Monthly Archives: August, 2021

(The Center Square) – Explosions in Afghanistan outside the Kabul airport Thursday have led to several civilian and military casualties and further heightened the chaotic evacuation of American citizens and Afghan nationals.

“There has been a large explosion at the airport, and there are reports of gunfire,” the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan said in a statement. “U.S. citizens should avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates at this time. U.S. citizens who are at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately.”

The Pentagon said the attack hit multiple spots with casualties.

“We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties,” said John Kirby, a spokesman for the Pentagon. “We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate. We will continue to update.”

The attacks came after the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan issued a public warning that Americans should not gather outside the Kabul airport. The Taliban has reportedly been harassing and attacking those attempting to access the airport and has publicly said they do not want Afghan nationals to leave the country.

“Because of security threats outside the gates of Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so."

The Pentagon has said evacuations are expected to end within 36 hours and promised more details as they emerge. Several news outlets have reported that three U.S. Marines have been injured.

“We can confirm that the explosion near the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport has resulted in an unknown number of casualties,” Kirby said. “We will continue to update.”

Other nations are coordinating with the U.S. and working to keep as many safe as possible.

“Our primary concern remains the safety of our personnel, British citizens and the citizens of Afghanistan,” the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence said. “We are in close contact with our US and other NATO allies at an operational level on the immediate response to this incident.”

(The Center Square) – Over the past 10 months, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents have arrested 8,691 known criminals who have entered the U.S. illegally through the southern border. Combined, they have committed 12,685 crimes in the U.S., according to federal data.

Because Border Patrol agents do not have access to criminal records from other countries, they rely on information reported in the National Crime Information Center database. Many individuals arrested by Border Patrol are registered sex offenders who were previously convicted and served time in U.S. prisons. They were released and deported only to reenter the U.S. again illegally this year.

The NCIC is a centralized automated database designed to share information among law enforcement agencies including outstanding warrants for a wide range of offenses. Based on information from NCIC, Border Patrol officers have made previous arrests of individuals wanted on charges of homicide, escape, money laundering, robbery, narcotics distribution, sexual child abuse, fraud, larceny, and military desertion.

In a recent Laredo, Texas, Border Patrol Sector report, among a group of 20 apprehended this week, one was a Honduran national and registered sex offender with an extensive criminal history. He was convicted of lewd lascivious battery and sexual activity with a minor in 2017 in Florida and was deported in October 2020.

His arrest, the Laredo Sector said in a news release, “continues to highlight the dangers that illegal immigration poses to our country especially by those individuals who have been previously convicted for sexual misconduct. These dangerous criminals increasingly continue to endanger our communities and show a lack of regard for our country’s laws.”

In another apprehension, Laredo agents detained a Mexican national wanted for allegations of rape out of Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“Sexual violence can have serious psychological, emotional and physical effects on a survivor. CBP collaborates with other law enforcement agencies to bring those allegedly committing these offenses to justice,” Acting Laredo Port Director Alberto Flores said.

In another arrest in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector, agents apprehended a convicted murderer from El Salvador. He spent three years in prison in the 1990s for a murder in California, was released, and in 2005 was imprisoned again for “re-entry of a deported alien,” according to border patrol.

They also arrested a Mexican national who had been previously arrested for first degree attempted sexual abuse of a child in Lexington, Kentucky. He was sentenced to one year in prison, registered as a sex offender, and then deported only to reenter the U.S. illegally this month and be caught.

Agents also arrested a Honduras national who had been arrested in 2011 in New York City for raping an 8-year-old girl multiple times. He was sentenced to four years in prison, released, and subsequently deported in June 2015. In another arrest, an El Salvador national had a 2009 conviction for sexual battery in Georgia. The individuals were apprehended after attempting to reenter the U.S. illegally this month.

This fiscal year, RGV agents working in the busiest sector in Texas also arrested more than 140 migrant gang members affiliated with 10 different street gangs.

The Del Rio sector reported a 1,400% surge in the number of sex offenders apprehended by its border agents this year compared to last year.

In the El Centro Sector of California, a registered sex offender with previous felony conviction for child molestation in Atlanta, Georgia, was arrested. He had been previously deported and was caught upon illegal reentry.

The El Centro Sector has so far arrested and/or removed 38 individuals either convicted or wanted on sexual offense charges so far this fiscal year.

As of June 30, Border Patrol agents had arrested 353 illegal immigrants on charges of sex-related crimes, many with prior convictions involving minors. By comparison, during the same period in fiscal year 2020, agents had only apprehended 55 such criminals. The difference represents an increase of 542%.

The Biden administration directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to cancel Operation Talon, a nationwide operation conducted by ICE to remove convicted sex offenders illegally in the U.S.

In February, attorneys general from 18 states wrote a letter to Biden, expressing outrage over cancelling Operation Talon, citing criminal statistics.

Between October 2014 and May 2018, they note, ICE arrested 119,752 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions, many with prior convictions for sex-related offenses. They included 5,565 sexual assault convictions, 4,910 child molestation convictions, and 675 child exploitation and child pornography or sexual performances convictions.

“The cancellation of this program effectively broadcasts to the world that the United States is now a sanctuary jurisdiction for sexual predators. This message creates a perverse incentive for foreign sexual predators to seek to enter the United States illegally and assault more victims, both in the process of unlawful migration and after they arrive,” the attorneys general wrote.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s governor will not issue a statewide vaccine mandate for schools, but he is open to local vaccine requirements.

Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday said he “hopes” local schools talk about requiring teachers and school workers to get vaccinated.

“Our staff needs to be vaccinated,” Evers told reporters. “I hope those conversations happen locally too.”

The governor has been considering a vaccine mandate for state workers for weeks, but he has not yet issued the order.

Evers’ comments about local school vaccine requirements comes one day after Milwaukee Public Schools’ board essentially ordered the district to come-up with a vaccination requirement for its teachers.

The hurdle, of course, are teachers unions in the state.

Gov. Evers used to be a teacher himself, then led the Department of Public Instruction as state superintendent, and received major backing from Wisconsin’s teachers’ unions during his run for governor.

Evers said he thinks unions could be brought on-board with a vaccine mandate.

“I think so," Evers said. "I've seen teaching unions and boards in New York City and L.A., Chicago, Broward County in Florida come together and said yes.”

Amy Mizialko, the president of the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association, earlier this week said she had no problem “incentivizing” coronavirus vaccinations for teachers. Her union has not taken a position on MPS’ likely vaccine requirement.

No other school district in Wisconsin has yet announced plans for a vaccine requirement. Most are relying on masks and regular testing as kids get ready to go back to school.

(The Center Square) – A new poll shows nearly a third of Democratic primary voters support school choice.

The Wisconsin Federation for Children on Tuesday released the poll from the Remington Research Group, polling group headquartered in Kansas City, Mo.

The poll shows support among Democrats in Milwaukee County for both school vouchers and public charter schools. The survey was conducted July 27 through July 29, and polled 766 likely 2022 Democratic Primary Election voters. The margin of error is +/- 3.3%.

“Democratic candidates should not ignore or run away from the fact that their constituents support school choice,” Justin Moralez, the Wisconsin Federation for Children state director said.

The question on vouchers asked: “School voucher programs provide a state-funded payment to families for their children to attend a private school. Generally speaking, do you support or oppose the concept of school voucher programs?”

Pollsters say 31% of people asked said they support vouchers, while 49% oppose them. But the Federation says another 20% didn’t have an opinion, which means voters are nearly evenly split.

It’s a similar breakdown when it comes to charter schools.

The pollsters asked: “Public charter schools are schools that have independence from many school district rules. Generally speaking, do you support or oppose the concept of public charter schools?”

Thirty percent of voters said they support public charter schools, while 44% said they opposed them. Twenty-five percent of voters didn’t have an opinion.

Again, the Federation’s Moralez said that means there is more support for school choice among Democrats in Milwaukee than many people think.

“A strong, growing segment supports school choice,” Moralez said. “When politicians state that they want to limit or eliminate the voucher program, they are really hurting these historically marginalized students.”

The poll also asked about what the government's top priority should be. Voters said it’s dealing with crime. Pollsters also asked about the Democratic race for U.S. Senate. Mandela Barnes got the most support at 34% of the vote. Thirty-eight percent of Democratic primary voters said they had not made up their mind yet.

(The Center Square) – Reports of violence and chaos in Afghanistan as the Taliban asserted control of the nation has sparked criticism of President Joe Biden, but the president reaffirmed his commitment Monday to the U.S. withdrawal.

Biden addressed the fallout of the U.S. removal of troops from Afghanistan in a speech from the White House.

“Here’s what I believe to my core,” Biden said. “It is wrong to order American troops to step up when Afghanistan’s own armed forces would not. The political leaders of Afghanistan were unable to come together for the good of their people, unable to negotiate for the future of their country when the chips were down. They never would have done so while U.S. troops remained in Afghanistan bearing the brunt of the fighting for them. And our true strategic competitors, China and Russia, would love nothing more than the U.S. to continue to funnel billions of dollars in resources and attention into stabilizing Afghanistan indefinitely.”

Biden ordered 5,000 troops last week to return to Afghanistan temporarily to help evacuate the U.S. embassy. Those troops were needed after a sweeping takeover of the nation by the Taliban, the Islamic extremist group known for its violence, oppression of women and involvement in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

While initial estimates questioned the Taliban’s ability to retake the country, or at least expected the process to take months, the terrorist group was able to take every major city, including the capital, within days.

President Donald Trump set the U.S. withdrawal date during his administration for earlier this year, but Biden pushed it back after taking office. Trump has since called for Biden’s resignation, saying he would have handled the withdrawal differently.

Republicans in the House and Senate also have criticized Biden for his handling of the withdrawal.

“I fought in Afghanistan,” U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., said. “I lost friends in Afghanistan. We’ve seen this before in how Obama-Biden withdrew from Iraq in 2011. Same leadership. Same failure.”

Others pointed to the humanitarian crisis as religious minorities, foreign residents, women and those known to have helped the U.S. face danger as the Taliban establishes its rule.

“Biden’s decision in Afghanistan undermines America’s credibility around the globe,” U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said. “His actions have destabilized the region and put Americans, our allies, women, and children in Afghanistan at greater risk of harm by the Taliban.”

Biden has remained firm in his position, saying the Taliban takeover was inevitable.

“I stand squarely behind my decision,” he said. “After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces.”