HOST: To put that in perspective, Joe Biden released more than 4,800 illegals in a single day in December 2023. And in March, Border Patrol apprehended a little over 7,000 illegals crossing the southwest border. In March of 2024, under Biden, well, that number was more than 137,000. Joining us now, Center for Immigration Studies, Todd Bensman. Todd, good to see you. Thanks for being here. I mean, you know, it puts a lie to so much, first and foremost, the lie that we kept hearing from all of the Biden administration officials that the border was closed, but also the lie that it couldn’t be done by executive. action. What now beyond executive action?
BENSMAN: I mean, the president has shown such extraordinary measures that have been so effective. But should there be
something beyond that? Should there be some kind of legislation beyond the executive orders? Sure. The Biden administration left a wreck, a train wreck of the deportation and detention machine. It’s in pieces all over the country. They dismantled the machine. So the Congress is now in a position to fund its. reconstruction. The machine has to be rebuilt from the bottom up. They shut
down all of the detention centers for women and children, for families. They canceled all the private contracts with private jails, and they eliminated deals between local jails and, etc so that there’s nowhere to put people that has to be expanded we need to see more personnel staffing the deportation effort ICE, Border Patrol. We need the wall to be finished and so this is going to be Congress they’re looking at about a hundred and seventy billion dollars maybe to really just throw at the all of these reconstruction issues and I think that’s what we’re going to be seeing next for the real phase of deportations the real thing that’s coming.
HOST: I want to stay on that because in the executive order that President Trump has signed tonight that there’s federal funding is in play however if you really want to defund and deprive these sanctuary cities and states of money that falls on Congress Congress can really stop the deportation effort and I think that’s what we’re going to be seeing next for the real phase of deportations the eal thing that’s coming I want to stay on that because in the executive order that President Trump has signed tonight that there’s federal funding is in play however if you really want to defund and deprive these sanctuary cities and states of money that falls on Congress.
BENSMAN: Congress can really stop the deportation effort I want to stay on that because in the executive order that President Trump has signed tonight that there’s federal funding is in play however if you really want to defund and deprive these sanctuary cities and states of money that falls on Congress can really stop, of these states and cities of funding, if they can get their act together. Yes, they can. Ultimately, Congress is the power. They’ve got the power of the purse strings, right? That’s the notorious power of the purse strings. There are issues there, because the House only has a very narrow margin of majority for Republicans. It doesn’t take very much to lose support for doing things like that. Democrats, even the ones that are closer to the Republicans on these issues, a lot of them come from those jurisdictions, and they’re under a lot of pressure. So what Trump’s trying to do here with his executive order, is he’s really going bulldog on this. He’s settin things up. He’s teeing things up. He’s letting them all know that this thing is not over.
There’s been all this court litigation there, and he’s not going to let it go. He’s in legal combat right now. with the Ninth Circuit, with San Francisco judges, 16 different blue cities trying to stave off the loss of their funding. What this tells you
is that they’re coming for you and they’re coming for you hard, getting the, tea up, getting the table set for for pulling cash. Yeah, if you’re not taking Tom Holman seriously by now, there’s something seriously wrong with you. I think.
HOST: I think we know he is the bulldog and I think he’d be proud of that moniker a
well. Good to see you,