Colonial Privileges for Thee?
Regarding Allysia Finley's 'How Progressive Government Set the Stage for the L.A. Riots' (Life Science, June 16): One of the recent progressive talking points has been that pro-immigration uprisings are acceptable because California and other southwestern states were 'originally Mexican land.' Never mind that the Mexicans were only on that land because they also colonized, displacing and dispossessing Native Americans themselves. Apparently leftwing radicals think such an inconvenient truth can be overlooked and forgiven.
This Brit wants to know: Come the next Democratic administration, will the party maintain that principle by arranging for the cession of the 13 colonies back to the U.K.? Or do some colonial empires get privileges over others?
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2 hours ago
Republicans aim to tie Democrats to Zohran Mamdani after primary upset
Speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition summit in Washington, D.C., an annual evangelical gathering in the nation's capital, Republican leaders showcased an emerging line of attack against Democrats to energize voters and defend their congressional majorities: the ascent of New York state lawmaker Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old Democratic socialist on track to become the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City. Mamdani upset former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday with a campaign that zeroed in on affordability: He pledged to raise taxes to He pledged to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, help fund city-owned grocery stores, eliminate bus fares and expand public housing initiatives. His win vaulted him into the national conversation overnight -- Republicans across Washington using it as a new opportunity to depict Democrats as "radical socialists" and out of step with the country. The National Republican Congressional Committee, House Republicans' campaign arm, has also been quick to link the national Democratic Party to Mamdani. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who represents a swing district outside New York City and served with Mamdani in the state legislature in Albany, posted on X that Democrats in New York "will pay the price for this insanity at the ballot box." "Look at what we just had happen in New York," Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley said Friday, adding, "This is where the Democrats are going. They are open borders, inflationary spending, weak America." While some progressive Democrats have embraced Mamdani, some of the party's leaders have stopped short of endorsing him. Some moderate Democrats representing New York's suburbs have criticized him and declined to back his campaign. A critic of Israel's government, Mamdani has faced allegations of antisemitism over past comments and proposals. In response, he has emphasized policies to combat antisemitism, said that he wants to focus on city issues and has said he supports Israel's right to exist as a state with equal rights for all. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, in a speech at the same conference as Whatley, also criticized Mamdani while seeking to tie him to Democrats. "Listen, the progressive left will not stop. They will not stop trying to lead us down a path to socialism, and therefore we can never stop … Look what happened in New York. They nominated a mayoral candidate who would make Bernie Sanders blush," Youngkin said. "But it's not just New York. This is the challenge that we continually face and why we have to continually remind ourselves that elections have consequences," he said. Ralph Reed, a Republican operative and chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, told reporters Friday that Mamdani's victory, and a general election win in November, would put him at the center of the Democratic Party as the leader of the country's largest city. "The mayor of New York City is one of the most prominent political figures, not only in the United States, but in the world," he said. "I don't care if you're Rudy Giuliani or Ed Koch or, you know, [Michael] Bloomberg, or you know, whoever it is. It's a big deal. I mean, whether the Democrats would want it or not if he won the primary, he's helping to define that party." ABC News has reached out to Mamdani's campaign for comment on the comments made at the conference. When he was asked by ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott on Wednesday about Republicans seizing on his self-identification as a Democratic socialist to paint all Democrats similarly, Mamdani responded, "You know, I see that so many New Yorkers, especially the ones we saw [on primary] night, are not actually concerned -- they're excited, by a recognition of the inequality they're facing in their own lives." Some Republicans have launched what some are calling Islamophobic attacks against Mamdani. Born in Uganda, Mamdani, who is a Muslim of Indian descent lived in the United States since he was 7 years old and became a naturalized citizen in 2018. House Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee wrote on Thursday that he was requesting the Department of Justice open an investigation into Mamdani's citizenship, specifically his naturalization application. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R-Ga.), in response to Mamdani's victory, posted a digitally-altered image of the Statue of Liberty covered in a burqa. Several Muslim Democratic members of Congress have strongly pushed back against Ogles' letter, calling on Democratic leaders to denounce the attacks. U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), André Carson (D-Ind.), and Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.) wrote in a joint statement on Friday, "These hateful, Islamophobic, and racist tropes have become so entrenched and normalized in our politics… They directly contribute to the ongoing dehumanization and violence against Muslim Americans." At a press conference on Friday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has stopped short of endorsing Mamdani but plans to meet with him, called Ogles's effort "disgusting." U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who has strongly criticized Mamdani over his views and endorsed Cuomo in the mayoral primary, wrote on X on Thursday, "It is no secret that I have profound disagreements with Zohran Mamdani. But every Democrat — and every decent person — should speak out with moral clarity against the despicable Islamophobic attacks that have been directed at him." Other House Democrats also came to Mamdani's defense over the comments. Reed, who said he was not familiar with Ogles or Greene's posts, suggested other Republicans should focus on criticizing Mamdani's policies and legislative record. "I haven't even seen it, but I wouldn't think that would be a dominant message," he told reporters. "There's so much material on this guy." Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who won her seat last November while Trump carried the state of Michigan on the presidential level, downplayed the disagreements inside the party, and argued that Mamdani's victory in New York underscored voters' focus on the economy across the country. "People, just like in November, are still really focused on costs and the economy, and their own kitchen table math, and they're looking for a new generation of leadership," Slotkin said on Thursday. "It reinforces that you may disagree on some key issues, but understanding that people are concerned about their family budget, that is a unifying thing for a coalition."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tallying Up Biden's Immigration Damage
Most mainstream press accounts have largely ignored one obvious source of the Los Angeles riots - namely, that the Biden administration released more than enough illegal aliens into this country to populate a wholly new Los Angeles. In the aftermath of those riots, its an appropriate time to ask this question: How many illegal aliens did the Biden administration actually let into the United States? According to the Congressional Budget Office, during the four years from 2021 through 2024, a net 10.3 million people immigrated to the U.S. That figure reflects the number of (legal or illegal) immigrants who entered the U.S., minus the number who left. As a result of this huge immigration influx, the portion of the U.S. population that is foreign-born hit16.2%, per the CBO, surpassing the all-time record of 14.8% set in 1890. That mark lasted for more than 130 years, but it couldnt survive the Biden administration. In fact, the percentage of the population that is foreign-born is probably even higher than 16.2%, as that figure was for 2023 (up from 15.6% in 2022). Since a net 2.7 million people immigrated to the U.S. in 2024, according to the CBO, and about 500,000 foreign-born residents die annually (based on the CBOs estimate for 2023), the foreign-born population rose by an estimated 2.2 million in 2024 - from 55.1 million to about 57.3 million. So, the percentage of the population that is foreign-born likely hit about 16.8% last year (57.3 million out of 342 million). In comparison, in 1970, the portion of the U.S. population that was foreign-born was 4.7% - just over a quarter as high. Put otherwise, on the cusp of next years Quarter-Millennial anniversary of American independence, about one out of every six people now living in the U.S. is foreign-born, versus one out of every 21 on the eve of the Bicentennial. Thats a massive population transformation - one unlike anything our country has ever previously experienced. Most of those who were added to the foreign-born population during the Biden years were added illegally. From 2021 through 2024 - a period that coincides almost perfectly with Bidens presidential term (having 97% overlap) - the net increase in the number of illegal aliens in the U.S., based on CBO estimates, was 7.1 million people. In comparison, the entire population of Los Angeles is 3.9 million. Note that this represents the net increase. The gross increase in the number of illegal aliens under Biden was likely close to 10 million. The CBO only estimates the gross increase for a portion of Bidens term, but its partial tallies can yield a reasonable estimate for the whole four-year span. Citing numbers that it obtained from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the CBO estimates that in 2023 and 2024, the gross increase in the number of illegal aliens in the U.S. was 5.9 million, while the net increase was 4.3 million. Thats about four new illegal aliens added (by being released into the country, evading capture, or overstaying a legal authorization) for every one that was subtracted (by leaving or being legalized), so the ratio between the gross increase and the net increase was about four to three. Assuming that same ratio in 2021 and 2022, when the CBO estimates that the net increase in the number of illegal aliens was 2.9 million, suggests that the gross increase over that span was about 3.9 million. Adding the 5.9 million cited above reveals a gross increase of about 9.8 million illegal aliens across Bidens four years. Thats more than the population of New York City - or all of New Jersey. The CBO switched from using fiscal-year (FY) figures for 2023 to using calendar-year (CY) figures for 2024 in estimating the gross increase in the number of illegal aliens (and the releases, evasions, and overstays that compose that gross increase). But the number of encounters along the southwest border was very similar in FY2023 as in CY2023 (being 3% higher in CY2023), so this switch likely had little effect on the CBO estimates. Indeed, for the net increase in the number of illegal aliens, the CBO provides both FY2023 and CY2023 numbers, and they differ by just 0.1 million. The vast majority of these roughly 10 million illegal aliens didnt overstay their visas, per the CBO. Rather, they either evaded capture and escaped across the border or else were released by the Biden administration into the countrys interior. By far the biggest cohort was deliberately released. As U.S. District Court Judge T. Kent Wetherell wrote during a Biden-era case, U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Chief Raul Ortiz "testified that the current surge differs from prior surges that he [has] seen over his lengthy career in that most of the aliens now being encountered at the Southwest Border are turning themselves in to USBP officers rather than trying to escape the officers." Ortiz, whom the Biden administration selected as USBP chief, said at the time that aliens are likely "turning themselves in because they think theyre going to be released." They were generally right. The CBO estimates that in 2024, Bidens DHS released about 1,530,000 aliens into the U.S. - 570,000 were encountered along the open border and released, and another 960,000 were encountered at ports of entry along the border and released - while another estimated 800,000 escaped across the border. In FY2023, Bidens DHS released about 2 million aliens into the U.S. - 1.1 million of whom crossed the open border and were released, 900,000 of whom were released at ports of entry - while another estimated 860,000 escaped across the border. Thats a total of 5.2 million evasions or releases over two years (specifically, over FY2023 and CY2024, the periods for which the CBO provides figures). During the same 24 months, 715,000 people overstayed their legal authorizations to be in the country, per CBO estimates. In other words, about seven-eighths (5.2 million out of 5.9 million) of those who joined the ranks of illegal aliens over those two years either evaded capture or were released into the U.S., rather than overstaying their visas. Applying that same seven-eighths percentage to 2021 and 2022, when the gross increase in the number of illegal aliens was about 3.9 million, suggests that about 3.4 million illegal aliens evaded capture or were released over those two years. That brings the estimated 4-year tally to about 8.6 million releases or evasions under Biden (5.2 million plus 3.4 million) - a number larger than the populations of 38 individual states. Summing all of this up, about 10 million illegal aliens were added to the U.S. population during the Biden administration. Of these, about 8.6 million came across the southern border - usually being released but sometimes evading capture - rather than overstaying their visas. After accounting for illegal aliens who either left the country or became legalized, the result was a net increase of 7.1 million illegal aliens during the Biden years, per the CBO. That net increase of 7.1 million illegal aliens equals about two-thirds of the overall net increase of 10.3 million (legal or illegal) immigrants during the Biden administration. After four years of Biden, the foreign-born population now makes up a higher percentage of the overall U.S. population than at any time on record, including during the great waves of immigration in the 19th century. But its not just how many but who came into the country that matters. During the three full fiscal years (FY2018-20) immediately preceding the Biden administration, there were a total of 9 encounters along the open border between USBP officials and non-citizens on the terrorist watch list. During the three full fiscal years (FY2022-24) that took place entirely during Bidens term, there were 370 such encounters - a 41-fold increase. Across all four years of the Biden presidency, the number of such encounters was approximately 400. One can only wonder how many potential terrorists got across Bidens porous border without being encountered. On his first day in office, President Biden issued an executive order prioritizing "equity." His DHS soon quoted that order, made clear it would apply it "[i]n the immigration and enforcement context," and thereafter refused to enforce federal immigration law requiring the detention of asylum-seekers. Such "equity"-driven actions were, in the words of Judge Wetherell, "akin to posting a flashing 'Come In, Were Open sign on the southern border." As a result of that neon invitation, 7.1 million more illegal aliens entered the U.S. or overstayed their visas than left the U.S. or became legalized while Biden was in office - more than the combined populations of Los Angeles, Washington, Boston, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Miami. This was a deliberate result of Bidens "equity" agenda, and Americans are paying the price. Jeffrey H. Anderson is president of the American Main Street Initiative. He served as director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics from 2017 to 2021.
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Major League Baseball Is Too Silent on Immigration Raids
Last week, at the height of the immigration protests convulsing Los Angeles, federal agents showed up at Dodger Stadium, seeking access to the parking lot. Up to that point, the Dodgers had refused to comment on the Trump administration's immigration sweeps and their effect on the city's Latino community. The silence stoked complaints that the team had turned its back on some of its most passionate devotees. By some accounts, Latinos comprise over 40% of Dodger fans. But the morning agents came, the Dodgers finally acted. The team denied them access to the parking lot and a day later announced a $1 million pledge to help immigrant families harmed by the ongoing raids. That's a modest show of support for an organization worth an estimated $7.7 billion, and it hasn't satisfied everyone. But satisfactory or not, it's a clear indication of whose side the Dodgers are taking.
