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--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning, I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, October 19th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire. We've got a lot to cover today, so let's get right into it. Newly leaked Border Patrol documents revealed that at least 160,000 illegal immigrants have been released into the U.S. since March, often with little to no supervision. The revelation comes as the Biden administration is taking steps to reinstate President Trump's remain in Mexico policy, a policy Joe Biden has vowed to end.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Why is the administration reinstating the policy and how does it impact the ongoing crisis at the border?
--:-- John Bickley: We'll be discussing that with our next guest. But first, let's take a look at some other news. A new report claims that the Chinese military tested a new form of missile technology, which could allow them to threaten the U.S. mainland. We'll be talking about that with our next guest as well.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And after a year of experimenting with slashed police budgets, cities nationwide are starting to refund their police. We'll be discussing that with our next guest.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. This show is sponsored by Birch Gold Group. Inflation is destroying the dollar. Birch Gold Group can help protect your IRA or 401k with a precious metals IRA. Text WIRE to 989898 to claim a free info kit on physical gold and silver. There's zero obligation. Text the word WIRE to 989898 to protect your savings today.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: In a major reversal, the Biden administration announced Thursday that they would be reviving the Remain in Mexico policy, an immigration order enacted under President Trump and heavily criticized by Democrats, including Joe Biden. The move comes as newly leaked Border Patrol documents revealed that at least 160,000 illegal immigrants have been released into the U.S. since March, often with little to no supervision.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Hi, I'm Cabot Phillips, Daily Wire managing editor.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So first off, Cabot, can you give us a little background on the Remain in Mexico policy?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, the policy went into effect back in December of 2018 as part of a broader effort from President Trump to deter illegal immigrants from crossing the border. It allows border agents to send asylum seekers back to Mexico while they wait for their claims to be decided in court.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Okay, so why then did they put this order back in place?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So not because the White House wanted it back. The policy had been in place for two years, but was rescinded by President Biden almost immediately after he took office. We want to have an effective immigration system in place, including asylum processing at our border. And that has not changed, but ending the Remain in Mexico program is something we long talked about or come into.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But then in August a federal judge in Texas ruled that the administration did not have the authority to simply reverse the policy on their own.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: They ruled that President Biden had basically ignored the established process for rescinding an order like this.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So for now, it is going back into effect. And this is big because, keep in mind, Joe Biden campaigned on ending Remain in Mexico. He called it, quote, dangerous and inhumane.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And so obviously this is a pretty big blow to the administration. Right. And this isn't the first Trump era border policy that's been kept in place by courts, though.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, exactly. President Biden also tried to rescind a Trump immigration order called Title 42.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: You'll remember that policy basically allowed immigration officials to expel illegal immigrants at the border if they posed a public health risk, in this case, if they had COVID.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And back in September, federal courts ruled that President Biden did not have the authority to just cancel that policy.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So it was also allowed to stay in place. So that is now two times in two months that the courts have dealt a setback to President Biden's immigration agenda.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And at that time, critics were pretty harsh on the administration, saying it was hard to square the administration's focus on combating COVID with their effort to end Title 42.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, a lot of people on the right were calling it hypocrisy on the president's part there.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Okay, so what's going to happen next?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That's where it's going to get interesting. So the policy is set to officially begin again starting in mid-November, but it's complicated just because there is another country involved.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Mexico agreed to take in asylum seekers back when Trump was in office, and Biden officials are now hoping they'll do the same.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But we just don't know. It's probably going to take some negotiating on our part with the Mexican government.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So we'll keep an eye on what that looks like in the coming weeks.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But in the meantime, the White House is almost certainly going to be exploring other options to rescind the order.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It sure sounds like it. Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime. That's Daily Wire Managing Editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Coming up, alarming new reports about Chinese military action. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are, all on the Daily Wire app.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Hi, I'm Ian Howarth, Daily Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So Ian, some really troubling reports coming out of China. What do we need to know here?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, over the weekend, the Financial Times reported that China tested a hypersonic missile in August with nuclear capabilities, which circled the globe before approaching its target.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Okay. The bigger story here, though, is that according to this report, this level of sophistication took US intelligence totally by surprise.
--:-- Ian Howarth: With the Financial Times reporting that one of their sources said, quote, we have no idea how they did this.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Whoa. Yeah, and this plays into the broader context of a weapons race and a space race being fought by the US, China, and Russia.
--:-- Ian Howarth: The reason these sorts of gliding systems are so dangerous is not really because of their speed. Ballistic missiles are actually faster.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But because they don't follow the predictable trajectory of normal missiles.
--:-- Ian Howarth: They can be maneuvered, for example, meaning they're harder to track and harder to intercept.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Got it. You know we've seen a lot of rising tension between China and Taiwan. Does this play into that situation?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, it's not likely that China would use this sort of technology to strike Taiwan, but it's certainly only adding to the growing concern over Chinese military aggression, both in the region and worldwide.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A bigger concern about these missiles is their capability to threaten the U.S. mainland, which could make the Biden administration even less likely to intervene in cases of Chinese aggression in Asia, such as against Taiwan or Hong Kong.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But another layer, as I said, is that this missile test took U.S. intelligence by surprise. And given that China is the United States' greatest adversary when it comes to the world stage, the fact that the Chinese military apparently has technology that far outpaces our current understanding is worrying, to say the least.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, it is. And have Chinese officials responded to these test claims?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, unsurprisingly, they denied the Financial Times report.
--:-- Georgia Howe: China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said that the test involved a spacecraft, not a missile, and called it a routine experiment to explore reusable spacecraft tech.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Okay. They want to develop a convenient and cheap way for humans to use space peacefully, he said.
--:-- Georgia Howe: However, Republican Representative Mike Gallagher, who's a member of the House Armed Services Committee, released a statement which said that this should serve as a call to action, especially relating to China's capability.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But we should also consider the issue of espionage, especially in U.S. universities, where we've seen many charges of spying by alleged Chinese agents.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He said, quote, if we stick to our current complacent course or place our hopes in bankrupt buzzwords like integrated deterrence, we will lose the new Cold War with communist China within the decade.
--:-- Ian Howarth: New Cold War, yeah. Definitely some concerning developments here.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks, Ian. Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Georgia Howe: There appears to be a shift taking place in cities across the nation as some police departments start to see their previously depleted funds restored.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Hi, I'm Charlotte Pence Bond, Daily Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, Charlotte, what's the latest on this?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Hey, Georgia. So, yeah, after a year of protests against the police sparked by heavy media coverage about deaths following interactions with police officers like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, cities are starting to give their law enforcement resources to keep the streets safe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And which cities are we talking about?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Well, we're seeing it in lots of different regions, actually. In its 2021 to 2022 budget, Austin, Texas restored funds to the police department budget.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the council also provided money for at least two cadet classes, but said the department could do another if they discover funds in the budget.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: This was in response to a bill that became law in Texas earlier this year, which punished certain cities that cut police department funding.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Last year, the Austin City Council cut or moved a higher percentage of funds from the police budget than any of almost 24 other cities around the country that took similar action.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The NYPD also got a budget increase of $200 million, and the LAPD got an increase of 3%.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Even Burlington, Vermont, one of the most liberal cities in the country, just recently approved quite generous bonuses for police officers.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: New officers would get a $15,000 bonus and current officers will get $10,000.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Oakland City Council also just voted to add another police academy to the budget after previously approving fewer academies.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: And Dallas saw a shift in messaging when Mayor Eric Johnson said during the summer that the city needs more police officers.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what's the response been? Are the protesters from last year giving them a hard time about this?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Not really. Reporting showed that proposed changes to the Dallas budget didn't lead to widespread protests or even much pushback at all.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And do we know why they're taking this action now?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: We can make some pretty educated guesses. As you all have reported on Morning Wire before, crime reached extreme levels over the past year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: 2020 experienced the largest spike in homicide rates in over 100 years.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So people in the communities might be recognizing the need for more law enforcement.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It seems the conversation might be changing on a broader scale in the culture, too.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Actor Morgan Freeman, for example, recently said he is not for defunding the police.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm in the least bit for defunding the police. Police work is, aside from all the negativity around it, it is very necessary. for us to have them.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Most of them are guys that are doing that job. They're going about their day-to-day jobs.
--:-- Georgia Howe: How do Americans at large feel about this?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Well, polling shows the defund the police movement hasn't been very popular on a wide scale level.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A group of polls from last year showed that Americans were against the defund the police movement or defunding police departments by an average of 58% to 31%.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Then a poll from March of this year found that less than one in five Americans supported the defund the police movement.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it'll be interesting to watch as this plays out in the midterm elections next year and really if more local communities start to take similar action.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Right. I mean, we've gone from defund the police now full circle to refund the police.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Charlotte, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond. Other stories we're tracking this week.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Colin Powell, the nation's first Black Secretary of State, passed away Monday morning at the age of 84.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Powell served under three Republican presidents and was Secretary of State under President George W. Bush.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In a statement Monday, Powell's family said that he died due to complications from COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And nearly 40% of California state workers remain unvaccinated, despite Governor Gavin Newsom's July order to workers to get vaccinated or submit to regular testing.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The vaccination rate among state workers is lower than the rate among the state's general population, which is 72%.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And on Monday, faculty and students at schools across California staged walkouts to protest school vaccine mandates set to go into effect this week.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Some participants stressed the importance of being able to choose for themselves or their children, whether or not they get the shot.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm here today because the government does not own my body and the government does not own my children.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Medical freedom is foundational to a free society. We are not lab rats. My children are not lab rats.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And give us a five-star review. That's all the time we've got this morning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
