Reports are also emerging of ille- gal alien gangs targeting homes for robbery, in some cases using sophisti- cated technology to dismantle alarms and even drones to scout potential targets. One particularly notorious Chilean gang in California has robbed dozens of homes. Sanctuary Cities Feeling the Pinch In addition to causing an increase in crime, the unprecedented surge of illegal aliens has also strained public services to their breaking point. This problem has been particularly acute in so-called “sanctuary cities,” most notably New York and Chicago. The Democrat mayors of both cities have publicly criticized the Biden administration and demanded more federal assistance, while resi- dents have not hesitated to express their frustration. In New York, some students were even forced to transition to remote learning after authorities converted a high school into a migrant shelter. In Chicago, nearly 1,000 migrants were allowed to pitch tents and set up encampments inside O’Hare Inter- national Airport. In Denver, another sanctuary city, the Democrat mayor has announced looming cuts to city services as taxpayers dole out $180 million per year to provide services for migrants.
American Citizens Suffering
An Electoral Anchor
While Biden is generally unpopu- lar with voters, he has consistently received his lowest approval ratings when it comes to the border and immigration. With just a few months to go until Election Day, Biden’s efforts to shift blame for the crisis have shown few signs of success, and the number of illegal crossings has only continued to grow. This presents a particularly sticky situation for Biden, given that his opponent, Donald Trump, has the strongest record of any president in history when it comes to securing the border. As of late April, more than half of Americans — including 42 percent of Democrats — back mass deportations of illegal aliens. While Democrats have long sought to portray Trump’s border policies as extreme and inhu- mane, mounting evidence suggests that voters aren’t buying the spin and are eager to return to Trump’s record of success on illegal immigration. If Biden indeed comes up short in November, his failure on the border will likely prove to be the most deci- sive reason. And he will have no one but himself to blame.
While Biden’s border policies have resulted in a humanitarian disaster for those making the dangerous journey north, American citizens have also been directly victimized by the crisis. The most high-profile case is that of Laken Riley, a nursing student who was brutally murdered in Febru- ary, with an illegal alien named Jose Ibarra charged in her killing. Ibarra was released into the United States under Joe Biden’s policies and was then arrested twice before allegedly committing the grisly act, yet was repeatedly set loose into American communities. The murder led to widespread public outrage. Just weeks after Riley’s murder, Bran- don Ortiz-Vite, an illegal alien from Mexico who was deported in 2020 but crossed back into the country unde- tected, murdered 25-year-old Ruby Garcia in Michigan. In early March, Raul Santana, another illegal alien from Mexico with a lengthy rap sheet, killed 27-year-old Washington State Trooper Christo- pher Gadd when he slammed head-on into Gadd’s SUV. Santana was drunk and high on drugs at the time. In another high-profile case from 2022, Jean Macean, an illegal alien from Haiti with multiple prior arrests, brutally murdered elderly couple Brenda and Terry Aultman, who were on a bike ride near Daytona Beach.
Shane Harris Shane Harris is a writer and political consultant from Southwest Ohio. You can follow him on X @ShaneHarris513.
32 • AMAC Magazine
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