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--:-- John Bickley: The crisis on the U.S. southern border is approaching a breaking point and increasingly impacting other areas of the country. Over the last few days, federal authorities have released hundreds of migrants into the streets of El Paso, while thousands are arriving on buses to sanctuary cities far from the border. We have the details.
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--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, September 12th, and this is Morning Wire. The war in Ukraine has spurred a rapidly growing partnership between Russia and China, an alliance that poses a significant threat to the U.S. on multiple fronts. And the U.N.'s atomic watchdog reveals alarming developments with Iran's nuclear program.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: Experts warn that President Joe Biden's plan to forgive student debt could cost over $500 billion. There's never been a better reason to diversify at least some of your savings into precious metals and protect it in a tax-sheltered retirement account. Text WIRE to 989898 and Birch Gold will send you a free info kit on how to diversify into silver and gold tax-free. Birch Gold has an A-plus rating with the Better Business Bureau, countless five-star reviews, and thousands of satisfied customers. Text WIRE to 989898 to claim your free, no-obligation info kit on how to protect your savings with gold.
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--:-- John Bickley: The U.S. Border Patrol has released hundreds of migrants into the border town of El Paso, Texas. Federal detention centers and private shelters have reached capacity, and exceptions to a federal rule meant to block migrants from entering the U.S. are preventing Border Patrol officials from deporting many.
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--:-- John Bickley: Here to discuss the worsening crisis at the southern border is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce. So, Tim, why is the Border Patrol setting migrants free in El Paso?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Hey, John. So, migrants have been flooding across the border illegally for about two years now. Federal detention and processing centers and private shelters that had been housing those migrants are at their breaking points. The Border Patrol processing center in El Paso is currently over three times its capacity. So, because nobody can house them, Border Patrol officials just released somewhere between 700 and 1,000 migrants onto the streets of El Paso on a provisional basis last week.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, President Biden has been trying to end Title 42, but the courts are still blocking him. So, why aren't the migrants being expelled under that Trump-era health code?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, under Title 42, the Border Patrol is still authorized to block migrants from entering the U.S. over COVID concerns. But there are exceptions to that rule. For example, migrants from countries such as Venezuela or Haiti have a much better chance of being allowed into the U.S. than migrants from Mexico or Guatemala. That's because of the relative danger migrants would face if deported back to their home countries. Reports suggest that migrants claiming to be from those exempted countries are showing up at the U.S. border more and more. All of those released into El Paso last week were from Venezuela.
--:-- John Bickley: What's the latest on Biden's efforts to curb this crisis?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, Biden hasn't done much policy-wise to discourage immigrants. In fact, critics say he's done the opposite. Biden continues to wind down former President Trump's remain in Mexico policy after the Supreme Court gave him the green light to kill it in July. The Department of Homeland Security seems to only be discouraging migration through public statements. The Border Patrol warned migrants earlier this month against trying to enter the U.S. after nine migrants died attempting to cross a rain-swollen river in Texas's Del Rio sector. If those warnings are having an impact, it's unclear.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, what about Texas and Arizona? They've been busing migrants into so-called sanctuary cities for a few months now to put pressure on Biden. Any updates there?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, those sanctuary cities are certainly feeling pressure from Governors Greg Abbott and Doug Ducey's busing programs. Washington, D.C., which was the first target in the busing program, declared a public health emergency last week and again called for federal aid that Mayor Muriel Bowser has been calling forward to support the migrants. In a press conference on Thursday, D.C. officials didn't blame Biden for the immigration crisis, though. They blamed Abbott and Ducey.
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--:-- John Bickley: Here's D.C. Councilwoman Brianne Nadeau attacking the governors.
--:-- Brianne Nadeau: And in many ways, the governors of Texas and Arizona have turned us into a border town. We don't know how long this will take to resolve. We don't know how long they will continue busing. And so the right thing to do here is to be prepared to ensure we can greet every bus.
--:-- John Bickley: Over in Chicago, the city just began receiving buses of migrants from Texas, and it's already showing signs of stress. Last week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot attacked Abbott for treating migrants like cargo and not communicating with her before they arrived in her city. Ironically, the mayor of a Chicago suburb recently said something similar about Lightfoot.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Dozens of migrants dropped in Chicago are being housed in nearby Burr Ridge. The town's frustrated mayor, Gary Grasso, said that neither Lightfoot nor any other Chicago or state official bothered to notify him ahead of time.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, this busing tactic is clearly causing a stir in these sanctuary cities. Yep.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for having me.
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--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire's Tim Pierce. In recent days, Ukraine has reclaimed hundreds of square miles of their northeastern territory in what could be a turning point in the war. Russia's strained efforts in the region, as well as its broader marginalization by Western countries, have led the country to embrace an unlikely ally, forging a new axis of power in the East.
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--:-- John Bickley: Here with the details is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips. So, Cabot, what can you tell us?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, historically, Russia and China haven't really been close allies. They share little in the way of similar cultural values and have even explicitly said that they would never join in the military alliance. But they are now increasingly working together. It's the old enemy of my enemy is my friend situation, and in this case, the enemy is us. Both countries have a clear goal of undermining the United States, and they're working together like never before to do so.
--:-- John Bickley: Last week, the two countries joined for a massive joint military exercise in the eastern portion of Russia. The exercises included 50,000 troops, 5,000 weapons units, and hundreds of aircraft and warships, and marked the first time that China has ever sent troops from all three of their military branches to partake in a joint operation with Russia.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, serious escalation. Now, why now? What's each side looking to gain?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, in general, Russia has been forced to grow more reliant on China from an economic standpoint because they've largely been driven out of the Western market due to the war in Ukraine and the crippling sanctions that we've seen since. On that note, since the start of the year, trade between Russia and China has increased by 30 percent. Experts also say this is part of Putin's attempt to show the world that despite being engaged in the invasion of Ukraine, Russia still has enough forces for these massive war games. Essentially, they're trying to show that they've got the ability to wage a war on multiple fronts if necessary.
--:-- John Bickley: And what about China?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, look, China knows that if Russia continues to falter on the global stage, that it'll give the U.S. the ability to focus more attention towards them. So, a strong Russia is really imperative in their mind to keeping the U.S. engaged on multiple fronts. And in exchange for their military and economic support, the Chinese get cheap oil and gas at a time when global prices are skyrocketing.
--:-- John Bickley: As for the timing of this latest exercise, some experts think that it could be a form of retaliation for America's support of Taiwan. Remember, Speaker Pelosi took that high-profile visit there.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But the two countries aren't just teaming up with military goals in mind. It goes beyond that.
--:-- John Bickley: What other shared goals do they have?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, they've increasingly sided with one another on key votes at the UN. And remember, each country is a member of the all-important UN Security Council, and both are among the five countries that have automatic veto power on any resolutions. For example, in the last few years, they've helped veto American proposals that would have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe after the country's president ignored their election process to remain in power. They've worked together to veto similar measures this year on Ukraine, and they even killed a measure that would have imposed new sanctions on North Korea over their human rights abuses.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, there's another country I want to ask you about. How does Iran play into all of this?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, so Iran's main objective is to circumvent U.S. sanctions and infuse cash into their economy to give them more leverage in their talks with Western powers. And they're turning to China and Russia to do so, and that's bad news for the U.S. This month, Iran sent hundreds of high-tech drones to the Russians for use in Ukraine. And in exchange, the Iranians got cheap Russian oil that they can either use or resell at an even higher price. This year, Iran also entered into a 25-year economic, military, and security agreement with the Chinese Communist Party, solidifying their alliance and offering the country even more leverage in talks with the U.S.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, definitely some concerning developments. Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
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--:-- John Bickley: The United Nations atomic watchdog has revealed that Iran now has an enriched uranium stockpile over 19 times the limit imposed by the 2015 Obama nuclear deal. The agency warns that it cannot guarantee Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful. This comes as the Biden administration is reportedly working behind the scenes to revive the Obama-era deal with Iran.
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--:-- John Bickley: Joining us to discuss is Dr. Peter Brooks, Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Bush administration. Now, Peter, the UN's Atomic Energy Agency revealed some troubling information this week. What did we learn from the agency about what Iran has been developing in terms of its nuclear program?
--:-- Dr. Peter Brooks: They decided, the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is part of the UN, that Iran has about 55 kilograms, you know, like 100 pounds of uranium that has been enriched to 60%. What they believe now is that Iran has enough enriched uranium to create at least one nuclear weapon. So this 60% enriched uranium would have to be further enriched to 90%. But based on that 55 kilograms, they could produce 25 kilograms at 90 percent, which is enough for a nuclear weapon.
--:-- John Bickley: So Iran is really right at the threshold of having enough material for a nuclear weapon.
--:-- Dr. Peter Brooks: Now, the agency also said this week that it could not assure that Iran's program was an exclusively peaceful program. What's the takeaway there?
--:-- Dr. Peter Brooks: Well, Iran is not being transparent enough. There's other issues out there still, including Iran's nuclear history. There have been materials that have been taken out of Iran by the Israelis that say that Iran was going to build as many as five nuclear weapons. That was their plan going in the early 2000s. And Iran has always said that their program was peaceful. I don't think anybody really believes that. But the IAEA is basically saying because of the lack of transparency on the part of Iran about its nuclear program and its intentions and its history, they cannot certify or they cannot assure the international community that Iran's nuclear program is just for peaceful purposes.
--:-- John Bickley: If this deal were to go forward, what impact could it have on America's allies in the region?
--:-- Dr. Peter Brooks: Well, I think you're going to end up with a nuclear Iran. You know, the original 2015 deal had all sorts of flaws. It basically was a speed bump on Iran's nuclear program, not a stop sign. There was all sorts of problems with it. You know, the sunset provisions. In other words, certain restrictions on Iran's nuclear programs would end and they would be ending like in 2025 and then Iran could resume its enrichment activities and other activities. It didn't capture Iran's ballistic missile programs. The inspection regime was shoddy. It didn't allow for anytime, anywhere inspections. Iranian military bases were off limits to international inspectors.
--:-- John Bickley: What should the Biden administration do, ideally, in terms of how they handle Iran going forward if they really want to counteract their nuclear potential?
--:-- Dr. Peter Brooks: I mean, I think what we need to do is put maximum pressure on the Iranians on all fronts. They are a troubling regime that is involved in a lot of things of tremendous concerns internationally, not only in their region. They're the most active state sponsors of terrorism. There's so many things. They create insecurity in the Persian Gulf. I mean, they are a rogue regime. There's no question about that. So the administration needs to do everything they can to prevent Iran from moving forward with its nuclear program, including the transfer of technology, keeping money out of the coffers of the Iranian government because it won't be used for the good of the Iranian people. It'll be used for international belligerence.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks so much for coming on.
--:-- Dr. Peter Brooks: That was Heritage Senior Fellow, Dr. Peter Brooks.
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--:-- John Bickley: Other stories we're tracking this week. Russian forces retreated Sunday as Ukrainian forces successfully pressed their swift counteroffensive into the northeastern part of the country. A 13-year-old middle school student in Bakersfield, California, was arrested Friday after bringing 150 fentanyl pills disguised as Percocet to school that caused a faculty member to overdose.
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--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and you stand with our mission, please consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
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