Fewer Indians Are Crossing Over to US, And COVID Isn’t Just Why
The Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigrants is one reason why the border arrivals are declining.
Todd Bensman, a former counter-terrorism intelligence analyst for the Texas government finds the claim that the impact of the pandemic is making Indians flee their country and take the treacherous road to the US Southern border, absurd.
“I believe that is an inaccurate characterisation of what is happening. They did not leave India because of the pandemic – that claim in NY Times is wrong. By blaming the pandemic, someone is evading the real responsibility. The actual cause is the policy at the border – that people who come in, families coming in will be allowed to settle in. Indians in Punjab hear about this, and they are on their way. The same with aspiring immigrants anywhere in the world – those who can get here, will be released in a short period of time with no fear of deportation, as deportation has been dropped on the very first day of office. They (Biden administration) suspended deportations of any kind,” he says.
Todd Bensman has been in the trenches studying the US-Mexican border to establish the presence of a secret national counter-terrorism project.
He has spent years in South American nations tracking those who are believed to represent a potential terrorism threat if they were to enter US, authoring the book, ‘America’s Covert Border War: The Untold Story of the Nation’s Battle to Prevent Jihadist Infiltration’.ADVERTISEMENT
During his research and intelligence gathering, he came across groups of Indians traversing the South American countries on way to the US-Mexico border.
He believes the number of deportations under the Trump administration, financial deterrents, and stricter ‘credible fear’ asylum interviews are behind the drop in refugees arriving at the border.
“What Trump did was that they started claiming big value bonds and the numbers slowed down. Immigration officers were given special training to spot false stories to Indians’ persecution claims to get asylum. It was the first time that ever happened, and deportations followed. Loads of Indians were deported during Trump years.”
Todd Bensman, Former Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Analyst for Texas Government
Bensman explains that Trump’s pressure on Latin American countries to not let other nationals flow through them to the US-Mexico border also played a part in sending the message to those planning the long haul.
“Mexico started it too. The new president in Brazil cracked down on Indians. This acted as a dampener for the number of Indians coming in. Trump was the kind of a guy, if he said no to you, he will destroy you. Asylum officers under Democratic regimes like Obama’s were told to check the yes box for all Indians. With Biden, it’s back.”