Friday, February 6, 2026
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Friday, February 6, 2026

Milwaukee Press Club 'Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism' 2020 & 2021 Award Winners

At Least 1.6 Million Illegal Border Crossers From Countries of Concern Under Biden

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Of the record 14 million illegal border crossers reported under the Biden-Harris administration, more than 1.62 million are from four Countries of Particular Concern (CPC): China, Cuba, Nicaragua and Russia.

The U.S. State Department has designated CPCs for their policies of “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom,” which includes “torture, prolonged detention without charges, forced disappearance, or other flagrant denial of life, liberty, or security of persons.”

U.S. designated CPCs include Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The CPCs of Cuba, North Korea, and Iran are also designated State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection records nationality for every illegal border crosser but not all nationality data is published online. Of the 12 CPCs, CBP published apprehension and encounter data reported nationwide for four: China, Cuba, Nicaragua and Russia.

Published data is from fiscal years 2021-2024; a fiscal year begins Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30. CBP CPC data under the Biden-Harris administration excludes data from the first three months of fiscal 2021 under the previous administration. It also excludes gotaway data, those who illegally entered and evaded capture, and those released through several parole programs.

More than 176,000 Chinese illegal border crossers

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the greatest number of Chinese illegal border crossers was reported nationwide in U.S. history of 176,038.

That’s up from nearly 160,000 The Center Square reported in June.

The greatest number was reported in fiscal 2024 of 78,701, up from 52,700 in fiscal 2023, 27,756 in fiscal 2022 and 16,881 for nine months in fiscal 2021.

Republican members of Congress have expressed alarm about national security threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese intelligence outposts operating in the U.S., Chinese and other illegal border crossers breaching U.S. military bases, Democratic vice presidential candidate Minn. Gov. Tim Walz’s alleged ties to the CCP, among other concerns. The U.S. House also passed bills to counter the CCP threat.

Nearly 786,000 Cuban illegal border crossers

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the greatest number of Cuban illegal border crossers was reported nationwide in U.S. history of more than 786,000.

The most were reported in fiscal 2022 of 224,607, followed by 217,615 in fiscal 2024, 200,287 in fiscal 2023 and 33,876 in nine months in fiscal 2021. They total 676,385.

At least 110,000 inadmissable Cubans were released into the U.S. through a CHNV Parole Program, according to CBP data.

Republican members of Congress have demanded answers about Chinese spies operating out of Cuba targeting Americans, nonimmigrant visas expanded to Cubans “endanger[ing] our national security,” non vetting of SST diplomats, among other concerns.

More than 536,000 Nicaraguan illegal border crossers

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the greatest number of Nicaraguan illegal border crossers was reported nationwide in U.S. history of more than 536,000.

The greatest number was reported in fiscal 2022 of 164,600, followed by 138,729 in fiscal 2023, 91,049 in fiscal 2024 and 49,254 in nine months in fiscal 2021, according to the data. They total 443,632. At least 93,000 inadmissible Nicaraguans were released into the country through the CHNV Parole program, according to CBP data.

Both Cuban and Nicaraguan nationals have been released into the country by historic proportions due to a new CHNV parole program created by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. CHNV parolees are also being arrested nationwide for committing violent crimes against Americans, The Center Square reported.

Nearly 127,000 Russian illegal border crossers

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the greatest number of Russian illegal border crossers was reported nationwide in U.S. history of 126,683, with the most reported in fiscal 2023 of more than 57,000, according to the data.

This year, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified multiple times before Congress of increased terrorist threats, including from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. Several federal agencies also warned about Russian cyberthreats targeting U.S. “critical infrastructure with disruptive and destructive cyber and physical attacks,” as west Texas municipal water systems were targeted by Russian hackers, The Center Square reported.

The total excludes data not published about 8 CPCs as well as CPC nationals released into the U.S. through the CBP One App and other parole programs.

Combined, illegal border crossers from these four CPCs, 1,625,738, total more than the individual populations of 11 states: Hawaii, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming.

They are also the equivalent of more than 36 U.S. Army corps, with 45,000 soldiers in a corps, and roughly double the number of U.S. troops who served in Afghanistan for 20 years.

Bethany Blankley
Go to Source
Reposted with permission

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Jill Underly

Wisconsin DPI Spent $369K on 4 Day Event at Wisconsin Dells Resort, Report Says

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction spent $368,885 to hold a four-day standard setting event in June 2024 at a Wisconsin Dells waterpark, according to a new report.

The event included 88 expert educators who were subject to non-disclosure agreements related to the workshop, according to records obtained by Dairyland Sentinel.

The publication fought for more than a year to obtain records of the meeting through Wisconsin Open Records law and attributes the Monday release of 17 more pages of documents to the involvement of the Institute for Reforming Government.

“The agency did not provide receipts for staff time, food, travel, or lodging,” Dairyland Sentinel wrote of the event at Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells. “Taxpayers are left to wonder how much of that $368,885 was spent on resort amenities, alcohol, or water park access for the 88 educators and various staff in attendance.”

There are no recordings of the event, DPI told the outlet, and meeting minutes were not sent as part of the public records response.

DPI was found by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty to have lowered school report card cut points in 2020-21, changed the labels on those in 2023-24 and lowered the cut points again that year as well.

In response, DPI formed a committee, held meetings and adjusted standards again last year.

WisconsinEye Back On the Air With Temporary State Funding; Bill Heard

(The Center Square) – WisconsinEye was back on the air broadcasting legislative hearings at Wisconsin’s capitol Tuesday, starting with a hearing on a bill to send long-term funding assistance to the private nonprofit that broadcasts Wisconsin state government meetings.

WisconsinEye received $50,000 in funding through the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization to go on the air during February.

Assembly Bill 974 would allow the network to receive the interest from a $9.75 million endowment each year, estimated to be between 4-7% or between $390,000 and $682,000. The network would have to continue raising the rest of its budget, which board chair Mark O’Connell said is $950,000 annually.

He spoke during a public hearing in the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Monday. A companion bill in the Senate is not yet filed.

“We’ll need some kind of bridge,” O’Connell cautioned, saying it will take time for the trust fund granted in the 2024-25 budget to earn interest and get it to the network.

O’Connell also said that he hopes the legislation can be changed to allow for the Wisconsin Investment Board to be aggressive while investing the fund.

O’Connell noted that WisconsinEye raised more than $56,000 through donations on GoFundMe since it went off the air Dec. 15 and that there are seven donors willing to give $25,000 annually and one that will donate $50,000 annually if the legislation passes, which he said would put the network in a “relatively strong position in partnership with the state.”

O’Connell noted that many states fund their own in-house network to broadcast the legislature and committees.

“This legislation will fund only about 1/3 of what we need,” O’Connell said.

The bill has four restrictions, starting with the requirement that appointees of the Assembly Speaker, Senate Majority Leader, Assembly Minority Leader and Senate Minority Leader that are not members of the Legislature be added to the WisEye board of directors.

WisEye will be required to focus coverage on official state government meetings and business, provide free online access to its live broadcasts and digital archives and that WisEye provides an annual financial report to the Legislature and Joint Finance Committee.

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Bill to Restart WisconsinEye Set For Assembly Committee; No Senate companion

(The Center Square) - A bipartisan Assembly bill that would re-start live stream operations of Wisconsin government from WisconsinEye is expected to receive its first committee discussion during a public hearing at noon Tuesday in the Committee on State Affairs.

The bill proposes granting WisconsinEye funds from $10 million set aside for matching funds in an endowment so that WisconsinEye can resume operations now, something that WisEye President and CEO Jon Henkes told The Center Square in November he was hoping to happen.

WisEye shut down operations and removed its archives from the being available online Dec. 15.

The bill, which is scheduled for both a public hearing and vote in committee Tuesday, would remove the endowment fund restrictions on the funds and instead put the $10 million in a trust that can be used to provide grants for operations costs to live stream Wisconsin government meetings, including committee and full Assembly and Senate meetings at the state capitol.

The bill has four restrictions, starting with the requirement that appointees of the Assembly Speaker, Senate Majority Leader, Assembly Minority Leader and Senate Minority Leader that are not members of the Legislature be added to the WisEye board of directors.

WisEye will be required to focus coverage on official state government meetings and business, provide free online access to its live broadcasts and digital archives and that WisEye provides an annual financial report to the Legislature and Joint Finance Committee.

“Finally, under the bill, if WisconsinEye ceases operations and divests its assets, WisconsinEye must pay back the grants and transfer all of its archives to the state historical society,” the bill reads.

There is not yet a companion bill in the Senate. The bill must pass both the Assembly and Senate and then be signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers.

WisconsinEye has continued to push for private donations to meet the $250,000 first-quarter goal to restart operations with a GoFundMe showing it has raised $56,087 of the $250,000 goal as of Monday morning.

“When we don’t always find consensus, it is nice to have something like transparency and open government where I think we’re in sync,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told reporters in a press conference.

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