"The Voice of the New Due Process Army" ————– Musings on Events in U.S. Immigration Court, Immigration Law, Sports, and Other Random Topics by Retired United States Immigration Judge (Arlington, Virginia) and former Chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals Paul Wickham Schmidt. To see my complete professional bio, just click on the link below.
Although Coats arguably contradicted President Donald Trump in some areas, such as the state of North Korea’s nuclear program, he supported Trump’s claim that the flood of migrants from Central America is causing a security crisis. The assessment includes migration from Central America as one of the threats to national security.
This is not the first time the intelligence community has identified migration from Central America as a security threat. The same finding was included in the Worldwide Threat Assessment that former DNI James R. Clapper’s presented to congress in 2016, which was during the Obama Administration.
The intelligence community’s worldwide threat assessment doesn’t say that asylum seekers from Central America are a national security threat. In fact, it doesn’t say what the threat is. It just describes migration from the Northern Triangle countries and says it is increasing.
The assessment I refer to from the Obama Administration did the same thing.
Some readers take this to mean that the assessments aren’t saying that migration from Central America is a threat, but that interpretation makes no sense to me. Why would the intelligence community include Central American migration on its list of regional national security threats if they don’t consider it a national security threat?
Clearly the intelligence community in the current administration views it as a national security threat, as did the intelligence community in the Obama Administration. They just aren’t saying why.
But this isn’t a great mystery. My article is discussing the version of the assessment that was released to the public, which was discussed at an open congressional hearing.
A closed hearing followed later in the day at which classified information was discussed. That’s where the reason for viewing Central American migration as a national threat was given.
The take away from my article is that the intelligence community warned Trump that migration from Central America is a threat to national security, which means that Trump may be telling the truth when he says there is a national security crisis at the Mexican border.
Reminds me of the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. Trump has said outrageous things so many times that no one will believe him now when he says truthfully that there is a national security threat at the border.
I don’t see that the “security threat” has anything to do with the fake “Southern Border Crisis.” If it did, the intelligence chiefs would certainly have mentioned it, given all of the ongoing hubbub. And, since when does Trump pay any attention to what the intelligence community tells him? The failed states of the Northern Triangle are collapsing. And, we are more or less standing by and watching that which we definitely helped cause. Failed states in the hemisphere result in regional instability and are a breeding grounds for cartels and other criminal enterprises that might actually be security threats.The product of this threat, more refugees, is a legitimate human rights issue. But, certainly not a security threat by any stretch of the imagination.
The intelligence community’s worldwide threat assessment doesn’t say that asylum seekers from Central America are a national security threat. In fact, it doesn’t say what the threat is. It just describes migration from the Northern Triangle countries and says it is increasing.
The assessment I refer to from the Obama Administration did the same thing.
Some readers take this to mean that the assessments aren’t saying that migration from Central America is a threat, but that interpretation makes no sense to me. Why would the intelligence community include Central American migration on its list of regional national security threats if they don’t consider it a national security threat?
Clearly the intelligence community in the current administration views it as a national security threat, as did the intelligence community in the Obama Administration. They just aren’t saying why.
But this isn’t a great mystery. My article is discussing the version of the assessment that was released to the public, which was discussed at an open congressional hearing.
A closed hearing followed later in the day at which classified information was discussed. That’s where the reason for viewing Central American migration as a national threat was given.
The take away from my article is that the intelligence community warned Trump that migration from Central America is a threat to national security, which means that Trump may be telling the truth when he says there is a national security crisis at the Mexican border.
Reminds me of the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. Trump has said outrageous things so many times that no one will believe him now when he says truthfully that there is a national security threat at the border.
I don’t see that the “security threat” has anything to do with the fake “Southern Border Crisis.” If it did, the intelligence chiefs would certainly have mentioned it, given all of the ongoing hubbub. And, since when does Trump pay any attention to what the intelligence community tells him? The failed states of the Northern Triangle are collapsing. And, we are more or less standing by and watching that which we definitely helped cause. Failed states in the hemisphere result in regional instability and are a breeding grounds for cartels and other criminal enterprises that might actually be security threats.The product of this threat, more refugees, is a legitimate human rights issue. But, certainly not a security threat by any stretch of the imagination.
PWS
02-12-19