Sunday, February 22, 2026

Why Exactly Did They Destroy the Border?

Why Exactly Did They Destroy the Border?

Why Exactly Did They Destroy the Border?
AP Photo/Eric Gay

Why would any president destroy the U.S. southern border?

The Left typically "pounces" on anyone daring to suggest that the Biden administration had green-lighted illegal immigration to gain new constituents for agendas that otherwise were without public support.

The Left smears critics of open borders as racist conspiracists spreading the "Great Replacement Theory."

Yet for years, Democrats and leftists themselves had written triumphalist books with titles like "The Emerging Democratic Majority." And often they crowed that "demography is destiny."

A few left-wing globalists even boasted of a new borderless world in which anyone could live anywhere they wished.

Not too long ago, Texas State Representative Gene Wum, D-Houston, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, jumped the shark to say out loud what is usually left unsaid about the Democratic agenda: "The day the Latino, African American, Asian and other communities realize that they share the same oppressor is the day we start winning, because we are the majority in this country now. We have the ability to take over this country and to do what is needed for everyone."

The same unapologetic left-wing weaponization of illegal immigration is occurring in Europe. Sheer numbers there have already radically changed the demography – and political constituencies – of the continent.

Recently, the former Spanish "Minister of Equality," an energized Irene Montero, offered an unambiguous rant: "I hope for 'replacement theory,' I hope we can sweep this country of fascists and racists with immigrants. Whatever their skin color, whether 'Chinese, Black, or Brown.'"

The climax of the new hubris in the U.S. was the Biden administration's destruction of the southern border and even rudimentary enforcement of federal immigration law.

On some days, the Biden influx exceeded anyone's wildest imagination, at a rate of 10,000 illegal entrants per day. The Homeland "Security" Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in Baghdad Bob-style, occasionally pontificated that the border was "secure" – as thousands in the background illegally swarmed the border, without health, or even rudimentary background checks.

The Left's political agenda for illegal immigration was to be realized either immediately through compromised ballot integrity or soon enough by warping the census-based reapportionment of congressional districts.

No wonder there is now near-hysterical Democratic opposition to even basic national requirements of a photo ID to vote. Yet, traditionally liberal polls like Gallup and Pew show that 83-84 percent of Americans support mandatory presentation of a voter photo ID.

Usually, the Left fawns over European protocols. But it now grows quiet when reminded that 46 of 47 European nations, even those governed by the Left, require IDs to vote.

Apparently, Democrats assumed that once 10 million more of the world's poorest had illegally crashed the southern border, without audit or English proficiency, they would filter throughout American society and become impossible to repatriate.

Soon, open borders would flip more states blue, as well as increase their congressional seats. Illegals were to be redefined as mere "residents," and often recipients of mail-in ballots.

The reality that millions of new poor would by needs grow the welfare state, expand government at all levels, require far more taxes, and fuel the DEI binary of oppressed/oppressors were added benefits.

The nexus between the 9 billion dollar Somali welfare fraud and Minnesota Democratic officials offers a sharp reminder of how the immigration/welfare/DEI exemption industry was created and protected by authorities.

Former President Joe Biden's new 10 million unlawful entrants may have increased the existing pool of illegal aliens (20 million?) to 30 million. That total, in turn, radically grew the existing group of 20 million legal foreign-born citizens and legal residents of various categories.

So when Trump took office in January 2025, the U.S. had admitted a record high of foreign-born residents. They now make up some 16 percent of the population and perhaps 53 million in actual numbers.

The influxes came at a time when too often the melting-pot tradition of integration, assimilation, and acculturation were reviled, and to be superseded by salad-bowl ethnic chauvinism and separatism.

Yet the triumphant Left never imagined a Trump reelection.

Nor could it grasp fully Trump's counterrevolutionary effort to secure the border and undo the Biden nihilism.

Even more surreal to Democrats were Trump's efforts to reinstate the integrity and supremacy of federal immigration law.

No one really believed Trump would seek to find and deport millions who had filtered through 50 states. Most were enjoying de facto immunity via hundreds of left-wing lower district court judges and blue-state officials of the Tim Walz/Gavin Newsom sort.

There is only one way that the Left would ever oppose a return to legal, measured, and diverse immigration. Namely, if any of its immigrant constituencies in the future – such as the 55 percent of Hispanic males who voted for Trump in 2024 – dared to vote on criteria other than federal entitlements, ethnic solidarity, and Democratic coercion.

Do that, and the Left would close the border quickly.

https://townhall.com/columnists/victordavishanson/2026/02/19/why-exactly-did-they-destroy-the-border-n2671581?utm_source=thdailyvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&utm_content=ncl-FYwyFZ5FuM&_nlid=FYwyFZ5FuM&_nhids=ncZ4xIwrtLXels

Trump Cleans Up Biden’s Mess

Trump Cleans Up Biden’s Mess

Trump Cleans Up Biden’s Mess
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

Despite all the naysayers who predicted doom and gloom for the Trump economy, the latest round of data has vindicated the President’s strategy. Indeed, it shows the stage is set for an American comeback. From family finances to federal finance, the damage of the Biden years is finally being reversed.

When the economy reopened after Covid, millions of people who were forbidden by the government from working returned to their jobs. While this was simply a return to the status quo, it was billed as job growth. Regardless, monthly job increases for the private sector peaked in the summer of 2021 and then began declining.

By the time Biden finally left office in January 2025, the private sector wasn’t adding any jobs at all. In fact, it was losing them—but the government was still on a hiring spree. All those extra federal bureaucrats made the jobs numbers better, but did nothing for the productive real economy in the private sector.

Just one year later, the Trump administration has successfully managed to right the ship. In January 2026, the private sector added 172,000 jobs while government jobs declined by 42,000. Astonishingly, Donald Trump reduced the federal bureaucracy by 323,000 in just one year—a reduction of more than a 10%!

Just as notable is who is getting those jobs. For nearly all of Joe Biden’s last year in office, the annual change in jobs among native-born Americans was negative, meaning this group was losing ground. Annual job growth was going to foreign-born workers. Once again, Trump has course-corrected.

During his first year back in office, employment among native-born Americans increased by 840,000 while the number of foreign-born workers with jobs declined. If that’s not “America First,” nothing is.

American workers are getting paid more too. Not only that, but their pay is going further—another sharp contrast to the Biden years, when the average American’s weekly paycheck grew substantially but still bought about 4% less by the time Biden left office.

Runaway inflation, which was ultimately caused by Biden’s blowout spending, is what eroded the purchasing power of Americans’ incomes, turning higher wages into lower standards of living. Conversely, inflation has been much milder under Trump, at just 2.4% during his first year as measured by the consumer price index (CPI).

Even better, when outliers are removed from the CPI, the inflation level drops to the lowest level since 2021. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy, as well as median CPI and trimmed-mean CPI, which exclude the largest and smallest price increases (or decreases), have all fallen to near five-year lows. Meanwhile, the real-time price aggregator Truflation shows inflation today is even lower, now under 1%.

That’s not to say everything is sunshine and rainbows when it comes to consumer prices and affordability. Inflation is the rate of increase in prices, not prices themselves, which are still high. But it took four years for Biden to create an affordability crisis, so it will take some time for Trump to dig America out of this hole.

For example, while the average American’s inflation-adjusted weekly paycheck shrank about 4% under Biden, it’s grown about 2% under Trump. While it’s great that half the losses under Biden have been recouped in the last year, Americans still haven’t regained all their lost ground in terms of what their incomes can buy.

Even more striking is housing affordability. Under Biden, the monthly mortgage payment on a median price home doubled, rising over 100%. Since Trump was inaugurated, it has declined 8% while incomes have risen. That’s making homes more affordable, but the damage from the Biden years remains.

It’s the same story with federal finance. The deficit for the current fiscal year to date (October through January) is down 17% from the same months in the prior fiscal year, which were also Biden’s last four months in office. While a deficit of almost $700 billion in just four months is far too large, Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have made remarkable progress in reducing it.

In short, just about everything is headed in the right direction. Family and federal finances alike are both improving and would recover even faster if Congress did its job and cut more spending. That would really help clean up more of Biden’s mess.

https://townhall.com/columnists/ej-antoni/2026/02/20/trump-cleans-up-bidens-mess-n2671570?utm_source=thdailyvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&utm_content=ncl-7Rdeq6mj58&_nlid=7Rdeq6mj58&_nhids=ncZ4xIwrtLXels

5 Percent Truth, 95 Percent Spin

5 Percent Truth, 95 Percent Spin

Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP

The trick isn't the lie

The most effective political deception rarely springs from a lie; it begins with a technical truth delivered calmly enough so that nobody checks the rest.

Democrats are working to shut down the Department of Homeland Security to force new limits on ICE, understanding agents are classified as essential, so they continue making arrests, deporting, and headlines say enforcement survives.

That's the 5%.

ICE doesn't operate in a vacuum; it sits inside DHS. Shutdowns freeze support contracts, stall procurement, delay detention logistics, suspend hiring, halt training, fail to pay administrative staff, weaken court coordination, stop technology upgrades, slow travel approvals, and strain interagency backup.

Badges stay on the streets, while the system behind those badges starts grinding.

Democratic leadership knows exactly how shutdown mechanics work; essential status protects optics, while operational drag builds quietly beneath the surface.

That's where the 95% lives.

Leverage disguised as oversight

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has blocked clean DHS funding while demanding tighter enforcement constraints. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has framed shutdown leverage as responsible oversight.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has warned that funding instability weakens operational capacity, while White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has highlighted the more damage and coordination breakdowns that follow a funding lapse.

The thing is, Democrats aren't confused about the consequences of the shutdown; they're using them.

There's a DHS contingency plan that spells it out: large portions of the department remain on duty without stable administrative support, with procurement slowing, contracts being paused, and support staff going unpaid.

As ICE agents still make arrests, but enforcement relies on logistics, courts, detention transport, and administrative throughput, things that don't function on slogans.

5% keeps the cameras calm, while 95% reshapes daily reality.

The pattern is older than this shutdown

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) once told voters that lawmakers needed to pass Obamacare to find out what's in it. Former President Barack Obama promised Americans they could keep their doctor — a broken promise that millions learned the hard way.

Before President Donald Trump clamped down on border security, Schumer repeatedly described border conditions as manageable, even while border encounters numbered into the millions.

Each instance was the precursor to the Democrats' strategy today; Pelosi and Obama wrote the formula, but it's being improved each time they use it: Present a defensible argument, let the consequences surface later, then act surprised.

Their greatest trick was convincing people that something wasn't happening while it unfolded in plain sight, a political strategy that refined that art.

Shutdown mechanics aren't cosmetic

Paperwork isn't simply paused during a shutdown; federal workers report without pay, contractors stop working, administrative pipelines clog, and immigration courts face instability through the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

ICE draws billions through congressional appropriations. Even though arrest authority remains, detention coordination, transport contracts, legal processing, and case management suffer when funding gaps appear.

Democrats claim they're not working to eliminate ICE: technically true.

What they're doing is squeezing the infrastructure around it.

That squeeze is the point.

Why it keeps working

Voters hear a simple claim: ICE remains essential, enforcement continues, there's no crisis.

Unfortunately, few people read contingency plans, and there are few studies on procurement slowdowns or delayed pay cycles. Political messaging survives on simplicity, while operational complexity dies from atrophy.

For years, Democrats have relied on selective framing because it delivers results. Health care reassurances sounded airtight until cancellation notices arrived. Border calm held until record border crossings pushed communities to the limit.

Now, shutdown leverage becomes a pressure tool; indirectly limit deportations, impose operational friction, then insist that enforcement remains intact.

The thing is that Democrats have no leverage.

But everyone in Washington knows Democrats are in no position to force concessions, given that even without more money for DHS, ICE remains funded with billions in cash through the “One Big Beautiful Bill” law passed last year. In short, the hand Democrats are playing is: Neuter immigration law enforcement, or they’re going to clog up air travel and federal emergency response assistance.

This would be like needing a last-minute babysitter and telling the only person available that if she can’t watch your kids, you’re not only going to stay home, but you’ll also send them to bed without any dinner.

Nothing strengthens national security like unpaid support staff and stalled contracts, while nothing boosts morale like wondering which part of the machine Democrats will say breaks next.

Brilliant strategy.

The cost lands elsewhere

Who feels the strain first? Border communities, where federal officers face uncertainty, travelers experience longer screening delays, and emergency coordination weakens due to destabilized funding.

There's no need for Democrats to directly weaken ICE; they only need to pile on procedural friction while choking off stable funding. When detention space tightens, contracts pause, case processing slows, and deportations drop. That's not theory: it's math.

5% preserves plausible deniability, while 95% delivers the policy outcome.

Final thoughts

During a shutdown, an agency designated as essential doesn't mean it runs normally; enforcement agencies depend on stable funding, coordinated logistics, and leadership that speaks plainly about trade-offs.

Democrats are well-versed in the effects of shutdowns, using surface truth to mask structural consequences, a tactic that's worked for years.

Our border security demands more than careful word choice: it demands honesty about what happens when infrastructure gets squeezed.

5% sounds reasonable.

95% tells the real story.

https://pjmedia.com/david-manney/2026/02/18/5-truth-95-spin-n4949655?utm_source=pjmediavip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm

Saturday, February 21, 2026

Kash Patel Becomes the Focus of Media Analysis They Consistently Get Wrong

Kash Patel Becomes the Focus of Media Analysis They Consistently Get Wrong

Kash Patel Becomes the Focus of Media Analysis They Consistently Get Wrong
Townhall Media

Get access to Brad Slager's "Riffed From the Headlines," a daily VIP feature where he looks to bring accountability to the mainstream media. Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!

Both Kinds of Standards – CNN

  • We are unclear what the complaint is here, Jake.

Dan Bongino, after stepping down from his role at the FBI, has returned to his radio program. This week he had his former boss on the show, Kash Patel. This apparently bothered CNN fixture, and the journo who topped our year end Townhall 50 list, Jake Tapper.

He posted a shot of the pair in a snide manner, so it seemed needed to remind him of his past of likewise interviewing Bureau figures.

Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – CBS NEWS

  • Sure, other things may be scheduled – but they know why he REALLY went there.

Kash Patel is heading to Milan for the Olympics, and the press is rather bothered by this. CBS leads the charge in accusing him of going just to watch some hockey games. He has meetings with Italian officials, is reviewing security measures to prepare for the 2028 games in Los Angeles, and a number of other official gatherings. But hockey, THAT is the primary reason for his trip, according to the network, based on the dismissive approach they take with these meetings – some scheduled last summer.

As part of the trip, Patel is also scheduled to take part in meetings with law enforcement counterparts in Italy.

Deadline Gambit – MS NOW

  • The official itinerary conflicts with the pre-written hitpiece.

Joining in with the slam on Patel was MS NOW, also insisting he is spending $75 million in his trip to go watch hockey. Only problem: The network was provided with the details of his trip.

Ben Williamson, FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs, stated that upon being contacted by the network reporters Ken Dilanian and Carol Leonnig, he gave them the schedule of meetings Patel had lined up.

Legalized Press-titution – POLITICO

  • Something in place for a decade is still in place, so it is regarded as “news.”

Bruce Springsteen has announced an upcoming tour. Bruce Springsteen has long been a vocal opponent of Donald Trump. For reasons clear only to the scribes at Politico, The Boss declaring that he will be opposing Trump from the stage on his tour is somehow considered to be “news.”

DNC PR Firm – MS NOW

  • Another “Censorship Media Tour” is underway.

It has become the most dependable of news cycles; a Democrat figure claims they are being censored by President Trump, and they proceed to go on a blitz of appearances on news programs, incapable of shutting up about how they are silenced.

James Talarico, the focus of this week’s Stephen Colbert non-troversy, has been appearing with any sympathetic media figure to warble about being censored. Joe Scarborough is just the latest to pimp the “muzzled” candidate.

Tragedy Averted As Suspect's Plan to Torch ICE Facility Fails to Ignite

Tragedy Averted As Suspect's Plan to Torch ICE Facility Fails to Ignite

MattGush/iStock/Getty Images Plus

We’ve seen plenty of violence by anti-ICE activists, but this latest stunt in Idaho could have ended up in serious tragedy. Luckily, the miscreant failed, but he’s still on the loose. (Note: I am using the pronoun “he” to keep things clearer, but the gender of the suspect is not known at this time.)

The unknown attacker’s plot was pretty sinister: he reportedly stole an ambulance in the city of Meredian on Wednesday night, stuffed it with gasoline cans, and then rammed it into a Department of Homeland Security facility. The plan would have been successful — if he’d managed to ignite the accelerant, which he had also poured around the vehicle, but he was not able to before law enforcement scared him away. He was wearing a black shirt, tan pants, and a medical-style mask.

Good thing he was inept, because it could have been ugly:

Just because the arsonist failed to burn the whole building down doesn’t mean it wasn’t a serious crime, said Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea.

We want to emphasize that this was a serious criminal act. The theft and destruction of an emergency vehicle not only created a risk to responding personnel, but it also temporarily removed a critical medical resource from the community.

He continued, arguing that the constant anti-ICE rhetoric only fanned the flames:

There has been a lot of rhetoric surrounding the Department of Homeland Security leasing office space at this location.

Comments on social media, such as 'property damage isn't violence,' is absolutely false.

This was absolutely an act of violence, and if the suspect had not been interrupted, there is no doubt this building would have been burned, putting the lives of first responders and others at risk.


MORE: School, Who Needs School? LA HS Students Ditch Class for Anti-ICE Protest, Hit Officer in Head With Pole

Watch: Unhinged Woman Sets Fire at Building in Kansas City, MO, Reportedly Considered for ICE Facility


The feds certainly don’t think it’s a joke:

Basterrechea says he’s not going to discuss any further details until they have more information:

The Meridian Police Department is leading the investigation in coordination with the FBI, ATF, DHS, Idaho State Police and other regional law enforcement partners.

"Any information that we believe would hinder our investigation will not be released at any time," Basterrechea said. "We want to make sure that this investigation is as clean as possible and that we bring the people responsible to justice."

The Left will doubtless continue their inflammatory rhetoric against federal law enforcement, and this type of event is exactly what naturally ensues. The next time, we might not be so fortunate.

https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2026/02/19/tragedy-averted-as-suspects-plan-to-torch-ice-facility-fails-to-ignite-n2199361?utm_source=rsmorningbriefingvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl