Biden May Bring Back Trump-Era Border Policy

Plus: Is the CPAC Straw Poll Rigged?

Biden May Bring Back Trump-Era Border Policy
There’s politics and then there’s data. As mentioned in BRIGHT last week, encounters at the border are at an all-time high. Border patrol agents are concerned that they’ve hit 1 million encounters so early in FY 2023, especially as it’s expected numbers will pick up as spring gets closer. The Biden Administration is starting to pay attention, too. The New York Times reported that the administration is considering reinstating Trump-era restrictions;

The Biden administration has largely ended the practice of family detention, instead releasing families into the United States temporarily and using ankle bracelets, traceable cellphones or other methods to keep track of them.

But the administration has turned to more restrictive measures as it struggles to handle a rise in migrants fleeing authoritarian governments and economic ruin in their countries. Officials also fear a surge at the border after May 11, when a public health measure that has allowed authorities to swiftly expel migrants expires.

Mr. Biden’s tough new measures, including a crackdown announced last month that could disqualify a vast majority of migrants from being able to seek asylum at the southern border, have infuriated advocates who say the president is breaking campaign promises and embracing a Trump-era approach to immigration.]

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air gets to the heart of the possible reversal:

Well, that’s because Trump’s approach worked. Biden’s approach touched off a humanitarian disaster and a security collapse. This isn’t a mystery.

The question is — why now? House Democrat Henry Cuellar of Texas has been calling for a reversal of these policies for two years, as have other Democrats in border states. Cuellar’s reward for that last year was a primary challenge that nearly knocked him out of the House, largely on his refusal to kowtow to progressives on this issue. A change by Biden last year might have shored up more support not just for Cuellar but also other Democrats who represent voters near the southern border who are sick and tired of being overrun.

And the answer is: 2024.

Another Woman VP?
U.S. Ambassador and writer Clare Boothe Luce once said, “If I fail, no one will say, ‘She doesn't have what it takes.’ They will say, 'Women don't have what it takes.’”

It seems unlikely any of the names being floated as a possible pick for Trump’s VP, should he win the nomination, can fail at the Kamala level. Kamala hasn’t tarnished the possibility for all women. Of the four names being floated by the media, advisors, gossips, etc., who do you like?