During an appearance on ‘The View’ last Friday, Mayor Eric Adams of New York City expressed his belief that the American people cast their votes in the recent election as a way to address the flaws in the country’s immigration system.
The Biden administration is relaxing certain immigration restrictions, paving the way for an increased number of undocumented immigrants to enter the country.
According to The New York Post, Trump has expressed his willingness to declare a national emergency and employ military resources to conduct widespread deportations. In response, the Biden administration is implementing measures to impede Trump’s border plans.
The Department of Homeland Security under President Biden is set to launch an ICE Portal app in December. This app will enable migrants to bypass in-person check-ins at ICE offices and instead connect with immigration officials through a mobile phone or computer application.
Users have reported significant glitches with the app, which is unable to track a migrant’s location if they are using an Android phone or laptop.
The app does not conduct background checks on migrants to see if they have any prior arrests or outstanding warrants. Additionally, it gives migrants the option to decline or dispute government mandates for electronic tracking.
According to the Post, the first wave of the new program will enroll up to 100,000 migrants.
In 2023, the Biden administration broke the record for the highest number of illegal migrants entering the country in a single year, with 3.2 million entries. This number surpassed the previous record of 2.7 million set the year before.
New York City has been greatly affected by this surge, with more than 223,000 migrants arriving since spring 2022. Being a sanctuary city, New York has allocated a staggering $3.7 billion in the 2024 fiscal year alone for housing, food, and other essential expenses.
Migrants gather in Tompkins Square Park while volunteers distribute food and clothing in the vibrant East Village neighborhood of New York City on January 27th. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Joe Borelli, a Republican council member from New York City, expressed his belief to Fox News Digital that there was a collective hope for the crisis to “wind down” with the prospect of a second Trump presidency.
He expressed his disappointment, stating, “These actions carried out towards the end of the Biden administration are truly disheartening.”
“He added that this action appears to contradict the peaceful transition that Biden had promised. It is seen as a desperate attempt to undermine the wishes of the people who clearly voted against policies supporting sanctuary cities and unchecked illegal immigration.”
Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, who represents New York’s suburban District 17, expressed his disbelief and frustration with the administration’s decision to relax restrictions right after the conclusion of Laken Reilly’s murder trial. In an interview with Fox News Digital, he emphasized that this move goes against both logic and common sense.
“It is astonishing that this news has emerged just one day after the sentencing of Laken Reilly’s murderer, Jose Ibarra,” he expressed. “Mr. Ibarra resided in a hotel funded by taxpayers in Queens and was provided with a taxpayer-funded plane ticket to Athens, Georgia, where he committed the atrocious act of murdering Ms. Reilly.”
“It’s absolutely shocking that, as the Biden administration nears its end, Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security Secretary, is attempting to relax the restrictions on individuals who entered the country illegally in the largest sanctuary city,” he exclaimed.