Biden’s border woes expose White House divisions as centrists assert more control
By Nick Miroff and Sean Sullivan
November 8, 2021
Illegal border crossings and coronavirus cases were both rising this summer when a group of Biden administration officials developed a plan to vaccinate migrants in U.S. custody, viewing the shots as a sensible public health measure.
But just before the plan was rolled out, it was opposed by one of President Biden’s top aides, Susan Rice, and other senior officials who worried that it would invite more illegal crossings. Some aides responded that migrants would not pay smugglers and take a dangerous journey just for a vaccine — but they were overruled, according to four people with knowledge of the reversal.
The episode reflects the fractures spreading in the White House over Biden’s immigration policies and his dismal ratings on U.S.-Mexico border issues. Several top aides want tougher enforcement measures and the president’s team is gripped with fear that any misstep could trigger a new crisis, according to seven current and former Biden officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the internal tensions.
Thanks. I think I read that at the time. I don't think it does the job of giving a clear picture of what may be going on. 1) These stories often focus on a minor issue, like inoculation, or refugee totals, when we don't know the sides of the major battles, like remain in Mexico and parole; 2) If the centrists were in ascendance then why didn't they control the border? Did they lose or not try?I don't sense they started any big initiatives. Something or someone blocked them, no? 3) If you really wanted to control the border you wouldn't have Mayorkas at DHS. Why is he still there? A story like this should explain why. 4) In general, who is the decisionmaker at the WH. Klain? Who now? What about Donilon, or Bruce Reed. It's all a mystery to me.
In what the late Saddam Hussein once dubbed “the great Satan,” roughly two-thirds of the United States enlisted military corps is white . . . The fat, bulbous U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin once confirmed in a 93-2 vote of the U.S. Senate, immediately embarked on a whirlwind media tour of duty, telling the pseudo-secular sycophants in the state-controlled tabloid press and state-controlled television talk show circuit about how the U.S. Army is full of bad racist white men.
Senior Defense Department leaders celebrating yet another Pride Month at the Pentagon sounding the alarm about the rising number of state laws they say target the LGBTQ+ community, warned the trend is hurting the feelings of the armed forces . . . “LGBTQ plus and other diverse communities are under attack, just because they are different. Hate for hate’s sake,” said Gil Cisneros, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for personnel and readiness, who also serves as DoD’s chief diversity and inclusion officer.
And now the U.S. Army is doing ads begging for more young white males? What happened?
Even with a full-on declaration of war from Congress, and even if Gavin Newsome could be cheated into the Oval Office by ZOG somehow, with Globohomo diversity brigades going door-to-door looking to impress American children into military service, they will be met with armed, well-trained opposition, the invasion at the Southern border is going full tilt, and the drugs are flowing in like never before.
Get ready for it . . . the fat old devil worshipping fags on Capitol Hill, on Wall Street, in Whitehall, and in Brussels are in no shape to fight a war themselves, and most Americans are armed to the teeth with their own guns . . . NATO hates heterosexual white men . . . they said so themselves . . .
A fourth reason Republicans would go along with the Briar Patch scheme is because they too actually love mass illegal immigration. Particularly its wage suppressing effects.
Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) have every right to say what they like about Israel and the genocide of Palestinians as elected members of the US House of Representatives; they never took an oath to serve Israel . . .
I voted for Ron Desantis (R-FL) to be governor of Florida, not ambassador to Israel.
The recently ousted Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who took at least a dozen votes to get elected speaker, traveled to Israel immediately upon his election, declaring to the Israeli Knesset that the USA is steadfastly committed to supporting Ukraine in their war against Russia . . .
Was he running for speaker of the Israeli Knesset too?
Following his ouster . . . McCarthy (R-CA) traveled abroad again, this time to England, and expressed his open contempt for the white Republicans who make up the majority of the GOP and praised Democrats for their diversity during a debate at Oxford in the wake of his ouster as House Speaker . . .
Is he now running for the Prime Minister of the U.K.?
Nevertheless, he is free to go on media tours bashing white people and lobbying for Israel, because he has now resigned from the US House of Representatives . . . I can only conclude that the collective RINO butthurt over former Speaker McCarthy is all about the Israelis who have hijacked the American deep state war machine.
It has become so painfully obvious, especially where you have someone like Nikki Haley wagging her finger and shouting down Vivek Ramaswamy in a presidential debate on live national television when the questions of this Ukrainian war against Russia and any mention of Israel are concerned, that the United States government has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Israeli Political Action Committee.
Sorry Mickey... none of this fevered drug hallucination you outline will happen; The Dems want the open borders too much to give it up. Lots of reasons, and most of them cynical and self-(America) hating.
I apologize for taking so long to reply. You make good points. I am baffled at the absence of probing reporting on the internal disputes. I've wondered if Klain or someone else read the riot act after that initial story and succeeded in muzzling the malcontents. I've also wonder if Doctor Jill is influencing the prez on this. Is that implausible? Biden's seeming detachment from political reality is baffling, as is the failure of the White House press to develop the story. I am in Arizona now, visiting old friends and escaping the Eastern winter. I doubt Biden will win here next year.,
Mickey, you are usually pretty logical on this stuff but not here. Americans are way beyond "deals" that do anything short of absolute total shutdown and DEPORTATIONS.
And here's the problem for Biden (the Rutabaga): he can't fix it. He has the immigration/illegal criminal lobby that wants MORE people in, and he has the inner cities that are starting to revolt and look at President Trump as the only political figure in two decades who has stood firmly against illegal immigration. I call this the Democats' Civil War. And they have a second Civil War, which is the pro-Hamas/Palestinian side v. Jewish/Israel side. They can't win that one either, and all President Trump has to do is stay quiet on that and call for "peace" (a la Ulysses S. Grant). Mark my words, these two civil wars will utterly sink the Dems this cycle, big.
The view of Biden that he is secretly tanking his own agenda is interesting with respect to Ukraine. If he believes that a battlefield victory is impossible, then his next best political outcome is to be able to blame republicans. Thus, Biden shouldn't really be pressing to get that money to Ukraine. (Of course, this is inconsistent with the Biden makes money from Ukraine through some money laundering scheme. If he's making money, he's not shutting off the spigot.)
This shows great insight into the Biden administration, which would have been even better had it taken into account the schisms on immigration within the White House. Biden's failure to manage the mess within his administration and on the border is unforgivable. It is also a gift to Trump.
Thanks. What are the schisms in the White House? I left them out because I don't know what they are! Not much leaks out of this administration, unfortunately.
It seems to me that Ol' Joe is trying to tear a page from LBJ's memoir. You know, the page that follows the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the birth of The Great Society welfare state, wherein LBJ famously confides, "We'll have those "folks" voting for us (Dems) for the next 100 years." Joe thinks that by admitting and registering 20-30 million aliens who will be beholdin' to the Dems he can go down in history next to one of the most corrupt and craven pols in American history while adding a few decades to LBJ's prediction..
So the Briar Patch strategy is cynical but it's cynical against his left flank? As one to to left of Biden and wanting order at the border, I'm willing to sit back with my popcorn and watch what happens. I like immigration, but I want it to be non-sneaky.
This is true. I worked for USCIS for a year (before moving on, thankfully, to another agency). The number of asylum officers is small, and turnover is high, for a variety of reasons. But, from my observations, the agency attracts overwhelmingly people who are sympathetic to asylum seekers. Even if regulations or policy guidelines tweak the 'credible fear' standard, asylum officers can manipulate those regulations / guidelines. Anyone interested in reform has to understand that credible fear and reasonable fear interviews are mostly conducted by phone, they generally follow a script, they are non-adversarial, the interviewee is not required to provide any documentary or other proof to back up his/her claim, and the interviewee has likely been prepped to with a story that hits all the goalposts for a 'yes' credible fear finding. Of course, the interviews are conducted through an interpreter, who may exaggerate or distort the interviewee's story in his/her favor; the asylum officer simply can't pick up on nuances, or for that matter, form any impression of the interviewees truthfulness through body language, tone, sincerity, etc. Even if an asylum officer finds no credible fear after an interview, it has to be reviewed/signed off by a senior asylum officer, who is much more likely to challenge that outcome than when the asylum officer finds credible fear. So basically, almost everything is working against a 'no' credible fear finding. Finally, even if a USCIS director/ senior leadership that wants to enforce stricter guidelines (assuming they are ever issued) is ever put in place, he/she/they would face a very difficult challenge in getting most asylum officers to follow them (and the union is sure to fight any changes too). A presidential transition team and new / DHS / USCIS leadership would have to devote a good deal of thought /effort to effectively limit the discretion of asylum officers to follow their own instincts and biases towards results that would favor the asylum seeker regardless of what regulations/policies are put in place.
Thanks for providing insight into how things really work. I don't like it but it is better to know the truth. It also makes me wonder what other agencies are full of employees who feel free to override policy on things as important as who to let in.
I agree with what you have said. A few more comments. In the less than likely event a Republican is elected President in 2024, getting the right man/woman for USCIS Director will be critical, perhaps one of the most critical positions in the administration. Immigration law / administration is extremely complex and overly complicated, IMO, for many reasons, including lots of bandaid laws and regulations arising from crises, layers of administrative hearings and appeals that go from EOIR to BIA to Attorney General, BIA decisions that have greatly expanded bases for asylum, etc. The USCIC Director will need to have an intimate knowledge of the law and the system, be a skilled bureaucratic infighter, and thick-skinned enough to continue on in the face of extreme internal and external opposition. Its a daunting task; any updated guidelines to asylum officers that attempts to tighten the review process will have to be airtight, and even then, lots can go wrong. I haven't followed things that closely, but did read some time ago about giving CBP officers authority to conduct credible fear and reasonable fear interviews. Not sure if it was ever implemented or whether any benefits were seen. Might be necessary in the event asylum officers leave the agency en masse, don't follow the updated guidance, sue the administration, or work around the guidelines to maintain the status quo - any and all scenarios would be entirely possible. In other words such a Director would have to be ready for anything, have the full backing of the DHS Secretary, Attorney General, and President, and have creative or at least adequate solutions to roadblocks his/her agency employees will throw at him/her. My inclination is to be pessimistic, but you never know.
Here's the top of a WAPO story from 2021
Biden’s border woes expose White House divisions as centrists assert more control
By Nick Miroff and Sean Sullivan
November 8, 2021
Illegal border crossings and coronavirus cases were both rising this summer when a group of Biden administration officials developed a plan to vaccinate migrants in U.S. custody, viewing the shots as a sensible public health measure.
But just before the plan was rolled out, it was opposed by one of President Biden’s top aides, Susan Rice, and other senior officials who worried that it would invite more illegal crossings. Some aides responded that migrants would not pay smugglers and take a dangerous journey just for a vaccine — but they were overruled, according to four people with knowledge of the reversal.
The episode reflects the fractures spreading in the White House over Biden’s immigration policies and his dismal ratings on U.S.-Mexico border issues. Several top aides want tougher enforcement measures and the president’s team is gripped with fear that any misstep could trigger a new crisis, according to seven current and former Biden officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the internal tensions.
Thanks. I think I read that at the time. I don't think it does the job of giving a clear picture of what may be going on. 1) These stories often focus on a minor issue, like inoculation, or refugee totals, when we don't know the sides of the major battles, like remain in Mexico and parole; 2) If the centrists were in ascendance then why didn't they control the border? Did they lose or not try?I don't sense they started any big initiatives. Something or someone blocked them, no? 3) If you really wanted to control the border you wouldn't have Mayorkas at DHS. Why is he still there? A story like this should explain why. 4) In general, who is the decisionmaker at the WH. Klain? Who now? What about Donilon, or Bruce Reed. It's all a mystery to me.
In what the late Saddam Hussein once dubbed “the great Satan,” roughly two-thirds of the United States enlisted military corps is white . . . The fat, bulbous U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin once confirmed in a 93-2 vote of the U.S. Senate, immediately embarked on a whirlwind media tour of duty, telling the pseudo-secular sycophants in the state-controlled tabloid press and state-controlled television talk show circuit about how the U.S. Army is full of bad racist white men.
Senior Defense Department leaders celebrating yet another Pride Month at the Pentagon sounding the alarm about the rising number of state laws they say target the LGBTQ+ community, warned the trend is hurting the feelings of the armed forces . . . “LGBTQ plus and other diverse communities are under attack, just because they are different. Hate for hate’s sake,” said Gil Cisneros, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for personnel and readiness, who also serves as DoD’s chief diversity and inclusion officer.
And now the U.S. Army is doing ads begging for more young white males? What happened?
Even with a full-on declaration of war from Congress, and even if Gavin Newsome could be cheated into the Oval Office by ZOG somehow, with Globohomo diversity brigades going door-to-door looking to impress American children into military service, they will be met with armed, well-trained opposition, the invasion at the Southern border is going full tilt, and the drugs are flowing in like never before.
Get ready for it . . . the fat old devil worshipping fags on Capitol Hill, on Wall Street, in Whitehall, and in Brussels are in no shape to fight a war themselves, and most Americans are armed to the teeth with their own guns . . . NATO hates heterosexual white men . . . they said so themselves . . .
https://cwspangle.substack.com/i/138320669/nato-an-anti-white-and-anti-family-institution
A fourth reason Republicans would go along with the Briar Patch scheme is because they too actually love mass illegal immigration. Particularly its wage suppressing effects.
Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) have every right to say what they like about Israel and the genocide of Palestinians as elected members of the US House of Representatives; they never took an oath to serve Israel . . .
I voted for Ron Desantis (R-FL) to be governor of Florida, not ambassador to Israel.
The recently ousted Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who took at least a dozen votes to get elected speaker, traveled to Israel immediately upon his election, declaring to the Israeli Knesset that the USA is steadfastly committed to supporting Ukraine in their war against Russia . . .
Was he running for speaker of the Israeli Knesset too?
Following his ouster . . . McCarthy (R-CA) traveled abroad again, this time to England, and expressed his open contempt for the white Republicans who make up the majority of the GOP and praised Democrats for their diversity during a debate at Oxford in the wake of his ouster as House Speaker . . .
Is he now running for the Prime Minister of the U.K.?
Nevertheless, he is free to go on media tours bashing white people and lobbying for Israel, because he has now resigned from the US House of Representatives . . . I can only conclude that the collective RINO butthurt over former Speaker McCarthy is all about the Israelis who have hijacked the American deep state war machine.
It has become so painfully obvious, especially where you have someone like Nikki Haley wagging her finger and shouting down Vivek Ramaswamy in a presidential debate on live national television when the questions of this Ukrainian war against Russia and any mention of Israel are concerned, that the United States government has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Israeli Political Action Committee.
https://cwspangle.substack.com/i/138320669/fight-your-own-wars-you-kikesucking-zionist-ass-whores
Well, one must ask why would an American President do this to the country? Spoiler alert: it isn't to benefit the country.
Volodymyr Zelensky is an Israeli operative . . . Ukraine’s Azov Regiment Visits Israel: ‘Mariupol is our Masada’ . . . https://nationalvanguard.org/2022/12/ukraines-azov-regiment-visits-israel-mariupol-is-our-masada/
.
In the shadow of war: Ukraine as the great reset laboratory of the global tech elite . . . https://cwspangle.substack.com/i/135302021/in-the-shadow-of-war-ukraine-as-the-great-reset-laboratory-of-the-global-tech-elite
.
Zelensky, Biden, Satanism, War, Greed, Theft, Propaganda, Domestic Spying, International Intrigue, Treason, Sedition, FTX, Ukraine, Israel . . . https://cwspangle.substack.com/p/zelensky-biden-satanism-war-greed
.
Documents leaked from Soros’ “Open Society Foundation” show how the Jewish billionaire behind Hillary Clinton gave orders to the State Department and manipulated media coverage of events in Ukraine . . . https://nationalvanguard.org/2016/09/documents-show-soros-ran-us-foreign-policy-on-post-coup-ukraine/
.
How Christine Lagarde, Hillary Clinton and Victoria Nuland Funded a Massive Ukrainian Ponzi Scheme . . . https://russia-insider.com/en/how-christine-lagarde-clinton-and-nuland-funded-massive-ukrainian-ponzi-scheme/ri27390
.
Jewish Corruption in Ukraine . . . by Andrew Joyce, Ph.D. . . . https://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/2023/02/17/jewish-corruption-in-ukraine/
Sorry Mickey... none of this fevered drug hallucination you outline will happen; The Dems want the open borders too much to give it up. Lots of reasons, and most of them cynical and self-(America) hating.
I apologize for taking so long to reply. You make good points. I am baffled at the absence of probing reporting on the internal disputes. I've wondered if Klain or someone else read the riot act after that initial story and succeeded in muzzling the malcontents. I've also wonder if Doctor Jill is influencing the prez on this. Is that implausible? Biden's seeming detachment from political reality is baffling, as is the failure of the White House press to develop the story. I am in Arizona now, visiting old friends and escaping the Eastern winter. I doubt Biden will win here next year.,
Mickey, you are usually pretty logical on this stuff but not here. Americans are way beyond "deals" that do anything short of absolute total shutdown and DEPORTATIONS.
And here's the problem for Biden (the Rutabaga): he can't fix it. He has the immigration/illegal criminal lobby that wants MORE people in, and he has the inner cities that are starting to revolt and look at President Trump as the only political figure in two decades who has stood firmly against illegal immigration. I call this the Democats' Civil War. And they have a second Civil War, which is the pro-Hamas/Palestinian side v. Jewish/Israel side. They can't win that one either, and all President Trump has to do is stay quiet on that and call for "peace" (a la Ulysses S. Grant). Mark my words, these two civil wars will utterly sink the Dems this cycle, big.
The view of Biden that he is secretly tanking his own agenda is interesting with respect to Ukraine. If he believes that a battlefield victory is impossible, then his next best political outcome is to be able to blame republicans. Thus, Biden shouldn't really be pressing to get that money to Ukraine. (Of course, this is inconsistent with the Biden makes money from Ukraine through some money laundering scheme. If he's making money, he's not shutting off the spigot.)
"Too many people are noticing; it's time to move on and grift somewhere else."
--Likely not Joe himself, but certainly one or two non-senile members of BidenCo.
Volodymyr Zelensky is an Israeli operative . . . Ukraine’s Azov Regiment Visits Israel: ‘Mariupol is our Masada’ . . . https://nationalvanguard.org/2022/12/ukraines-azov-regiment-visits-israel-mariupol-is-our-masada/
.
In the shadow of war: Ukraine as the great reset laboratory of the global tech elite . . . https://cwspangle.substack.com/i/135302021/in-the-shadow-of-war-ukraine-as-the-great-reset-laboratory-of-the-global-tech-elite
.
Zelensky, Biden, Satanism, War, Greed, Theft, Propaganda, Domestic Spying, International Intrigue, Treason, Sedition, FTX, Ukraine, Israel . . . https://cwspangle.substack.com/p/zelensky-biden-satanism-war-greed
.
Documents leaked from Soros’ “Open Society Foundation” show how the Jewish billionaire behind Hillary Clinton gave orders to the State Department and manipulated media coverage of events in Ukraine . . . https://nationalvanguard.org/2016/09/documents-show-soros-ran-us-foreign-policy-on-post-coup-ukraine/
.
How Christine Lagarde, Hillary Clinton and Victoria Nuland Funded a Massive Ukrainian Ponzi Scheme . . . https://russia-insider.com/en/how-christine-lagarde-clinton-and-nuland-funded-massive-ukrainian-ponzi-scheme/ri27390
.
Jewish Corruption in Ukraine . . . by Andrew Joyce, Ph.D. . . . https://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/2023/02/17/jewish-corruption-in-ukraine/
I don't share any of Mickey's priors on immigration, but I have to admit he's figured out the Machiavellian calculations here.
Mickey so glad to have you back, I worry when I don't hear from you.
Excellent analysis.
This shows great insight into the Biden administration, which would have been even better had it taken into account the schisms on immigration within the White House. Biden's failure to manage the mess within his administration and on the border is unforgivable. It is also a gift to Trump.
Thanks. What are the schisms in the White House? I left them out because I don't know what they are! Not much leaks out of this administration, unfortunately.
It seems to me that Ol' Joe is trying to tear a page from LBJ's memoir. You know, the page that follows the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the birth of The Great Society welfare state, wherein LBJ famously confides, "We'll have those "folks" voting for us (Dems) for the next 100 years." Joe thinks that by admitting and registering 20-30 million aliens who will be beholdin' to the Dems he can go down in history next to one of the most corrupt and craven pols in American history while adding a few decades to LBJ's prediction..
I was hoping Mickey would write more about cars
The strategy, if there is one, is wacky. Anyone who believes Biden is its originator is too naive for words.
Meanwhile, innocent persons are suffering on both sides of the border.
So the Briar Patch strategy is cynical but it's cynical against his left flank? As one to to left of Biden and wanting order at the border, I'm willing to sit back with my popcorn and watch what happens. I like immigration, but I want it to be non-sneaky.
Immigration is the death of our country. We don't need any of it.
This is true. I worked for USCIS for a year (before moving on, thankfully, to another agency). The number of asylum officers is small, and turnover is high, for a variety of reasons. But, from my observations, the agency attracts overwhelmingly people who are sympathetic to asylum seekers. Even if regulations or policy guidelines tweak the 'credible fear' standard, asylum officers can manipulate those regulations / guidelines. Anyone interested in reform has to understand that credible fear and reasonable fear interviews are mostly conducted by phone, they generally follow a script, they are non-adversarial, the interviewee is not required to provide any documentary or other proof to back up his/her claim, and the interviewee has likely been prepped to with a story that hits all the goalposts for a 'yes' credible fear finding. Of course, the interviews are conducted through an interpreter, who may exaggerate or distort the interviewee's story in his/her favor; the asylum officer simply can't pick up on nuances, or for that matter, form any impression of the interviewees truthfulness through body language, tone, sincerity, etc. Even if an asylum officer finds no credible fear after an interview, it has to be reviewed/signed off by a senior asylum officer, who is much more likely to challenge that outcome than when the asylum officer finds credible fear. So basically, almost everything is working against a 'no' credible fear finding. Finally, even if a USCIS director/ senior leadership that wants to enforce stricter guidelines (assuming they are ever issued) is ever put in place, he/she/they would face a very difficult challenge in getting most asylum officers to follow them (and the union is sure to fight any changes too). A presidential transition team and new / DHS / USCIS leadership would have to devote a good deal of thought /effort to effectively limit the discretion of asylum officers to follow their own instincts and biases towards results that would favor the asylum seeker regardless of what regulations/policies are put in place.
Thanks for providing insight into how things really work. I don't like it but it is better to know the truth. It also makes me wonder what other agencies are full of employees who feel free to override policy on things as important as who to let in.
I agree with what you have said. A few more comments. In the less than likely event a Republican is elected President in 2024, getting the right man/woman for USCIS Director will be critical, perhaps one of the most critical positions in the administration. Immigration law / administration is extremely complex and overly complicated, IMO, for many reasons, including lots of bandaid laws and regulations arising from crises, layers of administrative hearings and appeals that go from EOIR to BIA to Attorney General, BIA decisions that have greatly expanded bases for asylum, etc. The USCIC Director will need to have an intimate knowledge of the law and the system, be a skilled bureaucratic infighter, and thick-skinned enough to continue on in the face of extreme internal and external opposition. Its a daunting task; any updated guidelines to asylum officers that attempts to tighten the review process will have to be airtight, and even then, lots can go wrong. I haven't followed things that closely, but did read some time ago about giving CBP officers authority to conduct credible fear and reasonable fear interviews. Not sure if it was ever implemented or whether any benefits were seen. Might be necessary in the event asylum officers leave the agency en masse, don't follow the updated guidance, sue the administration, or work around the guidelines to maintain the status quo - any and all scenarios would be entirely possible. In other words such a Director would have to be ready for anything, have the full backing of the DHS Secretary, Attorney General, and President, and have creative or at least adequate solutions to roadblocks his/her agency employees will throw at him/her. My inclination is to be pessimistic, but you never know.