In a series of written and video reports from both sides from the US-Mexico border during 2021, Todd Bensman explores the causes and consequences of the mass-migration crisis that began in the run-up to the national presidential election, with anticipation among aspiring immigrants that Joe Biden would win, and which quickly escalated after he did. This ongoing series of stories from the border will reflect conditions in the El Paso, Big Bend and … [Read More...] about Dispatches from a Border in Crisis
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Securing America’s Borders
Major Border Wall Contractor Explains a Few Things About Texas Promise to Finish
By Todd Bensman as originally published June 21, 2021 by the Center for Immigration Studies AUSTIN, Texas – In announcing that Texas will finish the cancelled border wall construction, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott offered few details about how his state would take on such expensive and legally complicated job. Abbot, who is facing … [Read more...] about Major Border Wall Contractor Explains a Few Things About Texas Promise to Finish
Terrorism and Homeland Security
Minnesota Military Linguist Ensnared in Honeypot “Abandoned Her Country” for Hizballah
by Todd BensmanSpecial to IPT NewsApril 20, 2021 When Defense Department Arabic linguist Mariam Taha Thompson's love affair abruptly ended with her arrest last year, her own hurt feelings paled in comparison to other damage it wrought. The Rochester, Minn. widow's romance placed the lives of real American soldiers and intelligence … [Read more...] about Minnesota Military Linguist Ensnared in Honeypot “Abandoned Her Country” for Hizballah
NOW AVAILABLE: “America’s Covert Border War: The Untold Story of the Nation’s Battle to Prevent Jihadist Infiltration”
The book by journalist Todd Bensman, AMERICA’S COVERT BORDER WAR, is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and, as they say: wherever books are sold. This 13-year work of journalism explores one of the most politically powerful and nationally contentious threat notions to ever have arisen about the American southern border: that Islamic jihadists might steal over it through Mexico … [Read more...] about NOW AVAILABLE: “America’s Covert Border War: The Untold Story of the Nation’s Battle to Prevent Jihadist Infiltration”
Dispatches from America’s Other Southern Border: Guatemala-Mexico
Implementation of President Donald Trump's cocktail of policies took time, with U.S. court challenges, trial and error, and planning necessities. But by the fall of 2019, the historic numbers of Central Americans crossing the U.S. border, to the tune of 100,000 a month — 144,000 in May 2019 alone — had plummeted to (still-high) pre-crisis levels. Understanding why is key to blunting future … [Read more...] about Dispatches from America’s Other Southern Border: Guatemala-Mexico