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--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, I'm John Bickley, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Wire, and welcome to Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And I'm Georgia Howe, co-host of Morning Wire. It's Friday, September 16th.
--:-- John Bickley: There's nothing worse than seeing such a beautiful place in such disarray. San Francisco residents are fed up. We'll hear why more than a third of them say they're considering moving out of the city by the bay.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And a large homeless encampment in Phoenix has grown so large that residents are taking unprecedented action to deal with the crisis.
--:-- John Bickley: Many, many different departments involved and they just point fingers at each other. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Colton: Hey there, I'm Colton, the producer. Do you like to be the first to know about trendy news and current events? If so, you gotta get the Daily Wire Plus app. Not only will you receive mobile notifications whenever something's happening, but you'll also have access to the best commentary to break it all down.
--:-- John Bickley: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis joined Texas and Arizona in transporting migrants into liberal bastions in protest of President Biden's handling of the border. DeSantis flew two plane loads of migrants into Martha's Vineyard on Thursday.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to talk about the intensifying GOP resistance to Biden's border policies and the growing pressure on sanctuary cities is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So, what is DeSantis doing here? He's doing what a couple of other governors are also doing. Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Arizona's Doug Ducey have been busing illegal immigrants into deep blue areas for months now. Governor DeSantis joined that effort this week. He flew two planes of migrants into Massachusetts Martha's Vineyard, a well-known hangout for the ultra-wealthy.
--:-- John Bickley: Former President Obama also owns a home there.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Right. What do we know about these migrants? Where did they come from? Well, we're told that about 50 of the migrants dropped off in the vineyard appear to be from Venezuela.
--:-- Georgia Howe: DeSantis has been threatening to do something like this, and earlier this year convinced lawmakers in Florida's legislature to set aside $12 million for transportation costs.
--:-- Tim Pierce: About the time those planes were landing, a couple buses from Texas dropped about 100 migrants on the doorstep of Vice President Kamala Harris's official residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.
--:-- John Bickley: And in an appearance on Meet the Press Sunday, Harris claimed the border was secure.
--:-- Tim Pierce: There are still a lot of problems that we are trying to fix, given the deterioration that happened over the last four years. We also have to put in place a law and a plan for a pathway for citizenship.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Governor Abbott told a local radio station that he sent the buses to Harris's residence to make sure she saw the impact of illegal immigration firsthand, if she won't come to the border to see it herself.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Abbott has at this point bused roughly 10,000 more migrants to D.C., New York City, and Chicago.
--:-- John Bickley: Illegal immigration is at record levels. More than 2 million migrants have crossed the border this fiscal year.
--:-- Tim Pierce: On what basis was Harris maintaining that the border is secure? That's not clear. And she really didn't try to explain it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As we noted just last week, federal officials released 1,000 migrants onto the streets of El Paso because private and federal facilities have run out of space.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Many of those migrants are now sleeping on the streets. U.S. Congressman Tony Gonzalez, who represents El Paso, said his city looks like a third-world country.
--:-- John Bickley: Morning Wire spoke with Heritage Foundation fellow Mark Morgan. Morgan previously served as acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency and the Trump administration.
--:-- Mark Morgan: He's been traveling the border and told us about the impact this flood of immigration is having on border communities. Their ranches are being destroyed. They're being devastated.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I mean, they're cutting fences and gates. Cattle are getting out. Livestock's getting out. I mean, it's costing these ranchers untold tens of thousands of dollars to repair that stuff on a regular basis.
--:-- Mark Morgan: That has an impact. The trash that's piled up, you can't imagine what it does. And what happens is some of their livestock starts eating the trash and it's causing all kinds of problems.
--:-- John Bickley: You never hear about the devastation that's going on.
--:-- Mark Morgan: Morgan also said that illegal immigration is driving up danger for both migrants and Americans along these border communities. We literally have migrants that are stacking up dead bodies on the border. Again, mainstream media doesn't even blip on the radar.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We talk about the angel families, we talk about 95% of fentanyl is coming through the southwest border.
--:-- Mark Morgan: You know, the rainbow fentanyl, it's intentionally being fed to our kids. So they have customers for the next 60, 70 years. Again, barely a blip on the mainstream media.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, let's hope some sort of solution comes in. Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire's Tim Pierce. Coming up, residents of San Francisco say they've had enough.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter available exclusively to Daily Wire members. Get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: A stunning new poll this week shows that two-thirds of San Francisco residents think their city is going downhill, with over one-third saying they will move someplace else within three years.
--:-- John Bickley: The respondents cited homelessness, public safety, and housing prices as their biggest concerns about living in the city by the bay.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This comes on the heels of a successful recall of progressive district attorney Chesa Boudin.
--:-- John Bickley: And as the mayor, London Breed is asking city agencies to find solutions to the drug problems, including fentanyl, that plague the city.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to discuss is columnist David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Hey, David. How bad have things gotten in San Francisco?
--:-- John Bickley: According to this poll, pretty darn bad. To have over 35% of people say they think they're going to move out of a city is really shocking and would obviously have devastating effects.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I was there about this time last year, and in the Tenderloin District, it really is hard to explain how bad it is.
--:-- David Marcus: It doesn't look like it could be an American city. There's blocks and blocks of open-air drug markets, basically.
--:-- John Bickley: So when the respondents cite homelessness as their top concern, they don't mean a guy begging for change on the corner.
--:-- David Marcus: They mean entire neighborhoods given over to drugs and vagrancy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. What are the mayor and city government doing to get a handle on this? It's been a big problem for several years now.
--:-- David Marcus: The good news is that Mayor Breed has come to the realization that having open drug markets is very bad for the city.
--:-- John Bickley: How that took longer than five minutes to figure out is a question her critics would ask.
--:-- David Marcus: But a new program called San Francisco Recovers has brought over 21 city departments together to find ways to shut them down.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The catch is that they intend to do it without arresting people or at least arresting very, very few people.
--:-- John Bickley: And those same critics are saying the proposed measures, such as supervised drug use areas and electronic monitoring of addicts, just won't get the job done.
--:-- David Marcus: Under the current and proposed policies in San Francisco, what kind of drug offenses can be arrested for? If somebody is openly selling heroin or fentanyl, for example, in the middle of the sidewalk, do they face possible arrest?
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's kind of amazing to say so, but probably not.
--:-- David Marcus: The new district attorney, Brooke Jenkins, has stiffened some penalties for people dealing more than five grams of fentanyl, for example.
--:-- John Bickley: They'll now face felony charges where previously, even for 500 grams, offenders were sent to community courts that mostly offer social services, not jail.
--:-- David Marcus: But for all intents and purposes, the stated goal of the city is not to arrest people over drugs.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So for the police, to the extent they're even out on the beat, the question becomes, how do you enforce any of these new rules and policies?
--:-- David Marcus: It's kind of a stop where I'll say stop again situation.
--:-- John Bickley: And it's a quality of life issue that bleeds into every aspect of living in the city.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It also, frankly, doesn't do much to help the poor people who are so addicted to these drugs.
--:-- David Marcus: The city says it offers them rehab, but by some measures, fewer than 1% of the people they do outreach with receive treatment.
--:-- John Bickley: The number three issue listed was housing prices. How expensive is housing in San Francisco and how does it compare to other major cities in the United States?
--:-- David Marcus: It's a little higher than New York City, where the average rent is around $3,500. In San Francisco, it's $3,750.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And it's a city where roughly 65% of the population rents their residence.
--:-- David Marcus: Now, it's always been an expensive place to live. But clearly from this poll and people I've spoken to, the value of that premium, of the extra money spent on rent, isn't there anymore.
--:-- John Bickley: People pay that much to be able to walk to restaurants, shops, and parks.
--:-- David Marcus: When doing that means they have to walk through masses of vagrants with needles in their arms, they start thinking about living in an Austin, Texas, where the average rent is only $1,800, or Memphis, where it's only $1,000.
--:-- Georgia Howe: One can see why that's starting to look attractive.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, thank you for joining us today, David.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire contributor David Marcus. Phoenix, Arizona is battling a homeless problem that is only getting worse.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Residents complain that homeless encampments are ruining downtown. Meanwhile, homeless people are suffering in the scorching summer heat.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire investigative reporter Mairead Elordi is here with the details for us.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Hi, Georgia. Yes, the homeless situation in Phoenix has now become a major problem for the city.
--:-- Georgia Howe: There's a homeless encampment just west of downtown that residents say has become unmanageable.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: In fact, a group of 15 Phoenix residents who own homes, businesses, and land in that part of the city actually sued the city this month.
--:-- John Bickley: They say the homeless encampment has caused them irreparable harm and the city must address it.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: What exactly are they alleging in the lawsuit as to the harm that's been caused?
--:-- Georgia Howe: The residents who filed the complaint say the city of Phoenix has acted illegally and unconstitutionally by actually transporting homeless people to this part of the city from other locations.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Then on top of that, the city doesn't crack down on disruptive behavior like drunk and disorderly conduct or loitering, according to the lawsuit.
--:-- John Bickley: In one area, at least 400 people have pitched their tents.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: The residents also say homeless individuals shoot up drugs and defecate in public, break into cars, and urinate on buildings, not to mention littering.
--:-- Georgia Howe: One employee who works in the area was assaulted by a homeless person, according to the business owner, who's one of the plaintiffs suing.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: The residents say the homeless problem has gotten worse ever since 2018, when a federal court struck down a law that outlawed urban camping.
--:-- John Bickley: They say they don't want to send homeless people to jail, and they don't even want money from the city. They just want the homeless moved to another area.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: On top of the harm to residents, the lawsuit also says the situation is a humanitarian crisis because homeless people are frequently found dead in the encampment area due to drugs, but often just exposure to heat.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. Well, they're living outdoors in extreme heat.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: What are the temperatures like in Phoenix?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, right. The heat is a huge issue.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Temperatures got up to 118 degrees as early as June, and it's still regularly getting into the hundreds in September.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Local news reports say that about 500 homeless people died in Phoenix in 2021.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Compare that with 640 homeless people who died last year in New York City, which has a population four times bigger than Phoenix.
--:-- John Bickley: So it's a pretty significant issue given the size of the city.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: And what has the city said about the situation?
--:-- Georgia Howe: A city spokesperson said the city of Phoenix is committed to addressing the needs of residents and property owners and is working on the homeless issue.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: The city has built shelters and increased affordable housing and mental health services.
--:-- John Bickley: So far, though, it doesn't look like it's been enough to stem the problem.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Well, Mairead, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks, Mairead.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire investigative reporter Mairead Elordi. Other stories we're tracking this week.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin met for talks on boosting ties between their countries Thursday, an encounter that follows a major setback for Moscow on the battlefield in Ukraine.
--:-- John Bickley: South Africa's president is headed to the United States, where aides say he's expected to press for more negotiations between Russia and Ukraine during a talk with U.S. President Joe Biden later today.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Finland's president said Thursday that he wants to make it harder for Russians to use real estate holdings in the Nordic nation, usually apartments or summer cottages, as justification for obtaining travel visas.
--:-- John Bickley: Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman says that he will do one debate with Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz held on October 25th.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The campaigns are discussing the terms.
--:-- John Bickley: On Thursday, Democrats rejected a GOP resolution to the Department of Education asking for an accounting of how much student loan forgiveness would cost U.S. taxpayers.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation.
--:-- John Bickley: 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: 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. Bye.
