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--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm John Bickley, Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Wire, and I'm joined by my co-host Georgia Howe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for tuning in, everyone. Today, we're discussing the Biden administration's new immigration policies and their potential impact on the southern border. Joining us is Chad Wolf, former Acting Secretary of Homeland Security under President Trump.
--:-- Chad Wolf: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- John Bickley: Chad, let's dive right in. The Biden administration recently announced changes to immigration policies, claiming they'll bring down the historic number of illegal crossings. But some experts are skeptical. Can you unpack that for us?
--:-- Chad Wolf: Yeah, happy to do that. So, they unveiled a 153-page asylum rule, which basically says if anyone approaches the southern border and claims asylum, but hasn't claimed asylum in another country they've transited through, they become ineligible for asylum along that southern border.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That sounds like a watered-down version of Trump's 2019 policy.
--:-- Chad Wolf: Exactly. And it's very similar to a rule we issued during the Trump administration that said you can't forum shop asylum. If you're really fleeing for your life, you should seek refuge in the closest safe third country that you come across.
--:-- John Bickley: But if you look at the Biden administration's rule, it doesn't actually do that. Can you explain why?
--:-- Chad Wolf: There are so many exemptions within the rule itself that it becomes non-enforceable. There are going to be so many exemptions from it that it's not going to make a material effect at the end of the day. For example, they've tried to funnel people to use the CBP1 app at ports of entry, but the app continues to crash day after day.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a problem.
--:-- Chad Wolf: Yeah, and they've also exempted children and families from the asylum ban. That's about 700 individuals a year. So, there are a number of things in the way they've written this that it sounds good, but in reality, it's not going to have a material effect at the border.
--:-- John Bickley: There have been some congressional border hearings in recent weeks. What have we learned from those, and is any action coming out of them?
--:-- Chad Wolf: Well, it's tough. I don't know that we've learned anything new. The idea behind those hearings is to let's actually talk to real Americans, let's talk to ranchers and landowners and hospital administrators and other individuals that have been affected by the crisis.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what did you hear from those hearings?
--:-- Chad Wolf: We heard from border sheriffs that they're having a real struggle, seeing more crime, seeing more individuals coming across that border committing crimes or impacting public safety in their communities. We also heard from hospital administrators that the overwhelming people they're seeing now are illegal aliens, and that's having an effect on the type of care they can deliver and the financial resources of those hospitals.
--:-- John Bickley: That's concerning. Do you see any solutions here? How can the Border Patrol possibly handle this massive influx of migrants?
--:-- Chad Wolf: It's a tough question. There's not just one answer. There's a variety of different things that have to be done all at the same time and kind of choreographed. We need to engage our partners in the South, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and others, and bring them into the solution set.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what about communication? How do you communicate to the American public and to the cartels and smugglers that they're not welcome here?
--:-- Chad Wolf: We need to be holding people accountable. We need to be deterring illegal behavior, not incentivizing it. And that means changing the underlying policies that are driving this crisis.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, border security is also about national security. And we've had some major developments on that front with China and revelations about its surveillance efforts after the spy balloon incident. The Biden administration claimed that these same things were actually happening during the Trump administration. What did you see during your time there?
--:-- Chad Wolf: I don't recall being briefed on any such balloons during my time as Acting Secretary. I read the President's Daily Brief, and I don't recall any mention of these balloons and any type of intelligence reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's interesting. Now that we do know about some of these surveillance operations and with the Department of Energy's conclusion that the COVID virus likely did leak from the Wuhan lab, what actions should the U.S. take in regard to China?
--:-- Chad Wolf: I think we need to continue to be aggressive. We need to understand what China is – an adversary. They're not a friend to us at the end of the day. We need to be honest with the American people about the threat China poses, and we need to develop a strategy to combat that threat.
--:-- John Bickley: This week is the 20-year anniversary of DHS. How do you believe the department has done over the past two decades? Has it fulfilled its purpose?
--:-- Chad Wolf: I think that's certainly open for debate. If you were to grade DHS just on preventing terrorist attacks, you would say they've been somewhat successful. But there's a lot of room to improve, a lot of efficiencies to gain.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, Chad, thank you so much for joining us today.
--:-- Chad Wolf: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: That was former Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf. And this has been a Sunday Extra Edition of Morning Wire.
