Colorado terror attack exposes flaws in immigration system

The nation's flawed immigration system was once again exposed last weekend in Boulder, CO, when Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman tossed Molotov cocktails into a group of pro-Israel demonstrators, injuring 12. 

Soliman entered the country legally on a temporary visa under the Biden Administration and applied for asylum. He was allowed to stay in the United States and receive a work permit, according to media reports.

Soliman's case exposes the issues within our asylum system and the dangers those issues can pose to national security and public safety. Under current law, any alien in the United States, regardless of immigration status or how the alien entered the country, can apply for asylum. After applying, they undergo a credible fear interview, and as long as they can convincingly claim they have a "credible fear" of persecution if returned to their home country (in many cases, they're coached on what to say), their case is referred to an immigration judge. But the current backlog of asylum cases is so lengthy that it can take 5+ years before they receive a final determination. Historically, asylum seekers were allowed to remain in the United States until they received a final determination from an immigration judge on their asylum claim.

Pres. Trump implemented the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) -- or Remain in Mexico -- to discourage fraudulent asylum claims. Under MPP, any alien who crosses the southern border illegally and applies for asylum would have to return to Mexico until their case comes before an immigration judge. This serves as a huge disincentive to those who file fraudulent asylum claims in order to work in the United States. Unfortunately, a future administration can rescind the Remain in Mexico policy—as the Biden Administration did after Trump’s first term—so legislative changes are desperately needed.

Last Congress, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. The legislation would reduce fraudulent asylum applications by:

• Barring individuals from applying for asylum if they passed through a country where they could have safely applied for asylum en route to the United States;

• Strengthening the credible fear process to ensure that only those with strong claims get through the initial screening;

• Expanding the list of crimes that make an individual ineligible for asylum; and 

• Reducing the duration of work authorization for asylum applicants to six month increments.

It has also been reported that Soliman overstayed his original visa. H.R. 2 would increase the penalties for foreign nationals who overstay a visa.

While H.R. 2 passed in the House last Congress, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) refused to bring it to the floor for a vote. We’re hopeful that once introduced and passed through the House in the current Congress, Republican Leader John Thune (R-SD) will bring it to the floor for a vote in the Senate.

Commentary

The One Immigration Number That Matters
On Thursday, Commonplace.org published an op-ed from the Immigration Accountability Project that discusses steps the Trump Administration can take to ramp up deportations.

"Trump has made significantly more progress—in record time—on securing the border than his predecessors. But delivering the scale of deportations of illegal immigrants already here will take even more. To ramp up removal numbers consistent with the desires of the American voter will require a coordinated effort targeting the black market in labor that drives much of the illegal immigration demand."

Immigration News

RESTRICTING THE ENTRY OF FOREIGN NATIONALS TO PROTECT THE UNITED STATES FROM FOREIGN TERRORISTS AND OTHER NATIONAL SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY THREATS
While the Colorado terror attack took up much of the immigration news space this week, there was a major announcement from the White House. President Trump has implemented a travel ban on twelve “countries of identified concern,” using the vast statutory authority granted under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. As you can imagine, finding a level-headed response from the mainstream media has been difficult, but you can read the order on your own. Each affected country is listed, along with the reason for its designation. Don’t forget, you can track all executive actions on immigration here.

ICE Operation Results in More Than 70 Illegal Alien Arrests at Cartel-Run Night Club near Charleston
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) communications team has done a great job putting out daily updates on some of the criminal aliens who have been arrested or removed from the country, but this week’s raid of a cartel-run night club in South Carolina caught our attention. On Sunday, ICE arrested 72 illegal aliens in a single operation, including a Honduran with an active Interpol notice for murder back in Honduras. 

The Tech Recruitment Ruse That Has Avoided Trump’s Crackdown on Immigration
Though much of the focus lately has been on illegal immigration, problems continue to exist throughout the legal immigration system. This week, ProPublica dropped a fascinating article on how the H-1B system is being used to exploit both American and foreign labor. If you’d like a glimpse behind the curtain at one of the more egregiously abused visa systems, it’s worth the read.

Homeland Security details shocking abuse of migrant children; adults impregnated children
We’ve shared articles in the past about the tragedy of the unaccompanied alien children (UAC) crisis during the Biden Administration, but more details continue to emerge. DHS has revealed horrifying abuse cases of migrant children placed with sponsors in the United States, including young girls impregnated by their alleged sponsors, children living with adults who had serious criminal records (such as assault, drug trafficking, prostitution, attempted murder, and possession of child pornography), and others who were forced into labor. The Trump Administration has since moved to tighten sponsorship rules, including by requiring valid identification documents which has significantly reduced the number of minors released to sponsors. Congress is still needed to help patch loopholes in the system, though.

Weekly Lawfare

Judge blocks deportation of Boulder attack suspect's family—A judge has already blocked the deportation of the family members of the alleged terrorist, who were arrested shortly after he was taken into custody.

Judge halts Trump’s order blocking foreign students from Harvard—The saga surrounding Harvard's foreign-student visas continued this week, as a judge prevented the administration from cutting off Harvard’s access to student visas.

DHS holds migrants in shipping container after judge halts their deportation—DHS is holding eight illegal immigrants with serious criminal records in a shipping container at a U.S. military base in Djibouti after a federal judge halted their deportation and ordered more "due process."

Judge orders due process for illegal immigrants deported to El Salvador’s terrorist prison—Judge Boasberg is back in the news, ordering the Trump Administration to grant due process to the illegal aliens sent to El Salvador’s CECOT prison.

Next Week

The House and Senate will be in session again next week. The Senate will likely process a handful of nominations while its committees work on releasing their pieces of the Senate’s version of the One Big Beautiful (reconciliation) Bill. The House will begin moving forward on the appropriations process in an attempt to pass some of the twelve appropriations bills, though it is increasingly likely they will have to pass a continuing resolution (CR) in September to extend government funding.