American standard bearer, not calm.
>> For the way you lie.
>> From KPRC 2, this is Houston
newsmakers with Khambrel
Marshall. Good morning, immigration or
Good morning, immigration or
laws concerning immigration
continues to be a source of
confusion about how much is
being done. How much can be
done?
>> How much politics is getting
in the way of the truth about
our immigration challenges in
this country? Well, we’re going
to try to clear up some of that
this morning with my guest,
Charles Foster, with a partner
and foster U.S. and global Immigration services expertise
Immigration services expertise
that spans decades and
immigration, including as a
policy adviser for former
President George W Bush, former
Houston City Council member
Gordon Quan as a managing partner and co-founder of the
partner and co-founder of the
Quan Law Group. This also
specializes in immigration
issues. Good to see both.
Good morning. I my my first question to you is how
question to you is how
frustrating is it for you, too?
See the United States
immigration policy mired in
what looks like a stalemate.
>> For me is extremely frustrating. Has been this way
frustrating. Has been this way
for a long, long as you
indicated, the
work of policy for actually for
decades. And I think we’re at
an all-time low. It’s always been somewhat politically
been somewhat politically
driven, but it’s never been as
bad as it is today.
>> I think it’s it’s same thing
for you. Basically the same
camera. We have not had a major
change their immigration system in 26 years, though, the world
in 26 years, though, the world
has changed tremendously in
that time. Our laws are
somewhat antiquated. Everybody knows the system is broken.
knows the system is broken.
How to fix it. Getting
unanimity on that is crucial
to the success of this country.
That continues to be a problem.
There are real problems that
will talk about this morning
and we’ll talk more on Houston newsmakers, action because
newsmakers, action because
there’s more to talk about.
>> But politics is a huge, huge
issue. For Governor Abbott this week through executive order
week through executive order
authorize the Texas National
Guard and DPS to what he says
apprehend illegal immigrants
who illegally cross the border
and then between ports of entry and return them to the border.
and return them to the border.
He wrote further while
President Biden refuses to do
his job and enforce the
immigration laws enacted by
Congress, the state of Texas is once again stepping up.
once again stepping up.
And taking unprecedented action
to protect Americans and secure
our southern border. How much
of what he said there is true
and can get away with that. >> Well, I don’t know whether
>> Well, I don’t know whether
you can get away with it, but I
you have to say that’s where a
political statement than anything. First of all, the
anything. First of all, the
whole premise as far as follows
folks like that say that the
President Biden’s not doing the
job, the bar is wide open. There’s no truth to that at
There’s no truth to that at
First of all, at any given day,
we have 23,000 personnel on
duty at the bar bar but wrote
CBP officials that that the
ports of entry, we’re spending
about 20 billion dollars a year
on our southern border
and enforcement. Secondly,
almost everything for good or
bad that President Trump did in
terms of enforcement are still
in effect, the use of title.
42, even as of today, the
remain in Mexico policy. So to say that the bar is wide
So to say that the bar is wide
open, actually
gives a false impression that
maybe someone responds before
more people trying to come in.
If they really believe that.
Do you think the executive
order has any by 2? Is that
more? Honestly, I think it’s more show than than fact, as
more show than than fact, as
you know in Arizona versus the
U.S..
>> The Supreme Court ruled that
control the borders and
immigration is a federal area, not a state
a federal area, not a state
area. When Arizona tried to do
that, there was slapped down.
Now, as you see, he’s going
that saying I’m not expelling
these people were just taken them to the border. What
them to the border. What
happens at the border remains
to be seen. So, you know, I
think he’s getting pressure
from the right from Ken
Cuccinelli in some of these people are saying when being
people are saying when being
under invasion that he has to
do something actually, you
know, Senator Cornyn and
Senator Sinema had introduced a bill in April that would
a bill in April that would
create 4 major checkpoints are
centers where people could be
processed and that bill still
as and set the Senate. Now.
So you mentioned something just
a signal from time to time as traffic to the border
traffic to the border
increases. The rhetoric does as
well. The latest is about
invasion like a part of that
executive order also dealt with
some of that and saying that
>> there was an invasion going
on of immigrants and he referred to it as being
referred to it as being
something. It’s in the
Constitution and that the
federal government has a
responsibility to protect
states against invasion. So obviously you think that
So obviously you think that
that’s probably not part of the
you know, when people are
subject surrendering themselves
to the sovereignty of a nation, they’re not invading the
they’re not invading the
country. There’s something.
>> Hey, I want it my civil
rights. I want laws and to
decide the law’s to be
respected. So that’s not an
invasion. They’re not and overtake the government tonight
overtake the government tonight
trying to use force to to
overwhelm the government.
That’s what innovation is a
concern from a lot of people
along the southern border,
though, about the numbers of
people that they’re seeing with
seem to been increasing. So
>> there’s there’s a bit of
frustration there. What do you
think is the answer to the
immigration process stalemate right now? All right. First
right now? All right. First
of all,
>> the numbers are growing that
have come If you really want to
track that, look at the U.S.
economy, that’s also direct
relationship as the U.S. economy grows. And there’s a
economy grows. And there’s a
demand for jobs. More people
try to come in illegally.
Most effective tool for stopping that is to to destroy
stopping that is to to destroy
the U.S. economy. Look at that.
What the numbers after the
Great Depression, 2008 for
that’s not going to have this
not but that’s the reason why people are coming for a better
people are coming for a better
life for for a better job.
The numbers I have increased,
but that’s also misleading
because it’s interesting to
me that they’re citing the
numbers, the numbers that
they’re citing are those people that have been detained.
that have been detained.
We’re detaining more people
than ever before.
But you read about everything, serve a band-aid approach.
serve a band-aid approach.
In my opinion, long term.
You’ve got to look at the
conditions, the push people out
of the country while the people
walk go 1000 miles wide of the subject, their children to that
subject, their children to that
because they’re they’re
desperate for a better life.
how we going to what we view
this as a quote, invasion like a military invasion, other
a military invasion, other
countries in the world just
take Columbia in terms of their
neighbor, Venezuela. They they
given work authorization to
over a million individuals and they’re going to do so for
they’re going to do so for
another 800,000 nursing,
they’re treating that in
humanitarian terms what we
create the numbers that are
small, much smaller in relationship to our total
relationship to our total
population as a political
issue. So political not how do
we solve it?
>> Well, I think there’s a
careful balance between humanitarian treatment of
humanitarian treatment of
people and maintaining air
sovereignty as a country.
As I mentioned, I thought the
corn and sediment Bill was a pretty interesting bill that
pretty interesting bill that
would set up the centers would
be judges who could
quickly determined are the
really asylum applicants?
Are they just seeking economic benefits and be able to return
benefits and be able to return
people? They want to hire
another
150 judges and and to let these
people be getting their fair day in court. It’s one way,
day in court. It’s one way,
but I agree with Charles.
This is just one part of the
overall picture of what’s going
on in both in the world and
what our needs are as a
country. And we need to see
comprehensive immigration
reform to end the day. I know
you both have some ideas about
what that might look like.
We’re going to talk about
newsmakers Extra. Thank you.
Thank you for being here this
morning. We’ll continue our