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Immigration

California Border Patrol saw a 51% increase in illegal immigrants in April

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Illegal crossings across the California-Mexico border increased by 51% in April compared to March, border officials said Friday. The increase has slowed legitimate travel and exhausted federal resources.

“For the April 1- 26 time period CBP officers at California land border crossings encountered 1,632 inadmissible individuals, compared to 1,081 inadmissible individuals the same time period last month,” a Customs and Border Patrol release said.

The report warned that passenger and cargo travel has been impacted by the illegal immigrant increase.

“With these increases, operations at the border crossings have been impacted as CBP officials must dedicate resources to securing the port of entry and processing these individuals, repositioning resources that would otherwise be dedicated to critical passenger and cargo processing, leading to increased wait times for the traveling public,” the report warned.

With COVID-19 precautions, however, the border remains closed to those who are not essential.

 “On a daily basis, CBP officers along the California/Mexico border continue to restrict travelers that are not exempt from crossing the border for non-essential travel purposes,” the report said.

Read the full report here.

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Elections

Voters in Multiple States Approve Measures Prohibiting Noncitizen Voting

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Many lessons were learned on election night, at least for those who are willing to listen. Among the most pivotal addresses voter integrity. Voters across the United States turned out in force to weigh in on voting rights and election integrity in state ballot measures, with particular focus on the contentious issue of noncitizen voting.

In every state where voters were asked to decide on prohibiting noncitizens from voting, the measures passed with significant majorities. The results reveal a strong consensus across the states, with approval rates all exceeding 62%. The Center Square gives the details:

– South Carolina led with the highest support, with 86% voting in favor of the ban.

– Oklahoma (81%), North Carolina (77.6%), Iowa (76%), and Missouri (68%) also saw overwhelming majorities in support.

– Wisconsin (70%), Idaho (65%), and Kentucky (62%) similarly passed measures to restrict voting to U.S. citizens only.

These ballot measures reflect a growing trend among states to explicitly prohibit noncitizen voting, a policy that has gained traction since Congress passed a 1996 law banning noncitizen voting in federal elections for the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, and presidency. However, federal law does not extend to state and local elections, leaving the decision to individual states.

While all state constitutions require U.S. citizenship for voting, laws regarding noncitizen voting vary at the state level. Some states explicitly prohibit noncitizen voting in state and local elections, including Arizona, North Dakota, Georgia, Florida, and Ohio. However, a few jurisdictions, such as parts of California, Maryland, and Vermont, have allowed noncitizen voting in certain local elections, prompting states to seek clearer, uniform policies.

The push to restrict noncitizen voting has intensified in recent years, with Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Ohio all enacting bans from 2018 to 2022. This year’s decisive votes in eight additional states signal that the trend is likely to continue.

In Iowa, voters also approved a measure permitting 17-year-olds to participate in primary elections if they will be 18 by the time of the general election, aligning with similar policies in other states that aim to engage younger voters.

Missouri voters passed a measure prohibiting ranked-choice voting, while Nevada enacted a requirement for voter identification with 74% support, underscoring voter concerns over ballot security.

Meanwhile, Connecticut passed a measure by 57% authorizing laws for no-excuse absentee voting, aiming to expand voter access while balancing concerns over election security.

The conversation around these ballot initiatives reflects ongoing tensions around election policy and state sovereignty in election law. The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted an emergency stay in Virginia to keep noncitizens off voter rolls, a decision expected to influence similar cases nationally as states prepare for the 2024 presidential election.

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