Morning Wire XX
[0] The much -anticipated Senate immigration bill includes more money for Ukraine than border security.
[1] The American people are tired of being an ATM machine for the illegal aliens that are coming across our border every single day.
[2] And the more that I read language in this bill, the more frustrated I get with it.
[3] What's in the bill and does the president need new laws to secure the border?
[4] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[5] It's Tuesday, February 6th, and this is Morning.
[6] Wire.
[7] New York hands out prepaid credit cards to migrants as Governor Hokel floats the idea of funneling them into temporary government jobs.
[8] And federal intervention may be needed as violent crime in our nation's capital reaches historic levels.
[9] You are telling individuals to go forth and commit murder and there will be no consequences.
[10] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
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[21] Lawmakers in Washington have finally released the details of a long -awaited bill that includes billions in funding for Ukraine, Israel, and the southern border.
[22] Here with more on the hotly contested proposal is Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips.
[23] So Cabot, after months of waiting, we're now finally getting the first look at this highly anticipated bill.
[24] What can you tell us?
[25] Yeah, so quick refresher to start.
[26] Back in October, President Biden first proposed a massive spending package that would offer billions in funding for Ukraine and Israel.
[27] That bill went to the Senate where it stalled out as party leaders ironed out the details.
[28] behind closed doors.
[29] A key sticking point was on immigration.
[30] As Republicans said, they would only consider supporting the measure if it included new funding for the border and reforms to immigration law.
[31] Well, this week, after months of debate, they finally released the text of that bill, which includes $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, and $20 billion for the southern border.
[32] What exactly are they funding when it comes to immigration?
[33] So it includes about $8 billion in emergency funding for ICE, along with billions more for the hiring, of new asylum officers, border security agents, and fentanyl detection equipment.
[34] The bill would also force the DHS to shut down the border if and when the number of illegal entries hits an average of 5 ,000 a day over the course of a week or 8 ,500 in a single day.
[35] The border would only then be reopened once illegal crossings drop to 75 % of the number that initially trigger the shutdown.
[36] So a forced temporary shutdown if it hit certain levels?
[37] Yeah, for the most part.
[38] Now, does this bill actually have any chance of passing?
[39] Yeah, that is the big question right now.
[40] We'll start with the supporters, the most prominent being Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Democrat leader Chuck Schumer, and President Biden.
[41] For his part, Biden claimed the bill constitutes the strongest immigration reform in decades and will, quote, make our country safer, treat people fairly and humanely while preserving legal immigration consistent with our values as a nation.
[42] The measure also gained the support of the Border Patrol Union, which called it, quote, not perfect, but far better than the status quo.
[43] Right.
[44] detractors.
[45] Yeah, that is putting it lightly.
[46] Both hard -line conservatives and far -left progressives mostly oppose the deal, but for very different reasons.
[47] Detractors on the left say it's inhumane and they return to what they call Trump -era policies, while Republican detractors, and there are very many of them, say it does not go far enough.
[48] They argue the bill might sound appealing to border hawks, but will actually incentivize more illegal immigration because it expands work permits and codifies the controversial catch and release policy, which allows border agents to release illegal immigrants into the country after they're detained.
[49] Hardline conservatives are also furious with McConnell and Schumer for tying immigration reform to funding for Israel and Ukraine.
[50] For more on that, I spoke with Laura Reese, a former DHS official who now runs the Heritage Foundation's border security and immigration center.
[51] More money to Ukraine is not something a lot of Republicans want to vote for, and so Senator McConnell made the calculation that if he attached border security to Ukraine funding, then he could get more Republican yes votes.
[52] And a ditto for the Democrats regarding Israel funding.
[53] So it's typical for Washington.
[54] They rarely pass single issue bills because it's all about leverage.
[55] Other conservative detractors have also pointed to a provision in the bill that they say would strip the power of states to challenge federal immigration policy in court and reserve that power for lawmakers in Washington.
[56] As Reese puts it, the bill is an effort from establishment Republicans and President Biden to claim a victory on border security while not actually addressing the problem at its root.
[57] This is quite an example of a disease and Capitol Hill called do -somethingism where they come up with some negotiated bill.
[58] It doesn't really solve the problem, but they can say we did something.
[59] And it's also worth noting there are those who say the bill is not necessary in the first place because President Biden already has the authority to secure the border on his own.
[60] At that point, here's Todd Benzman from the Center for Immigration Studies.
[61] I would urge the president to go to the Immigration and Nationality Act and read Section 212F, which gives the president total authority to turn back 100 % of everybody who reaches that for no reason other than that he wants to.
[62] So what comes next for the bill?
[63] Well, it must first pass the Senate, which is no sure thing as a number of Republicans have already come out in opposition.
[64] We're expecting a vote there by Wednesday, though.
[65] And even if it does secure passage, it'll then head to the House where it's almost certain to fail.
[66] Speaker Mike Johnson has already referred to it as, quote, dead on arrival.
[67] If and when it is voted down, it's likely that Congress would split the bill up and take a piecemeal approach.
[68] So it looks like we're at the beginning of a long road here.
[69] Well, people are not happy that this keeps getting punted.
[70] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[71] Any time.
[72] That was Daily Wire, Senior Editor, Cabot Phillips.
[73] Hey, guys, producer Brandon here.
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[80] New York Governor Kathy Hokel has approved a controversial proposal that will make it easier for illegal immigrants to hold temporary jobs in the state government.
[81] Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta Giacomo.
[82] So Amanda, tell us about this new proposal.
[83] What would it change and who's eligible?
[84] Hey, Georgia.
[85] So this new proposal would create an easier pathway for illegal immigrants to work for the state governments.
[86] They must obtain legal work authorization from the federal government, but that's really one of the only requirements.
[87] The New York Department of Civil Service would ease work requirements such as English language proficiency and education, verification, and certification for thousands of government jobs.
[88] Notably, these positions would start off as temporary, as John mentioned, but the proposal makes it clear that the goal is that these become permanent jobs.
[89] Agencies can appoint migrants to a permanent role if their work is satisfactory and other requirements.
[90] are met.
[91] And just to put a point on the significance of this, New York is the first state in the nation to make it easier for migrants to get these government jobs.
[92] Now, before we get to the backlash, what was the governor's argument for approving this proposal?
[93] Sure.
[94] So Hogle is claiming that this will help the city absorb more than 170 ,000 migrants that have arrived in the city since 2022.
[95] She hopes that getting migrants jobs will get them out of the already full shelter systems and help alleviate the stress on stretched state -funded programs.
[96] The proposal says that this is a, quote, win -win for the state and help solve the migrant crisis, as well as rebuild the state workforce.
[97] Back in October, she announced a partnership with employers back in the state to get migrants to work.
[98] At that time, she said there were 18 ,000 jobs open for asylum seekers and migrants as part of her statewide solution to get them out of shelters.
[99] Here she is at a news conference.
[100] Now we have all these people who want to be here.
[101] I have all these jobs that are open.
[102] You marry the two together and you've solved the problems.
[103] Hockel recently boasted that there are currently 40 ,000 jobs on the state's migrant work portal.
[104] But as you said, there's been pushback to all of this.
[105] Critics say this will only incentivize more migrants to come to New York State, worsening the crisis.
[106] And this also feeds into New Yorkers' complaints that migrants are being prioritized over legal residents.
[107] Now, does New York have a tight labor market right now?
[108] No, that's part of why people are so upset.
[109] There are an estimated 436 ,000 unemployed New Yorkers right now hovering at around 4 .5 % unemployment, which is one of the highest rates in the nation.
[110] New York also has the highest rate of homelessness in the country, and recent polling shows that a majority of New Yorkers view the influx of migrants as a serious problem, and they want to slow or stop the flow altogether.
[111] As we've covered here, residents have routinely spoken out about migrants taking priority over their own needs and their kids' needs.
[112] Remember, it was just last month that we were talking about parents having to keep their kids home from school so migrants could be sheltered.
[113] They were not too pleased.
[114] Now, in addition to this proposal, there's another migrant initiative generating headlines this time in New York City from Mayor Eric Adams.
[115] Tell us about the credit card program.
[116] Yeah, so the city's new pilot program called the Immediate Response.
[117] card program will hand out prepaid credit cards to illegals costing taxpayers $53 million.
[118] Illegal immigrant families will be instructed to only use the cards at grocery stores, convenience stores, and supermarkets, and they'll have to sign an affidavit promising to spend the funds only on food and baby supplies.
[119] Every 28 days, their cards will be refilled, and depending on the size of the family, they could receive up to $1 ,000 a month.
[120] Meanwhile, we know Adams is asking the Biden administration for more money to help deal with the influx of migrants.
[121] Well, there continues to be a lot of frustration over this.
[122] Amanda, thanks for reporting.
[123] You're welcome.
[124] Washington, D .C. has struggled to combat a wave of violent crime.
[125] The breakdown in law and order has been so severe that some now say the federal government needs to step in and take control of the city.
[126] Here to talk about crime in the nation's capital is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
[127] Hi, Tim.
[128] So over the weekend, a former Trump administration official became one of the latest victims of D .C. crime.
[129] First, what happened there?
[130] Mike Gill served under Trump as the chief of staff of the U .S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
[131] He was shot last Monday while waiting in his car to pick up his wife from work.
[132] He passed away on Sunday.
[133] Now, one of the remarkable things about this tragedy is that it took place on K Street, which is famously home to many of Washington's high -end law and lobbying firms.
[134] According to police, at about 5 .45 in the evening.
[135] The killer got into Gill's car, shot him, and walked away.
[136] The gunman went on to kill another person in Maryland before he was killed by police.
[137] It's really a heartbreaking story and tragically not uncommon in D .C. today.
[138] How bad has the crime situation gotten in the city?
[139] It's out of control.
[140] As National Review points out, violent crime in D .C. has hit levels that the city hasn't seen in decades.
[141] Here's a few stats for you.
[142] Overall crime in 2023 increased 26 percent, over 22 levels.
[143] That was driven in part by surges in property crime of 26%, violent crime of 39%.
[144] And here's the big one, an 82 % increase in motor vehicle theft.
[145] And you're right, the crime has become a common feature of DC life.
[146] And it's impacted everyone, even top lawmakers.
[147] Last year in February, Congresswoman Angie Craig of Minnesota was assaulted in her apartment building.
[148] And then in October, Texas Congressman Henry Quayar's car was stolen at gunpoint and Navy Yard.
[149] Right.
[150] Right.
[151] So this is years in the making.
[152] What's being done to address it?
[153] Well, Washington is a city that is essentially run by Democrats at the local level, and its elected leaders so far have been inept at handling the crime wave.
[154] That's led some to call for the federal government to reimpose authority on city governance.
[155] Former President Trump, for example, posted a tribute to Gill on Sunday and added that the federal government must take over D .C. That kind of talk has raised some concern among D .C.'s elected leaders that they could lose the control that Congress gave them over the city just 50 years ago.
[156] As far as what's been tried, last year the D .C. Council tried to reform its criminal code to lessen penalties for crimes in the district.
[157] The U .S. Congress actually stepped in with legislation and blocked that.
[158] Right.
[159] And the D .C. Attorney General was actually criticized last week over comments that some saw as soft on crime.
[160] What exactly did he say?
[161] That's right.
[162] Some city leaders and advocates held a panel discussion last week, specifically on the plague of carjackings across the city.
[163] D .C. Attorney General Brian Schwab was on the panel and he's been criticized for not pursuing carjacking prosecutions aggressively enough.
[164] He seemed to downplay the role of law enforcement in the solution.
[165] We as a city and a community need to be much more focused on prevention and surrounding young people and their families with resources if we want to be safer in the long run.
[166] We cannot prosecute and arrest our way out of it.
[167] In another part of the discussion, Schwab blamed crime in part on the pandemic and the number of guns in the city.
[168] On the legislative side, there should be a vote later today on a bill that is supposed to give more tools to police and prosecutors.
[169] It should increase penalties for certain gun crimes, as well as make prosecuting carjacking cases easier.
[170] The bill also says that anyone suspected of a violent crime should be held in jail until trial unless the suspect has a compelling reason to be granted release.
[171] Clearly, more aggressive action is needed in D .C. and right away.
[172] Tim, thanks for joining us.
[173] Thanks for having me. for waking up with us.
[174] We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.