What I Saw at the U.S.–Mexico Border

Summary

During his recent trips to both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, Todd Bensman, the senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, spoke with human smugglers and their migrant customers, as well as border agents and local residents. Bensman shares their stories about the consequences of U.S. policies that have caused the surge of illegal crossings at the border. They range from the smuggling cartels' sales pitches to potential migrants in Central America to persuade them to spend thousands of dollars on a risky journey to the U.S., to the dispersal of these illegal migrants across the country through Biden’s "catch-and-bus" policy of releasing these lawbreakers on the honor system.

Related Reports:

Inside a Cartel Smuggling Operation Into West Texas

The Border Crisis Comes to a Once-Quiet part of West Texas

Catch-and-Bus: Thousands of Freed Border-Crossing Immigrants Are Dispersing Across America

Host

Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Guest

Todd Bensman is the Center's Texas-based Senior National Security Fellow. He is the author of "America’s Covert Border War: The Untold Story of the Nation’s Battle to Prevent Jihadist Infiltration", the untold story of a secret American border program created to prevent terrorist infiltration over the U.S. Southwest Border.

Prior to joining CIS in August 2018, Bensman led homeland security intelligence efforts for nine years in the public sector. Bensman’s body of work with policy and intelligence operations is founded on more than 20 years of experience as an award-winning journalist covering national security topics, with particular focus on the Texas border.