Blaze News original: American hiker shot by 'suspected cartel terrorists' highlights chaos under sanctuary laws



A group of "suspected cartel terrorists" shot an American hiker last week in California near one of the most heavily trafficked border crossings in the nation.

According to Customs and Border Protection, the agency was notified by the Imperial County Sheriff's Office about the ruthless attack around 11:00 a.m. on January 22.

'Yet another alarming example of the chaos at our southern border.'

CBP encountered the group approximately 1,000 feet north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

U.S. Border Patrol El Centro Sector officials posted a video on social media, showing agents carrying the injured hiker to a helicopter. The victim, who sustained two gunshot wounds to his leg, was airlifted to a nearby hospital to receive treatment.

— (@)

Border Patrol referred to the incident as an "attack on [a] U.S. citizen by suspected cartel terrorists."

"A group of U.S. citizens hiking in the Jacumba Wilderness in California was brutally attacked and strafed with gunfire by suspect cartel members in El Centro Sector's area of responsibility," Border Patrol's post read. "One victim was shot twice and robbed."

"These cartels think they can bring their war to American soil," the statement continued. "Let this serve as a WARNING: The El Centro Sector will not stand idly by. The safety of our citizens is NOT negotiable; cartel terrorists have no place in our country preying on the innocent. Enough is enough."

The post noted that the Border Patrol's Mobile Response Team, Tactical Unit, and Search, Trauma, and Rescue "were dispatched to the area to rescue the hikers, evacuate them, and neutralize any threats."

'How many more Americans have to be shot, trafficked, or killed before action is taken?'

"The American people will not retreat from this kind of terror," the Border Patrol's post concluded.

A Canadian citizen who was hiking with the group was shot at and robbed during the attack, according to a CBP press release. The individual was not wounded.

"He was here legally, visiting and out for a hike with his friends," a post from the El Centro Sector read. "He was shot at (uninjured) and later robbed after bravely staying at his wounded friend's side."

The assailants took the men's cell phones and backpacks.

El Centro Sector Chief Gregory Bovino said, "The wounded hiker is an 'I told you so moment' highlighting the importance of adequate infrastructure the Border Patrol has been championing for years now."

"Suspected cartel terrorists, however, are fixing to learn this type of conduct will be an end game type of activity here in the Premier Sector. All threats, anywhere, or at any time throughout this sector will be addressed vigorously," Bovino added.

According to NewsNation's Ali Bradley, the group of approximately 10 was reportedly walking at the Valley of the Moon, a hiking area in Jacumba Hot Springs. The trailhead is located in San Diego County, and the path extends into Imperial County.

"The hikers said the bandits were armed and were talking to them, but the hikers couldn't understand Spanish so the bandits started shooting into the air and then fired shots at the group, hitting the man in the leg," Bradley wrote in a post on X.

The suspects reportedly escaped Border Patrol agents, fleeing back to Mexico.

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond told Blaze News that the violent attack was "yet another alarming example of the chaos at our southern border."

"When cartels and border bandits feel emboldened to cross into our country, attack innocent civilians, and retreat back into Mexico without consequence, it's clear that we do not have operational control of our border," Desmond stated. "American citizens should not have to fear for their lives while hiking in their own country."

"Our Border Patrol agents do an incredible job with the resources they have, but it's not enough," he continued. "The cartels are exploiting our open border and operating with near impunity. Until the border is fully secured, we need the National Guard and military stationed there to stop these violent criminals from preying on innocent people."

"How many more Americans have to be shot, trafficked, or killed before action is taken?" Desmond questioned.

Cory Gautereaux, a San Diego resident and the founder of the Goat Initiative, an organization dedicated to combatting human trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border, told Blaze News that the hiking area where the incident occurred is "extremely remote."

"It used to be a very popular off-road, hiking, climbing area but not much in the last two to three years," he noted.

Gautereaux stated that he is "extremely happy to see 'the boys go to work.'"

"Meaning, we have had these specialized Border Patrol teams neutered by the last admin. It took a matter of days to show how fast they can react and what they are capable of once you let them loose," he said of the Border Patrol's emergency response teams.

Imperial County informed Blaze News that the "case is currently under the jurisdiction of the FBI," directing any questions to the federal agency.

'Are we trying to protect criminals or residents?'

When asked whether the incident is currently under investigation, FBI San Diego stated, "Based on longstanding DOJ policy, we cannot confirm or deny the existence of an investigation."

The agency also did not address whether the suspects were confirmed cartel terrorists.

California suburbs push back against liberal sanctuary policies

Officials in El Cajon, a city within San Diego County, moved to reject the state's and the county's sanctuary policies.

On January 28, Mayor Bill Wells introduced a resolution "to support federal deportation efforts for criminals, ensuring that those who break our laws and threaten our families are held accountable," according to an email statement sent to Blaze News.

The city council's agenda stated that the resolution aimed to provide clarity regarding the inconsistencies between state and federal immigration laws. It further declared El Cajon's "intent to ensure the public safety of all residents" and "intent to comply with federal immigration law to the legal extent permissible under SB 54 and other applicable laws to remove violent criminals from our community."

California's Senate Bill 54, signed into law by former Gov. Jerry Brown (D) in 2017, prohibits local officials from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

On Tuesday, El Cajon residents packed the city council meeting to voice their opinions on the mayor's resolution. The heated debate lasted five hours with more than 80 residents requesting to speak on the matter.

Gautereaux addressed the city council, asking, "Are we trying to protect criminals or residents?"

"Two weeks ago, I had a very informative, private dinner with Tom Homan. I will tell that he's coming. He's coming here to El Cajon," he said. "He knows how everyone's going to vote today. Let's make sure we do it right so when he comes to town, we can work with him and get the violent people out of this city."

Residents against the resolution argued that such a policy was inherently racist and discriminatory. Several residents, particularly those of color, claimed that with the Trump administration promising mass deportations, they felt forced to carry around documents proving their American citizenship.

One woman stated she told her father "to carry around his birth certificate because of potential deportation due to misguided profiling."

"I had to tell my mother to carry her naturalization papers," she added. "Why do I have to carry around my own birth certificate? I was born here."

"We're already scared to call the cops. Now, we're definitely not going to," she added.

The city's decision to consider the resolution followed a December determination by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to adopt a measure that effectively doubled down on the county's sanctuary status. The only dissenting vote was made by Supervisor Desmond, who opposed the county's "super" sanctuary status.

'The intent of this resolution is to deliberately sidestep the governor's efforts.'

Regarding his proposed resolution, Wells said, "For too long, California's Sanctuary State policies have protected illegal criminals at the expense of law-abiding citizens. These policies prevent local law enforcement from cooperating with federal authorities, allowing dangerous individuals to remain in our community and country. That must change."

"After meeting with border czar Tom Homan, it is clear that we must take action at the local level. I am proposing that our city will work with — not against — federal immigration enforcement to ensure that criminals who pose a risk to our residents are removed," he added.

On Tuesday evening, the El Cajon City Council voted 3-2 to reject Wells' resolution.

City council member Steve Goble, the swing vote, argued that he did not want El Cajon to become the center of political controversy like Huntington Beach.

Approximately 100 miles north in Orange County, city council members in Huntington Beach unanimously voted earlier this month to declare the Los Angeles suburb a "non-sanctuary city."

Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns stated that the resolution was "in the best interest of our community."

"The intent of this resolution is to deliberately sidestep the governor's [Gavin Newsom] efforts to subvert the good work of federal immigration authorities and to announce the city's cooperation with the federal government, the Trump administration, and border czar Tom Homan's work," the city's resolution read.

Further, Burns filed a lawsuit against California's SB 54, claiming that it "not only limits the ability of city officials ... to engage in fullest of effective law enforcement practices, but it directs city officials ... to violate U.S. federal immigration laws."

Trump admin moves to stop invasion

On Inauguration Day, just days before the attack on the group of hikers, President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating cartels "as foreign terrorist organizations."

The executive action read, "The cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs."

"The cartels functionally control, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape, and brute force nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border of the United States," it continued. "In certain portions of Mexico, they function as quasi-governmental entities, controlling nearly all aspects of society. The cartels' activities threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western hemisphere. Their activities, proximity to, and incursions into the physical territory of the United States pose an unacceptable national security risk to the United States."

Also, as part of his day-one actions, the president declared the overwhelming number of illegal entries a national emergency in keeping with his promise to move swiftly to close down the southern border.

"Cartels control vast territories just south of our southern border, effectively controlling who can and cannot travel to the United States from Mexico," the order stated.

Just three days into his presidency, Trump signed another executive order to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist Border Patrol agents with cracking down on illegal crossings.

The administration stated that the directive would deploy 1,000 Army personnel and 500 Marines to the southern border of California and Texas. The soldiers will be tasked with erecting border barriers to deter illegal entries.

There are already 2,500 soldiers stationed at the border.

An internal government memo obtained by CBS News revealed that the administration is weighing sending up to 10,000 active-duty military members.

Military personnel are not tasked with direct immigration enforcement; instead, they provide CBP with other assistance, which can include detection and monitoring, logistics, administrative, and mechanical support.

The document obtained by CBS News further stated that the Trump administration's Department of Defense "may" convert its bases into "holding facilities."

Trump has reportedly already successfully reduced the number of border crossings. On Sunday, bored encounters reached less than 600 people, with no sector experiencing more than 200, Fox News reported. For comparison, under former President Joe Biden, daily encounter peaks reached 11,000. Even in the final days of Biden's presidency, there were 1,200 to 1,400 daily.

Border czar Tom Homan has expressed a need for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to drastically increase the number of detention beds. ICE currently has 34,000 beds, but Homan hopes to secure at least 100,000.

The internal government memo stated that ICE has requested 14 new detention facilities with 1,000 beds each and four additional holding centers with 10,000 beds each.

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America last: Democrats push mass migration, ignore voters



The anti-American leftists in this country have lost their minds. Joe Biden is selling off the bollard fencing material that has been sitting in storage locations along the border since he halted border fence construction nearly four years ago. Did I mention that he is selling it at a tiny fraction of its cost and its value?

Perhaps Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas truly hate America so much that they want to inflict as much pain as possible before they leave office. I’m hoping that there is justice for people who have wreaked havoc on America and have done so purposefully.

The left is content with the nearly seven million illegal aliens paroled into America under Joe Biden.

The San Diego County, California’s board of supervisors wasn’t satisfied living in the most dangerous sanctuary state in the country. They decided that they wanted to be a “super sanctuary city.” The board is thrilled that murderers, rapists, and other mayhem makers will be released into the San Diego area.

Supervisor Jim Desmond, the only sane member of the board, explained what San Diego residents can expect. “Under this policy, law enforcement is prohibited from notifying ICE about individuals in custody, who have committed violent and heinous crimes, including rape and stalking, assault and battery, burglary, child abuse, and more,” he said.

Reports are clear that the Biden regime released thousands of crime-committing illegal aliens during Biden’s four-year tenure. That apparently is not enough in San Diego.

All this while, cartel activity south of the border is on the rise. As Ben Bergquam reports, stores are proliferating along the border, financed by Mexican cartels, that cater specifically to illegal aliens. The rush to get here before January 20, 2025, the day of President Trump’s inauguration, is on.

My border sources also tell me that because the deadline is looming just about a month away, prices charged by the cartels that control our southern border are soaring. Not too many weeks back, I met several illegal aliens crossing the border. They each told me that the fee to the cartel for their illegal border crossing was $5,000. I am now hearing the price is $10,000 per person.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has vowed to block President Trump’s proposed mass deportations. She has forgotten that Trump won Arizona convincingly by campaigning on his border security proposal. (By the way, so did almost every Republican in the state.) But Hobbs is joined by the radical mayor of Tucson in vowing to take in and shelter untold hordes of illegal aliens from deportation.

They, like Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and other radical Democrats, are out of step with history. These leftists are unhinged.

The left is content with the nearly seven million illegal aliens paroled into America under Joe Biden. The gathering of peoples from all over the world has undermined our culture, our economy, and even our political system. Nations throughout the world recognize these obvious results from mass migration.

The reality is most Americans want our border security problem solved, and concomitantly, the elite authoritarians on the left, suffering from Trump derangement syndrome, want a continuation of the disastrous Biden-era policies. In short, people on the left have lost their minds. We need to make America sane again.

Blaze News original: San Diego County's 'super' sanctuary vote reveals deep divides within community



As the United States prepares for a new presidential administration focused on mass deportations, leaders in San Diego County have chosen to defy these plans by passing a controversial policy that fortifies and expands sanctuary protections for illegal aliens. This decision has ignited a fierce backlash from both local law enforcement and residents.

Following President-elect Donald Trump's election victory in November, many liberal leaders vowed to stand in the way of his administration's mass deportation efforts.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) pledged to "Trump-proof" the state by pushing through bills that would serve as roadblocks to the incoming administration. Newsom has also ensured that Attorney General Rob Bonta has the funds to sue the administration. During Trump's first term, California filed more than 100 lawsuits against him.

In later November, the Los Angeles City Council rushed to pass a "sanctuary city" ordinance to send "a very clear message" that the city refuses to "cooperate with ICE in any way," according to council member Hugo Soto-Martinez (D). The measure passed unanimously.

San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Nora Vargas introduced a similar measure following Trump's victory.

On December 10, the board approved Vargas' proposal to double down on the county's sanctuary status. Despite the board's 3-1 vote, the public remained deeply divided on the issue.

Public comments

More than 100 residents signed up to speak on Vargas' proposed policy, listed as Item 29, "adopting a board policy on immigration enforcement to enhance community safety." Further, the policy received more than 500 electronic comments.

‘You guys are protecting child sex traffickers.’

Leading into the public comments, Vargas warned that some residents and even fellow board members would likely share "a lot of misinformation" about her proposal.

Residents advocating for the policy — several of whom introduced themselves by their pronouns — argued that county resources should not be used to aid the federal government with mass deportations. Numerous individuals expressed concerns about family separation and possible human rights abuses. Others contended that failing to pass the measure might undermine the community's trust in local law enforcement.

Reverend Lenny Duncan told the board of supervisors that he supported the policy.

"As a Christian, I'm taught that Jesus has to run from political violence to Egypt. It's actually part of the story, Councilman [Jim] Desmond," Duncan stated, addressing the sole Republican supervisor present at the meeting. "We need to vote 'yes' on this and continue to be a Madisonian democracy. Maybe the slim majority of Americans wanted this, but the majority of Californians don't."

As Duncan stepped away from the microphone, a resident in the crowd corrected him, shouting, "It's a constitutional republic."

Robert Hicks, the assistant regional director for the Anti-Defamation League's San Diego branch, also voiced support for the measure on behalf of the organization.

"Immigrants and refugees are an integral part of our San Diego community. We are grateful that the county has decided to advance protections for immigrants that will keep families together and ensure immigrants are treated with humanity, dignity, and respect," Hicks told the board.

Multiple individuals in support of the measure seemed to repeat a near-identical phrase claiming that the San Diego County Sheriff's Office has been using local resources to assist federal immigration officials with deportation efforts.

The board of supervisors abruptly called for a recess when a male resident started shouting over a speaker who had just regurgitated the same line.

Upon reconvening after the recess, the county proceeded to hear from residents opposed to the measure.

While one local was speaking, another resident held up a thick stack of papers, flipping through what appeared to be headlines documenting crimes perpetrated by illegal aliens.

"Man who shot at California cop previously deported, arrested but cops wouldn't honor ICE detainer, feds say," one paper read.

"Illegal immigrant accused of raping 13-year-old at knifepoint," another stated.

‘The Sheriff's Office does not coordinate with, nor will it delay an individual's release to accommodate immigration officials.’

Eli Komai, a San Diego resident, called Vargas' policy "toothless."

"I'd like to make you aware of why these immigrants are coming to the United States in the first place. They're seeking out a homeland that has more law and order; that is safer, is not run by gangsters or cartels, or communists," Komai stated.

"If you cross in here illegally, you're a criminal," he remarked.

Intermittent disruptions from the audience prompted Vargas to order everyone to clear the chamber as the board concluded the public comment section by listening to those who had called in remotely.

Resident Natalie Hayes openly criticized the numerous religious leaders who had spoken during the meeting in favor of the measure.

"You guys are protecting child sex traffickers," Hayes stated. "I don't hear you out here speaking for them, veterans, or any American children that are also being affected by what's coming into this border."

The vote

Vargas argued that her policy aligned with state legislation passed under former Gov. Jerry Brown (D). She specifically mentioned Brown's California Assembly Bill 4, which prevents local law enforcement from honoring ICE detainer requests, and California Senate Bill 54, which prohibits the transfer of illegal immigrants to ICE custody and forbids notifying the federal agency about inmate release dates.

Vargas' policy read, "Today's actions will adopt a resolution and Board Policy L-2 to affirm the County shall not provide assistance or cooperation to ICE in its civil immigration enforcement efforts, including by giving ICE agents access to individuals or allowing them to use County facilities for investigative interviews or other purposes, expending County time or resources responding to ICE inquiries or communicating with ICE regarding individuals' incarceration status or release dates, or otherwise participating in any civil immigration enforcement activities."

The policy forces county officials to obtain a warrant signed by a state or federal judge to communicate with ICE.

Ahead of the vote, Desmond voiced his concerns about the measure.

‘California's policymakers are more focused on “Trump-proofing” the state than addressing the needs of everyday Californians.’

Desmond argued that the policy went "beyond California's existing sanctuary laws by adding an additional layer of bureaucracy that hinders local law enforcement from directly notifying ICE about illegal immigrants who are currently in our jails, and they have committed heinous crimes."

He noted that such crimes included "child abuse or endangerment, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs — but only if this conviction is for a felony — possession of an unlawful deadly weapon, gang-related offenses, a crime resulting in death or involving personal affliction or great bodily injury, possession or use of a firearm in the commission of an offense, torture, rape, and kidnapping."

Desmond's objections were disregarded, and the rest of the board voted to pass the policy.

In an unexpected turn of events, the San Diego County Sheriff's Office quickly released a statement announcing its refusal to adhere to the newly passed policy.

The sheriff's office argued that the board of supervisors does not have the authority to set its policy.

"The sheriff, as an independently elected official, sets the policy for the Sheriff's Office. California law prohibits the board of supervisors from interfering with the independent, constitutionally and statutorily designated investigative functions of the sheriff, and is clear that the sheriff has the sole and exclusive authority to operate the county jails," the statement read. "The Sheriff's Office will not change its practices based on the board resolution and policy that was passed at today's meeting."

Sheriff Kelly A. Martinez, a Democrat, also released a statement regarding the office's decision not to comply with the board's measure.

"As the sheriff of San Diego County, my number-one priority is protecting the safety and well-being of all residents of our diverse region. While protecting the rights of undocumented immigrants is crucial, it is equally important to ensure that victims of crimes are not overlooked or neglected in the process. Victims include undocumented individuals — these vulnerable individuals express to me that their legal status is used as a weapon against them when offenders from their community victimize them," Martinez wrote.

In a statement to Blaze News, the sheriff's office confirmed that it "will not be expanding or changing anything we have been doing."

"We will continue to follow state law and maintain the way we have been operating for several years. The Board Action sought to impose restrictions well beyond those already provided for in-state law regarding how local law enforcement can work with immigration officials."

A spokesperson explained that the sheriff's office believes the "current state law strikes the right balance between limiting local law enforcement's cooperation with immigration authorities, ensuring public safety, and building community trust."

‘There was really no listening to the voice of the people.’

In response to residents' allegations about the use of county resources to assist federal immigration officials, the spokesperson provided clarity on the specific situations in which the sheriff's office can lawfully communicate with ICE.

"State law allows for the Sheriff's Office to share release dates for individuals who are in Sheriff's custody only if they have qualifying convictions for specific serious, violent, or sex crimes," the spokesperson said. "If an individual has a qualifying conviction, state law authorizes local law enforcement to notify immigration authorities of that person's release date. Immigration officials decide whether they will be present when the individual is released from custody."

"The Sheriff's Office does not coordinate with, nor will it delay an individual's release to accommodate immigration officials," the office remarked, referring to ICE's detainers, which request local law enforcement hold individuals up to 48 hours after their scheduled release date.

The sheriff's office told Blaze News that it has no plans to seek legal action against the county over the policy.

Community response

Following the sheriff's announcement, Komai told Blaze News, "I am relieved that Sheriff Martinez and her staff are aware of state law and aren't so easily hoodwinked, they must have plenty of experience dealing with false pretenses!"

Komai continued, "The aspect of the resolution that demands the greatest clarity is how it has no bearing whatsoever on state law, even though it 'claims' to fly in the face of it. The board, their staff, and many members of the public (including those in the Americanist cause) seem to misunderstand state law. The California state constitution creates the office of the sheriff. Sheriffs are elected independently of County Supervisors and retain their autonomy under the California state law."

Desmond also told Blaze News that he felt relieved by the sheriff's office's refusal to adhere to the new policy. Nevertheless, the vote highlighted how disconnected lawmakers are from their constituents, he pointed out.

"California's policymakers are more focused on 'Trump-proofing' the state than addressing the needs of everyday Californians. They're rolling out the red carpet with free benefits like health care and in-state tuition for those here illegally, while also providing $5 million for legal defense fees," he stated.

"Yesterday's vote is part of that radical agenda. Ending ICE coordination on serious crimes like rape, child abuse, and gang violence leaves our communities vulnerable," Desmond continued. "This isn't just a theoretical issue. Last year in San Diego County, there were 25 ICE transfers involving crimes like kidnapping, burglary, and DUI. Thanks to coordination between local law enforcement and ICE, those dangerous individuals could be deported."

Homan has called Vargas' policy '10 times worse.'

He stated that his constituents are grateful to him "for being the lone 'no' vote and for standing up for common sense in an increasingly radical political environment." However, he noted that residents are profoundly worried about the impacts the policy will have on the safety of their community.

"The message I'm hearing is clear: San Diegans want leadership that prioritizes public safety over partisan politics," Desmond declared.

Kim Yeater, a San Diego County resident and co-founder of the Take Our Border Back alliance, told Blaze News that she felt the decision to pass the policy was determined before locals had a chance to share their thoughts with the board of supervisors.

"It was almost as if the decision was already made. So there was really no listening to the voice of the people," she stated. "I'm really shocked, but I'm not surprised."

Yeater voiced concerns over how open border policies are fueling the fentanyl crisis and allowing unvetted, violent gang members to enter the country. She labeled the situation a "national security breach" and warned that residents might be "putting way too much trust in the people we've elected."

"We, the people, have got to stand up and come together and show up because it's the only way we can hold these elected officials accountable to do the work that we have hired them to do," Yeater said.

Trump's incoming border czar, Tom Homan, has pledged to bring the hammer down on sanctuary jurisdictions like San Diego County. Homan vowed to accomplish Trump's mass deportation mission with or without help from local politicians, noting that Democratic leaders' refusal to cooperate with ICE would only lead to more federal immigration officers on the ground in their communities.

Homan has called Vargas' policy "10 times worse" than the state's existing sanctuary laws.

The San Diego Sector has emerged as one of the most heavily trafficked sections of the southern border. In fiscal year 2024, the sector saw a 40% increase in encounters compared to the previous year, which experienced a 31% rise from fiscal year 2022.

El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells (R) has consistently raised concerns regarding the effects of the Biden administration's immigration crisis on the county.

Wells said in a statement to Blaze News, "The feds cannot ignore the lawless decrees of the San Diego Board of Supervisors. If they do, they will be sanctioning anarchy. I don't see President Trump and Tom Homan allowing Nora Vargas to circumvent the will of the American people. Public safety is not a game, and elected officials should not play with lives for political stunts."

Ex-governor distances himself from California's sanctuary policies he set in motion



Former California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) attempted to distance himself from the extreme sanctuary policies in the state despite being the one who initially set them in motion.

During a Thursday interview with KXTV, Brown claimed policies prohibiting local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal immigration officers have gone too far.

'Subsequent legislation ... has taken it broader.'

Brown previously supported California Assembly Bill 4, preventing local law enforcement agencies from complying with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detainer requests.

ICE's detainers asked law enforcement to hold already detained illegal aliens up to 48 hours beyond their release date to allow federal agents to transfer them to federal custody. By ignoring these detainer requests, criminal illegal immigrants are released back into the community, forcing ICE to use extra resources to find and arrest those individuals. This is both more costly for taxpayers and more dangerous for immigration agents.

In 2017, amid the first Trump administration, Brown also supported California Senate Bill 54, which barred the transfer of illegal aliens to ICE and banned informing the federal agency about inmate release dates.

Brown's position on sanctuary laws re-emerged as a point of discussion in California this week following the San Diego County Board of Supervisors' decision to approve a policy that broadens protections for illegal immigrants, including those with criminal records.

In her proposal, Chairwoman Nora Vargas claimed that the new sanctuary policy aligned with state laws enacted by Brown.

The recently passed policy "ensures that absent a federal warrant, no release will be delayed." It further prohibits ICE from using county detention facilities "for investigative interviews or other purposes."

KXTV told Brown that critics of California's sanctuary laws argue that the state should lose federal funding for allegedly violating federal immigration laws.

Brown responded, "The bill that I signed [SB 54] had a number of exceptions. There was people who were convicted of violent crimes — or even with serious crimes — were not getting any benefit of any so-called sanctuary."

"It was a matter of having state officials handle state-level matters and not try to play like they do in Texas, that they're federal officials," Brown stated.

He claimed, "Subsequent legislation, I think, has taken it broader, and some of the cities, like San Francisco, have gone way, way beyond in their effort to create a wall, almost a separation of state and federal government."

"I think that is gonna prove difficult," Brown remarked.

He further claimed that Democrats are now advocating for stronger borders and a lawful process to allow in foreign nationals.

"The fact is that we very much depend on immigrants, but we should have a process, and the Republicans have disrupted that," Brown said.

He hopes the incoming Trump administration could implement a more orderly, lawful process, noting that the number of foreign nationals allowed into the U.S. would need to be "restricted substantially."

Brown rejected the narrative that California is defying federal immigration laws.

"There is a level of cooperation, but we're not handing people over to the federal government. The federal government certainly can show up wherever they want to show up," he added.

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San Diego County becomes 'super' sanctuary — but sheriff's office rejects policy



The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to fortify and expand sanctuary policies beyond state mandates, aiming to shield illegal aliens from President-elect Donald Trump's upcoming mass deportation efforts.

Chairwoman Nora Vargas put forward the proposal, claiming that it aligned with state law, citing former Gov. Jerry Brown's California Assembly Bill 4, which prevents local law enforcement from complying with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detainer requests.

'This policy means that an illegal immigrant who has committed one of these appalling crimes will now walk free on our streets.'

ICE's detainers request that local authorities hold already detained criminal illegal aliens in their jails for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release date to allow ICE agents time to transfer them into federal custody. However, California law bans this cooperation, forcing ICE to expend extra resources to track down and rearrest these individuals once they are back on the streets, which is considerably more costly for the agency and much more dangerous for the arresting officers.

Former Gov. Brown further restricted the collaboration between local authorities and ICE in 2017 through California Senate Bill 54, which banned the transfer of illegal aliens to federal agents and also prohibited informing ICE about release dates.

Vargas' policy "ensures that absent a federal warrant, no release will be delayed."

Ahead of the vote, Vargas warned that some residents and fellow board members were going to share "a lot of misinformation" in opposition to her proposal.

Over 100 San Diego County residents signed up to speak on the policy, and the county received more than 500 electronic comments concerning it.

Vargas' policy read, "Today's actions will adopt a resolution and Board Policy L-2 to affirm the County shall not provide assistance or cooperation to ICE in its civil immigration enforcement efforts, including by giving ICE agents access to individuals or allowing them to use County facilities for investigative interviews or other purposes, expending County time or resources responding to ICE inquiries or communicating with ICE regarding individuals' incarceration status or release dates, or otherwise participating in any civil immigration enforcement activities."

It added, "The proposed policy does not limit or prohibit giving assistance with the investigative activities of any local, state, or federal law enforcement agency relating to suspected violations of criminal laws."

The proposed policy passed in a 3-1 vote on Tuesday.

Supervisor Jim Desmond held the only dissenting opinion. He called Vargas' policy "radical," "reckless," and "a direct betrayal of the people we are sworn to protect."

"Today's outrageous decision to turn San Diego County into a 'Super' Sanctuary County is an affront to every law-abiding citizen who values safety and justice," he wrote in an emailed press release.

"Consider this: Under this policy, law enforcement is prohibited from notifying ICE about individuals, in custody, who have committed violent and heinous crimes, including rape and stalking, assault and battery, burglary, child abuse, and more," Desmond explained.

He added, "Let me be crystal clear — this policy means that an illegal immigrant who has committed one of these appalling crimes will now walk free on our streets, once they serve their jail sentence, protected by county policies, with no coordination with ICE."

Following the board's vote, the San Diego County Sheriff's Office issued a statement declining to enforce the new policy.

Sheriff Kelly A. Martinez wrote, "As the Sheriff of San Diego County, my number one priority is protecting the safety and well-being of all residents of our diverse region. While protecting the rights of undocumented immigrants is crucial, it is equally important to ensure that victims of crimes are not overlooked or neglected in the process. Victims include undocumented individuals — these vulnerable individuals express to me that their legal status is used as a weapon against them when offenders from their community victimize them."

The sheriff's office contended that the board of supervisors does not set its policy.

The department stated, "The sheriff, as an independently elected official, sets the policy for the Sheriff's Office. California law prohibits the Board of Supervisors from interfering with the independent, constitutionally and statutorily designated investigative functions of the sheriff, and is clear that the sheriff has the sole and exclusive authority to operate the county jails."

"The Sheriff's Office will not change its practices based on the board resolution and policy that was passed at today's meeting," it declared.

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Blaze News original: Biden's immigration nightmare — Trump left to clean up $160 million in ICE waste, unused centers



With the sun setting on the Biden-Harris administration, President-elect Donald Trump and his incoming Cabinet face an unprecedented challenge — resolving the chaotic and overwhelming immigration crisis.

Despite having the necessary resources to put a stop to illegal immigration, the current administration has instead used taxpayer dollars in ways that have worsened the problem rather than solving it.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, millions of dollars were allocated to various initiatives purportedly designed to tackle the immigration crisis. Yet some of those investments — including a multimillion-dollar processing center and Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention space — were not utilized.

Unused illegal alien center

In the summer, the Biden-Harris administration's Federal Emergency Management Agency allocated nearly $20 million in taxpayer funds to open an illegal immigrant processing center in San Diego County.

The decision to establish the center was made amid a massive surge in unlawful immigration in the San Diego Sector. Border encounters in the area spiked by 40% in fiscal year 2024, surpassing the already record-high numbers from the year before.

The facility was designed to provide basic services to foreign nationals who had recently entered the country as well as assist them with traveling to their intended destinations within the U.S.

‘Instead of prioritizing Americans' needs, this administration has chosen to funnel resources into programs that don't even function.’

In two separate votes, four out of five San Diego County supervisors voted to accept FEMA's funding, believing it would help manage the overwhelming crisis.

Supervisor Jim Desmond (R), the one lone dissenter on the board, was not convinced. He argued that the FEMA funds failed to establish a long-term solution to the immigration issues, instead acting as only a Band-Aid over a symptom.

Desmond contended that passing the proposal "effectively approves and perpetuates the federal government's mismanagement of the border."

"I refuse to be complicit in a broken system," he added.

Desmond's skepticism about the multimillion-dollar processing facility was warranted. Although FEMA funding was approved in May, the facility has remained largely unused.

In July, the county selected Jewish Family Service to manage the center. However, after two months of negotiations, the deal collapsed after the parties could not develop a sustainable plan.

San Diego County spokesperson Michael Workman said in a joint statement with JFS, "Despite best-faith efforts, the two parties have been unable to develop a plan to meet the scope of work required to address the needs of migrants in the region based on federal funding criteria and have mutually agreed to end negotiations."

Consequently, the county was forced to relaunch the search for a new contractor, with no clear timeline on when an agreement might be secured.

Following the devastating impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the federal government claimed that FEMA's funds were quickly dwindling and the agency would struggle to provide aid in the event of another disaster.

Desmond torched the federal government for throwing money at the immigration crisis and failing to allocate enough resources to ensure assistance for Americans.

"The federal government claims they have no funds left to assist American citizens whose homes and lives have been torn apart. Yet this is the same government that spent $20 million on a migrant processing center in San Diego that isn't even being used. That was a complete waste of taxpayer dollars, and now American citizens are being told there's nothing left for them," Desmond explained in an emailed press release.

"At the time, I voted against accepting $20 million from the federal government to establish a migrant processing center in San Diego County," he continued. "I firmly believe that we shouldn't be complicit in the federal government's — and specifically this administration's — failure to enforce immigration laws effectively. My concerns were validated. That facility, which was supposed to address a critical immigration issue, is sitting idle, serving no purpose, while Americans are left to suffer."

He called the shortage of funds for citizens "a slap in the face to every hardworking American."

"It's a glaring example of the federal government's incompetence and mismanagement. Instead of prioritizing Americans' needs, this administration has chosen to funnel resources into programs that don't even function," Desmond added.

‘This is taxpayer money that incentivizes illegal immigration and could be far better spent on pressing local needs.’

In mid-September, the county submitted a Notice of Intent to Award after entering into negotiations with a different provider. However, the offer was rescinded approximately a month later due to failed negotiations.

"No award will be made, as there were no additional proposals received to evaluate," the county's rescindment notice read.

A spokesperson for San Diego County told Blaze News, "The County is pausing work to consider its options and will be sharing an evaluation with the Board of Supervisors in early 2025."

Desmond described the county's decision to open the center as "completely unnecessary."

He told Blaze News, "The County of San Diego's plan to open a 'Migrant Welcome Center' is completely unnecessary, especially given the incoming administration's commitment to securing our borders."

Desmond explained that Vice President-elect JD Vance told him that securing the border and stopping the Biden-Harris administration's illegal immigration crisis would be the incoming administration's "top priority."

"The need for a facility to welcome and process migrants will be obsolete as this new administration takes real, decisive action to stop illegal crossings," he added.

"The county has already poured millions into temporary shelters and legal fees for those facing deportation, with little to show for it," Desmond continued. "FEMA contributed $19 million, and the county has spent $6 million on a temporary shelter, alongside another $5 million in legal fees to defend illegal immigrants facing deportation. This is taxpayer money that incentivizes illegal immigration and could be far better spent on pressing local needs, from infrastructure to community services that directly benefit San Diegans."

Empty beds

The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General has released a number of bombshell reports spotlighting federal government waste. A startling report in September revealed that under the Biden-Harris administration, ICE wasted more than $100 million in taxpayer dollars on unused detention bed space.

The OIG report read, "We calculated ICE paid approximately $160 million for unused bed space under guaranteed minimum contracts."

To make matters worse, as of July, there were more than 425,000 convicted criminal immigrants and another 222,000 with pending criminal charges on the agency's non-detained docket, according to data released in September by ICE acting Director Patrick Lechleitner. The convicted and accused criminals were reportedly responsible for offenses ranging from traffic violations and theft to sexual assault and homicide.

Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, called ICE's unused detention space "one of the most scandalous examples of negligence under the Biden administration."

Vaughan told Blaze News, "ICE left beds unused and closed detention facilities, even as illegal migrants surged over the border in historic numbers and even as they were releasing criminal aliens in the interior."

"Americans were killed by illegal aliens that they released who should have been and could have been detained and removed," she added.

‘The Biden administration should have at least finished the parts of the job that were paid for, but Congress let him get away with just throwing away the money.’

In a New York City-specific instance of inefficiency, taxpayers paid $432 million for a contract with Rapid Reliable Testing NY LLC, also known as DocGo, aimed at providing housing for illegal aliens. However, according to an August independent audit, over the first two months of the no-bid contract, DocGo received $1.7 million for nearly 10,000 hotel rooms for illegal immigrants that sat vacant.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (D) stated at the time, "Our detailed investigation into DocGo invoices and properties found a wide range of fiscal mismanagement and shoddy oversight — from DocGo overpaying security subcontractors by $2 million, skimming off over $400,000 in overhead for almost 10,000 unused hotels rooms, and failing to ensure promised social and casework services. Each misstep reveals that the administration failed to adequately vet the company or oversee their work."

A spokesperson for Democrat Mayor Eric Adams' office accused Lander's audit of "nitpick[ing]" during "an unprecedented international humanitarian crisis."

The wall

Vaughan told Blaze News that one of the most disgraceful examples of the federal government throwing away taxpayer dollars was the Biden-Harris administration's decision to stop the construction of the southern border wall after the materials had already been purchased and contractors had already been paid for the work.

"The materials sat and rusted out in the open for many months, until Texas purchased some of them. The Biden administration should have at least finished the parts of the job that were paid for, but Congress let him get away with just throwing away the money," Vaughan explained.

Last year, the New York Post reported that the administration was quietly auctioning off the unused materials for a fraction of the original $300 million cost.

The materials, auctioned on GovPlanet, fetched prices between $25,700 and $32,505. In October 2023, the federal government managed to recover about $116,000 by selling 28-foot metal fencing tubes. Previously, in September, it sold approximately $455,000 worth of unused border wall materials, and in August, it gained around $500,000 from similar sales.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) stated at the time, "This sale is a wasteful and ludicrous decision by the Biden administration that only serves as further proof they have no shame."

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also criticized the administration for the move.

"Leaving the border open to terrorists while selling border security materials at a loss is Bidenomics in a nutshell," Cotton said.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer called the sale of the materials an example of "waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars."

"We should be using tools already at our disposal to stop the surge of illegal border crossings. When someone is repeatedly breaking into your home, you don't sell the locks on the door," he added.

Days after the Biden administration was caught selling off the unused material, it announced that it planned to resume building a new 20-mile section of the wall along the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The funding for the new section was reportedly appropriated by Congress in 2019.

The Biden administration had to purchase or seize private lands and bypass environmental laws to build the new section.

‘Dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.’

Trump torched Biden for the reversal.

"So interesting to watch Crooked Joe Biden break every environmental law in the book to prove that I was right when I built 560 miles ... of brand new, beautiful border wall. As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls!" he wrote on Truth Social.

"Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals immigrants, from places unknown. I will await his apology!" he added.

Trump has vowed to finish the construction of the border wall once he returns to office.

When asked how the Trump administration can ensure taxpayer funds are no longer wasted on unused services and materials, Vaughan told Blaze News, "The incoming administration can end a lot of this waste by enforcing the law, by detaining illegal border-crossers and repatriating them swiftly, by using the accelerated forms of due process available under the law, by streamlining the immigration court processes, by reprogramming money from activities that benefit NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] and their illegal alien clients to activities that support immigration enforcement, and by denying federal law enforcement grants to sanctuary jurisdictions."

There is optimism that the incoming administration will focus on reducing unnecessary expenditures and removing the bureaucratic red tape within the federal government.

On November 12, Trump tapped Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead his new Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE. The two business leaders will be tasked with shrinking the federal government and ensuring taxpayers' dollars are used wisely.

Trump stated, "Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies - Essential to the 'Save America' Movement."

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Biden-Harris admin hiding migrants with 'smoke and mirrors,' San Diego official tells Glenn Beck



The Biden-Harris administration’s “smoke and mirrors” border scheme has concealed the true extent of the immigration crisis amid the 2024 election season, San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond revealed during a Monday interview with Glenn Beck.

Between September 2023 and June 2024, the Border Patrol released more than 155,000 foreign nationals onto the streets of San Diego County, Desmond stated.

'This isn’t about securing the border for the Feds — it’s about optics.'

Most of those individuals were dropped off at the Iris Avenue Transit Center, where they hitched a ride to their next destination deeper within the interior of the U.S. after being released by Border Patrol officials.

The Biden-Harris administration was torched for the street releases and the negative optics of using the train station as its main drop-off point for the San Diego Sector.

According to Desmond, the federal government started busing and flying immigrants to other border sectors to reduce the number of street releases in San Diego County.

“There’s about three buses a day that Border Patrol is taking migrants to Yuma, Arizona, which is right on the California-Arizona line. So about three buses per day, and they have about three or four flights per week, leaving San Diego going to Texas, primarily McAllen, Texas,” Desmond told Beck.

“It’s just smoke and mirrors. What they’re doing is they’re just taking these numbers, they’re no longer putting them on our streets, which was very in the open, and press and everything else had access to that, and they’re hiding them by busing them to Arizona or flying them to Texas,” he declared.

Desmond noted that the southern border numbers may be down over the past few months but only from “record highs.”

Border officials told Desmond that the agency planned to restart the street releases in San Diego County last Friday.

“So I think, unfortunately, we’re going to be back to the mayhem that we had in the previous months,” he told Beck. “That’s what I fear.”

He noted that, under the Biden-Harris administration, the San Diego Sector had become the number one spot for border crossings and fentanyl and “one of the top spots for human trafficking.”

Desmond also explained to Beck that several times per week boats packed with illegal aliens are running up onto the shores. The illegal immigrants then jump off the boats and flee on foot into nearby neighborhoods.

“They just abandon the boats on the beach. Those people aren’t even checked or go through Border Patrol. They’re not fingerprinted,” he stated. “That’s been happening for months.”

Desmond slammed the state’s sanctuary status, which prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials.

“The state of California is a sanctuary state, which means our local law enforcement cannot enforce immigration laws. So even these people that are getting off the boats and walking into our neighborhoods, local law enforcement can’t do a thing about it,” he continued.

“There’s very little locally anybody can do about this,” Desmond added.

In a post on X, he wrote, “Border Patrol officials have informed me that street releases were set to resume again last Friday in San Diego County, adding to the more than 155,000 in the past year. But with the election around the corner, the Federal Government was worried about the optics, so every day, they’re bussing illegal immigrants from San Diego to Yuma, Arizona, to fly them across the country.”

“This isn’t about securing the border for the Feds — it’s about optics,” he concluded.

The Border Patrol did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

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Toxic gas linked to cross-border sewage sparks public health scare in San Diego — but county rejects researchers' findings



San Diego State University and University of California San Diego researchers recently claimed that they have detected dangerously high levels of toxic gas in the Tijuana River Valley.

According to the researchers, they discovered high levels of hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen sulfide while conducting air-quality studies in the area, prompting them to temporarily abandon their work over safety concerns and issue a warning to the public. As a result, nearby schools within the South Bay School District have suspended outdoor activities out of "an abundance of caution," citing "heat and high levels of toxins in the air."

'These fumes are causing an immediate and serious threat to the health and safety of residents.'

The reportedly contaminated air has been linked to the high volume of raw sewage flowing from Mexico into the Tijuana River Valley.

Residents have reported an "unbearable" stench in recent weeks, according to the Border Report.

A group of local Democratic lawmakers wrote a joint letter to President Joe Biden (D) and California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) urging them to initiate a state of emergency over the researchers' findings.

"Recent data has made it clear that these fumes are causing an immediate and serious threat to the health and safety of residents of South San Diego, and our community needs additional support," they wrote.

San Diego County Supervisor Nora Vargas (D) pushed back on the findings during a press conference Tuesday morning. She claimed that there is no public safety concern.

"I want to reassure everyone that this is not an imminent threat, and it's safe to be outside and attend school," Vargas stated, according to KPBS. "Our county experts are actively gathering public health data and conducting research to provide the most accurate information."

Dr. Kim Prather, director of the Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment at UC San Diego, responded to Vargas' press conference, claiming that her team discovered "unsafe air quality."

"Vargas's claim directly contradicts not only our calibrated, validated hydrogen sulfide (H2S) data but also the numerous health complaints from South Bay residents, including migraines, respiratory issues, and GI problems. It's deeply concerning that a public official trusted by the community to protect their health would make such a misleading statement based on an unverified set of measurements from an unknown location and device with no critical details," Prather wrote on X.

In February, Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre called the sewage problem "the worst it's ever been" and "the border crisis nobody is talking about." Aguirre claimed that sewage from Mexico has, at times, forced the temporary closures of some California beaches.

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Blaze News investigates: The TRUTH behind China's stealth US border invasion — 'America can only be destroyed by the enemies within'



The Biden administration's open-border policies have fueled a staggering increase in illegal immigration at the northern and southern borders. New research indicates that an increasing number of these illegal immigrants do not come originally from Mexico or countries farther South, but rather from Asia.

Customs and Border Protection officials have been reporting massive increases in Chinese nationals attempting to illegally enter the country, particularly since late 2023.

'We see the women get off the bus. They're immediately contacted by the Chinese taxicab drivers.'

The Daily Caller News Foundation reported earlier this year that the White House relaxed the interview vetting process for Chinese nationals who have illegally crossed the border, further fast-tracking their entry into the country.

In December, NewsNation captured a video in Jacumba Hot Springs, California, showing a massive caravan of Chinese nationals who had crossed the border illegally.

HAPPENING NOW\ud83d\udea8 Large groups of migrants , mostly Chinese national men crossing illegally through open gaps on the border wall in Jacumba Hot Springs , CA @NewsNation \n\nTomorrow San Diego County officials will vote on whether the county will spend $3 million in taxpayer funds for\u2026
— (@)

In the first six months of fiscal year 2024, Customs and Border Protection officials nationwide encountered nearly 42,000 Chinese nationals, a 133% increase compared to the same period last fiscal year, when they encountered just over 18,000.

Most Chinese nationals illegally crossing the southern border into the United States enter through the San Diego Sector, which has experienced the most encounters in April of all other sectors in the nation. In fiscal year 2023, the San Diego Sector's CBP experienced almost 231,000 illegal immigrant encounters. So far, in the first six months of fiscal year 2024, there have already been more than 185,000.

These eye-popping numbers reported by CBP do not account for the known or unknown gotaways who entered the U.S. without being apprehended by law enforcement officials.

Jessica M. Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, told Blaze News that the increase in Chinese nationals illegally entering the country can be attributed to the fact that the "news has spread that if you can make it to the U.S. border, chances are you will be allowed to stay, perhaps indefinitely."

El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells has been sounding the alarm about the open-border crisis and reporting on how it is impacting the San Diego Sector in particular. Wells detailed his recent visits to the southern border in a series of videos shared on X.

While touring the border, we came across a group of primarily Chinese nationals who had just crossed the border illegally. The group was walking on a dirt road in the middle of the night, looking for Border Patrol to take them to the City of San Diego.
— (@)

"I was out there in the middle of the night, and we're driving down these dirt roads and we come across 30 Chinese families — men, women, and children. Just standing there in the middle of nowhere in the dark, maybe 10 miles away from a highway. And they're just waiting to be picked up by the Border Patrol," Wells told Blaze News. "I talked to them. They didn't speak English very well. And I think that some of them probably spoke English better than they let on, but they're just coming over in waves."

He explained that the caravans crossing the southern border are "not just randomly happening" but are part of a highly organized effort. Wells and many others have found countless abandoned IDs and passports scattered in the desert.

Why are illegal immigrants ripping up their IDs and passports when they enter America? They want to create a new identity so that Border Patrol has no idea who they are.\n\nI visited @thecorygoat house, who lives next to the border and has picked up hundreds of torn-up IDs around\u2026
— (@)

"There's a reason for that — they don't want anyone to know who they are. They want to apply for asylum, get their court date for five years in the future, and disappear into the interior of the country," Wells told Blaze News. "We have no idea who they are, why they're here, and what their history is."

He warned that the open-border crisis and relaxed vetting provide a dangerous and easily exploitable opportunity for foreign government actors and terrorists to "slip into the interior" of the country.

"The communist government of China does not see us as an ally; they see us as a competitor in their quest to dominate the world. And I think they've got a vested interest in damaging the United States at any cost. I also know that they've been heavily involved in espionage and stealing technology. And it certainly is a lot easier to do that when you've got tens of thousands of Chinese migrants coming in, and, of course, I would assume some of those are government agents," Wells told Blaze News.

He said the shift in illegal immigrants crossing into California can be blamed mainly on the state's "political climate."

"We're a sanctuary state. Our governor has no interest whatsoever in trying to dissuade people from coming across," Wells added.

In September, San Diego County had 140,000 street releases, according to Wells. Around the same time, Wells noted that he started seeing fewer illegal immigrants from Central America and more from China and Africa.

"The federal government has some goal in mind — I think we all know what it is; it's to change the balance of power in Congress forever. But that goal is so important to them that they do not care about how many people are going to die. I think that's pretty frightening," he stated.

Wells said that the nongovernmental organizations tasked with transporting and providing humanitarian aid to the illegal immigrants are quickly moving the individuals out of the area and relocating them to other parts of the state.

Once the illegal immigrants cross into the country in San Diego County, they are picked up by Border Patrol agents. Iris Avenue Transit Center serves as the primary drop-off point for illegal aliens.

John Fabbricatore, a retired Immigration and Customs Enforcement Denver Field Office director and current Republican congressional candidate for Colorado's 6th District, told Blaze News that Chinese nationals moving through South America to get to the U.S.-Mexico border are paying significant amounts of money.

"They're also being taken care of much better as they move through South America. They are being transported in buses. They have better guides. They're getting food while they're getting through. And that gets all set up by criminal organizations," Fabbricatore said. "These Chinese criminal organizations are actually raising this kind of A+ rating for moving Chinese migrants through South America," often in partnership with the Mexican cartels.

In a video posted on X, Wells described seeing female Chinese nationals being picked up by male Chinese taxicab drivers at the transit station in San Diego County.

Federal data shows a surge in Chinese migrants illegally crossing the US-Mexico border, setting a new record with 24,200 arrests over the last six months, predominantly concentrated in San Diego County.
— (@)

"We see the women get off the bus. They're immediately contacted by the Chinese taxicab drivers," he told Blaze News. "These aren't just guys that show up there. They sleep outside of their taxicabs on the ground. They make cooking fires at night. Their whole life is wrapped around bringing these Chinese people to undisclosed locations."

Wells stated that, at this point, he has not confirmed where these women are being taken and why.

"I was with somebody who spoke Mandarin overhearing, and they said that they were talking about getting to locations in Los Angeles. My speculation is that to pay off their debt to get into the country, they're working in sex trafficking and being taken to the brothels they're going to be working in. But I have no confirmation," he said in an interview with Blaze News.

Vaughan, with the CIS, explained that "it would be easy to get away with this kind of an abusive criminal scheme under the current policies."

Women crossing the border illegally are "released with few questions asked," she told Blaze News, because "officers are too overwhelmed to be able to screen for trafficking situations." She noted that even if a trafficking situation was detected, the females would be "unlikely to divulge much information because they will fear for the safety of their families in China."

"This would not be the first sex trafficking scheme involving Chinese women, and it won't be the last, unless we start doing a better job enforcing our immigration laws. But this is an example of how tolerating and encouraging illegal immigration leads to other problems," Vaughan said.

Relaxed border vetting

Air Force General Gregory Guillot told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March that the influx of Chinese nationals illegally crossing the border is "a big concern" of his, noting the potential for "counter intelligence to hide in plain sight in those numbers," Blaze News previously reported.

Vaughan told Blaze News that she believes "most of those crossing the border illegally are relatively ordinary workers looking for better opportunities in the United States, and some are willing to do their time in service to the drug cartels to get out of China."

"Some may be spies — why wouldn't China try that? — but the reality is that most any Chinese citizen here as a student or white-collar worker could be enlisted as a spy for China, and those in schools, on research projects, or working for innovative U.S. companies or the government are in a better position to carry out espionage. The men crossing the border illegally are more likely lower-level operatives or ordinary workers," she remarked.

Fabbricatore informed Blaze News that he believes a greater threat to national security is from destabilization efforts within the country.

"A lot of people just look at it and they see young males crossing the border, and they think the Chinese are sending their military over here. And I don't see that. This isn't 'Red Dawn.' We're not going to see a bunch of soldiers pop up. But it doesn't take that to bring the United States down. It takes people in positions to lead other people to be dissidents and to lash out at the U.S. and have rallies against the U.S. And to just put us into a flux of chaos," he stated.

"It takes people stealing our advanced technology and using that in China and making it so that they get something to the market before we do. There are a lot of things the Chinese government can do to destabilize the United States, and it doesn't necessarily have to be through force," Fabbricatore added.

To move illegal immigrants through quickly, the Border Patrol has pulled back on its vetting processes, allowing potentially dangerous individuals to slip through undetected. For thorough vetting to occur, illegal aliens would need to be held in custody for about two weeks, Fabbricatore explained.

When illegal immigrants enter the country, they are apprehended and transported to a processing facility where their biometrics are collected and an interview is typically conducted, he told Blaze News. The illegal aliens’ information and fingerprints are run through law enforcement systems to check for previous criminal activity.

"But if that person has never been in the U.S., they're not hitting on anything because most of the systems that we're searching through are U.S.-based systems where if a person has come in contact with law enforcement or the FBI, there will be something in the system on them," Fabbricatore continued. "Now, there are more advanced systems that that information travels through, but it's a longer process and doesn't have an initial red flag that comes up."

"The vetting used to be better with the intelligence-gathering, and it's a lot less now because they're just quickly going through those initial interviews," he noted.

'The young people have been indoctrinated, schooled for years to become American Red Guards to do the destruction of our American ideals and values and traditions.'

In addition to the administration's relaxed border policies acting as a magnet for foreign nationals to cross into the country illegally, Vaughan explained that the increase in entries could also be attributed to "the emergence of Chinese organized crime groups expanding their involvement in illegal marijuana growing and in money laundering for the Mexican drug cartels."

"We can be confident that there is a connection and that the lax border and interior enforcement has facilitated this business model of illegal weed grows in rural areas with workers in a state of bondage, enforced with violence," she continued. "According to federal law enforcement agents, the Chinese crime groups are now the money laundering partners of choice for the Mexican drug cartels, because the Chinese developed a model to successfully launder the funds more quickly and more cheaply than the Mexican money brokers who used to do this job."

The Chinese triads are "controlling a lot of these weed grows that you're seeing in the northern part of our border," including in Maine and upstate New York, Fabbricatore told Blaze News.

The threat of the CCP

Fabbricatore stated, "We know for sure that the Chinese are sending assets over to the United States — 100%. You can see that in some of the secret police stations that the Chinese have set up in some of our cities. ... Those are CCP assets that they have sent over to the United States to find dissidents, to find these real asylum-seekers who are coming into the U.S. and speaking out against the Chinese government."

He mentioned that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had shut down the foreign police station operations and arrested some individuals involved.

Lily Tang Williams, a Republican congressional candidate in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District, told Blaze News that the Department of Justice may have closed down the offices, but that has not stopped the CCP from continuing its operations.

Williams expressed that she is "very, very concerned" about the influx of Chinese nationals crossing the southern border illegally. Tang Williams grew up in China during Mao Zedong's cultural revolution, and she is now determined to "prevent the country she loves from becoming the country she left."

"I have been speaking up about my story for a while, and because of that, the [Chinese Communist Party] has discovered me. And they've threatened me since 2019 to say, 'Shut up,' or, 'You are a wanted criminal when you come back to China to visit your family and friends," Tang Williams stated, adding that she has been unable to see her loved ones since the threats began.

She said she is concerned about her safety and the CCP's influence on American systems.

"I'm afraid that people don't understand China. That is a very complicated issue," Tang Williams remarked. She explained that Xi Jinping aims to ensure that China takes over as the top global power, including "militarily, economically, diplomatically, and technologically."

"There's a strong force united to really destroy our country from within," she told Blaze News. "I truly believe America can only be destroyed by the enemies within."

Tang Williams explained that the federal government has allowed China to "infiltrate" America for decades. She noted that the CCP's influence and control is much more significant than most realize.

"For the U.S. particularly, they have sent the Confucius Institute funded by the Chinese government in the name of promoting culture and the language. ... At the end of last year, I think at most of the college campuses, the Confucius Institute ceased to exist, but I heard they changed names," she warned. "That's the tactic."

Fabbricatore echoed Tang Williams' concerns in a statement made to Blaze News, noting that the CCP has exploited student and work visa programs to plant assets that fuel destabilization efforts.

Tang Williams stated that news outlets in the U.S. that broadcast and publish content in Mandarin are all owned by pro-CCP actors.

"Now, you talk about business associations, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, friendship societies, sister cities, university exchanges," she continued. "It's amazing, all that deep infiltration."

Tang Williams explained that Mao Zedong used identity politics to seize control.

I am a survivor of Mao's Cultural Revolution. Here are some of his revolution features and tactics. You can judge yourself if these look similar with today's American woke cultural revolution.\n\n1. Mao started Cultural Revolution to purge his political enemies and become a\u2026
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"There is a similarity between the cultural revolution in China and the woke revolution in this country. And the young people have been indoctrinated, schooled for years to become American Red Guards to do the destruction of our American ideals and values and traditions," Tang Williams told Blaze News.

"Marxism is 'oppressor versus oppressed.' So they are constantly creating the new oppressed group," she added. "It's by design. ... Our young people just don't know; they don't realize it."

When asked about the border crisis and recent increase in Chinese nationals illegally entering the U.S., Tang Williams told Blaze News, "I'm very concerned a legal immigrant, like me, has been totally forgotten — people who come here, follow the laws. My brother waited 13 years to come here legally from inside China. And those people are being punished."

Tang Williams explained that a "very organized" system exists for Chinese nationals seeking to immigrate to the U.S. illegally.

"I have watched some TikTok videos in Chinese," she said. The online posts "tell people where to sleep in South America, what route to take to avoid the criminals." Tang Williams explained that they arrange for drivers to pick them up once they have arrived in the U.S.

"Some people are truly wanting to escape China for freedom, come here, live a better life," Tang Williams stated. "But there's lots of military-age men. They do not even want to be photographed, and they don't want to talk. And it sounds like it's very organized, the whole activity. Even telling them which border to enter."

Tang Williams told Blaze News that if the White House and Democrats truly cared about immigrants, they would speed up processing times for those who have applied to legally move to the U.S. She called the administration's open-border crisis a "mad house."

"They are doing this on purpose; this massive illegal migration movement is also supporting and funding the dividing of nations. ... Why do they just open up the borders? There is clearly an agenda to help one party," Tang Williams continued. "[Democrats] only think about their own power grab and staying in power. And getting [illegal immigrants] fast-tracked to get a Social Security number to work and to become voters."

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