreshing to see such positive changes being made.”
Is This Really Lady Liberty’s Invitation?
The Statue of Liberty is formally named “Liberty Enlightening the World.” The statue was not originally intended to be any symbol of immigration or related hope, but rather a symbol of friendship between the United States and France. It was created as a beacon of the light of freedom that America had fought hard to secure.
Two inherent elements of the statue are what she holds in each hand. In her left is a tablet with the inscription, “July 4, 1776” — the date on which the Declaration of Independence was signed. And famously, in her raised right hand is the enlightening torch.
But where is the famous “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” you might ask? Well, it was no sentiment of the statue’s creators, but rather a phrase from a sonnet affixed to her mammoth plinth.
In 1883, to raise funds to build the pedestal upon which Lady Liberty now stands, Emma Lazarus wrote a poem titled “The New Colossus” and donated it to the cause. Once fundraising was completed, the poem was set in bronze and added onto the 89-foot base of the statue.
Of course, none of this is to deny America’s rich history of immigration. But the fact is, if you travel back far enough in history, every land has been established through migration. The more important question is: As a sovereign nation, do we have a secure, fair, and proven system to grant foreigners the distinct privilege to come and live in this great land? Or, are we being held at political gunpoint and forced to watch a colossal stampede that ends up looking less like a melting pot and more like an invasion?
In 2017, Douglas Murray published The Strange Death of Europe. Through exhaustive research and with unmatched eloquence, Murray boldly repudiates the purported nobility of unbridled mass immigration. Predictably, his dire warnings of the imminent demise of European culture, values, and safety have mostly come to pass.
Commencing in 2015, Europe experienced the largest influx of migrants in its history. Some would say the United States embarked on a similar path commencing in 2021. In other words, Europe’s migration fallout today is a foreshadowing of our own tomorrow.
Murray makes many poignant observations in his book that can be easily applied to America today:
“Europe has lost faith in its beliefs, traditions, and legitimacy. Europe is now weighed down with guilt from its past. And there is also the problem of an existential tiredness and a feeling that perhaps for Europe, the story has run out and a new story must be allowed to begin.”
The rapid rise of anti-Westernism is strategically at work to revile our Founders, repackage our biblical formularies, and revise our history. This leads many to grow tired of the fight and bend to the idea that America probably deserves to fail. But the intercessors who take their place on the watchman’s wall know that only two nations in the history of the world were founded on the love of God.
One is Israel, because God loved Israel. The other is America, because America loved God.
May God’s people live righteously, never be silent, and boldly release the leaven of the kingdom everywhere we go. May we see to it that the city where the Lord has placed us enjoys peace and prosperity because the Lord has promised that as it prospers, we too will prosper. And may we truly welcome the foreigner — in the purest, most lawful manner — so that blessing is bestowed to the foreigner and so that God’s favor will be increased upon our nation. Amen.
Please share your own prayers below.
Besides being an IFA contributing writer, Keith Guinta also blogs at The Wine Patch. Photo credit: Getty Images.