Axios’s Non-Scoop ‘Scoop’: ‘Trump’s Immigration Arrests Appear to Lag Biden’s’
Math is hard — and so is Border Czar Tom Homan
By Andrew R. Arthur on February 17, 2025
Axios last week published what it described as a “scoop”, with a title that was both bombastic and noncommittal: “Trump's immigration arrests appear to lag Biden's”. Given the emphasis that the new administration has placed on immigration enforcement, that claim — if true — would call into question the success of the president’s efforts. Did deeper, however, and you’ll see that the “lag” actually highlights the success of President Trump’s border-enforcement policies — and the interior enforcement achievements of ICE under his “border czar”, Tom Homan.
Immigration Enforcement, in Brief
When examining the effectiveness of immigration policies, it’s important first to understand that immigration enforcement in the interior of the United States – which focuses on identifying and removing aliens who are already here — is different from border enforcement directed at aliens who are encountered on their way into the country.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has responsibility for ensuring that “inadmissible” aliens – including illegal entrants — are not able to enter the United States at the borders and ports.
CBP officers in the agency’s Office of Field Operations (OFO) are responsible for stopping inadmissible aliens (who mix in with the flow of lawful travelers) at the ports from entering the country, while agents in the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) are charged with stopping inadmissible aliens crossing the border illegally between those ports.
https://cis.org/Arthur/Axioss-NonScoop-Scoop-Trumps-Immigration-Arrests-Appear-Lag-Bidens
