Thursday, October 31, 2024
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Thursday, October 31, 2024

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Hartland Arrowhead Referendum Project Is Estimated to Cost $405 Million

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The estimated full cost of the Hartland Arrowhead school referendum project could rise to more than $405 million, an amount that includes interest, according to an assessment estimate provided to the district by R.W. Baird and obtained by Wisconsin Right Now.

The School District has repeatedly told the public that the project will cost $261 Million. On the Tuesday ballot, voters will be asked whether to approve the referendum.

When asked about the discrepancy, Superintendent Conrad D. Farner told Wisconsin Right Now that it’s common for school districts not to include interest in the cost estimates they give voters, which helps account for the difference. However, he said that the higher estimate was included in the levy impact.

We would note that the federal Truth in Lending Act for home and auto loans “requires lenders to provide standardized information about the costs and terms of loans, including the annual percentage rate (APR), the loan term, and the cost of the loan. This information helps consumers compare loans and credit costs.” Although we are not arguing that Act applies to Hartland’s school referendum, the contrast does beg the question of whether all Wisconsin school districts should transparently tell voters the full estimated cost of school referendums.

“We are following the same process we have always used, which, to the best of my knowledge, is the same process ALL districts have used for the decades that communities have been asked to approve referenda,” Farner said. “The cost of the new school is the $261.2 million we are communicating. The amount of interest on the loan is a completely separate, and much more complicated issue.” You can read Farner’s full email at the end of this story.

However, the higher amount was used to calculate the levy increase, he acknowledged, but the ballot will ask voters for $261.2 million.

Jeff Gross, Director of Business Services, sent a constituent the Baird document in an email, Wisconsin Right Now confirmed. He did not respond to a request for comment.

The Baird document is titled “Arrowhead Union High School District: Illustration of November 2024 Facilities Referendum Financing Plan.” It breaks down the general obligation bonds into principal, interest, and hypothetical cash defeasance. It also includes categories for “total fund 39 debt levy” and “hypothetical state aid impact from debt service expenditures.”

The “combined cost (factoring aid)” is $405,140,881.

Read it here:

November 2024 Referenda – Arrowhead UHSD

The referendum question “proposes building a new $261.2 million high school to replace the current two aging buildings (North and South campuses). The new school will offer improved safety, increased efficiency, and modern learning spaces. The estimated tax impact is $191 per $100,000 of property value,” the district’s website says.

(There is also a second referendum question on the ballot. “This referendum question seeks $1.9 million annually for the next four years to cover rising operational costs like utilities, insurance, and special education. The tax impact is $2 per $100,000 of property value per year,” it says.)

Hartford Union High School Referendum

The Hartford Union High School District also has a referendum on the ballot, although much smaller than Arrowhead as they are not asking for a complete teardown and rebuild of the school, but instead are asking to replace roof sections, upgrade HVAC system, update tech education, make restrooms ADA compliant, and repair the track and pool.

HUHS is asking for $25.8 million for these items. According to the Baird assessment for that district, an additional $16.7 million in interest expense, will occur over 20 years. This assessment was made publicly available on the HUHS referendum page.

Arrowhead referendumHere is the Arrowhead Superintendent’s full response:

We are following the same process we have always used, which, to the best of my knowledge, is the same process ALL districts have used for the decades that communities have been asked to approve referenda. The cost of the new school is the $261.2 million we are communicating. The amount of interest on the loan is a completely separate, and much more complicated issue.

The school we are asking the citizens to approve will cost $261.2 million…that is a solid, accurate number. The estimated cost to pay the interest on the loan is only an estimate but it is included in the tax levy impact we are communicating to our taxpayers. Over 35 years of experience as an educator in southeast Wisconsin, I have never seen the cost of a capital project communicated any other way. ALL districts communicate the cost to build a school and use the cost of the school in the resolutions the School Boards approve. The attorneys who advise districts use the construction costs of the project in the official resolutions that School Boards approve. The official referendum questions on the ballot use the construction costs to build the school/facility. If you know of a district that included the interest on the borrow as part of the official resolution, and/or the actual ballot question, please let me know. I have only seen districts ask their citizens to approve borrowing the funds to cover the construction costs of the project.

The number that matters when it comes to taxpayers knowing the impact of a project on their taxes is the TAX LEVY IMPACT PROJECTION. District administrators consult with financial experts, such as Baird, who help calculate the costs associated with borrowing millions of dollars. The estimated cost of the interest is ALWAYS included in the tax levy impact that is provided to taxpayers.

As I have never heard this question raised over the previous 8 referenda with which I have been associated, I can only provide my best assumptions as to why districts do not include the cost of the interest when providing information on the cost to build a new school. One reasonable explanation is the interest is only an estimate…it is never a hard and fast number as numerous factors influence what the actual amount ends up being. Districts estimate on the high end when calculating and providing the tax levy impact so as to NOT create the scenario where the actual impact is greater than advertised. It often turns out that the annual tax increases are lower than communicated, as increasing overall property values in the area, as well as defeasance, earned interest and interest rates all impact the actual tax impact from year to year. Every business manager with whom I have worked has paid off loans early to save on interest, so that is another factor that cannot be predicted or guaranteed as far as the actual impact. Because no one wants to put out a number that they know is not locked in, it does not make sense to put much emphasis on the estimated costs of the borrow. The cost of the construction is a known, set number that cannot be exceeded, so it just makes sense that is the number that is communicated about the cost of a project.

Another reason I would think many view focusing on the interest as not necessary is that anyone who has ever bought a house or a car, or had a basic finance or accounting class, should understand that when you borrow money, there is interest on the loan. The more you borrow, the more interest that is involved. The total amount of interest is not what anyone focuses on when borrowing money for a house or car…they focus on the monthly payments as that tells them what they need to budget…and/or whether they can afford that house or car.

That is exactly what districts do when they provide the tax levy impact associated with any borrowing of funds. The tax levy impact we have provided to our community ($2 per $100,000 for the operational referendum and $191 per $100,000 for the new school) INCLUDES THE ESTIMATED INTEREST ON THE BORROW. Taxpayers are then able to use those numbers to determine the impact on their taxes which helps them decide whether they ultimately support the referendum question or not. That is the consistent, transparent process districts have been using for decades.

Another reason districts would not communicate the interest costs to borrow millions of dollars for a building project is it would no doubt add confusion. I can just about guarantee that if districts added the cost of interest to the actual project costs, people would assume/conclude that the construction costs are that total (higher) number and then they would ask for the interest on the loan for that much larger number. People would be asking why there are two numbers and does the project cost $250 million or $300 million…which is it??? If the numbers communicated to citizens leading up to the election day do not match what is actually on the ballot, that would create incredible confusion. Most would agree that anything that causes confusion is not likely to help a referendum.

Another reasonable explanation for why districts use the tax levy impact when communicating the tax impact of a project is that is the number that matters. If a district did decide to emphasize the cost of the borrow and include that in communication efforts, the estimated tax levy impact would BE THE SAME NUMBER as if they just used the cost of construction. No matter what numbers are included in any communication, the tax levy impact is the number taxpayers use to figure out the impact on their taxes. If you provide the estimated cost of the borrow, that number does not enable anyone to calculate the tax impact…it is just a larger number than the construction costs of the project.

Finally, and there could be more reasons but this has gone on long enough, it is common knowledge that when people talk about the value or cost of their home, they do not say, “My house cost $500,000 plus the interest on the mortgage.” Nor do people say, “I am asking $500,000 for my house plus the interest the buyer has to pay.” Nor do people negotiate the sale price of a home by including references to the associated interest for the mortgage. Nor are taxes calculated based on the mortgage interest…the cost of a home/building is what everyone uses when talking about/comparing the value of the home/building.

I have copied our Director of Business Services, Jeff Gross, as he is the individual who worked directly with Baird on our numbers. He is best positioned to answer specific questions about the estimated interest on any loan. Everything we have shared is as accurate as can be. We are following the same calculations, methods, processes and communications that all districts use. We respond to all questions with accurate information. My guess is individuals who are focusing on the interest costs, and ignoring the fact that those costs are in the tax levy impact, are actually trying to sow confusion as they are likely against the referendum being passed.

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Harris-Trump Polling Margins Razor-thin in Wisconsin

(The Center Square) – New polling from Wisconsin shows the presidential race in the state remains too close to call.

The survey, conducted Oct. 16-24 by Marquette Law School, shows Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris barely leads Republican former President Donald Trump 50% to 49% among Wisconsin voters. The results fall well within the poll’s +/-4.4 margin of error.

“It should not surprise anyone if Donald Trump wins, and it should not surprise anyone if Kamala Harris wins,” MLS poll Director Franklin said. “Because the polling – both ours and the polling averages for the state, which is under a 1% average margin right now – are just so close that polling is not going to help us at all to have confidence in who’s the likely winner.”

The partisan makeup of the poll sample, which included 834 registered and 753 likely voters, is 39% Republican, 31% Democratic, and 34% Independent.

Favorability ratings have remained mostly stable for the presidential candidates, but have significantly changed for their vice presidential picks.

Trump went from a net -11 in September to a -14 in October, while Harris’s ratings also dropped during that time from -3 favorability to -5 favorability. But Sen. J.D. Vance’s favorability has shot up by 9 points since last month, though he still has a net negative rating, -4 percentage points. By contrast, Gov. Tim Walz’s favorability has dropped 7 points since last month, with his current rating at exactly zero percentage points, still the highest out of all the candidates.

Candidate images have barely changed, with voters still believing Harris has a better personality overall than Trump. Voters’ opinions on who would do a better job on political issues have also mostly remained the same, with the majority believing Trump would better handle the economy, immigration and border security, the Israel-Hamas war, and foreign relations. Harris scores much higher on the issues of Medicare and Social Security, health care and abortion policy.

The economy remains by far the most important issue for Wisconsin voters at 38%, with abortion policy at 15% and immigration and border security at 13%.

“If you look at personality, most of those favor Harris. If you look at issues, it’s a split. But when you look at the single most important issue to people, it’s a slight Trump advantage,” Franklin summarized. “So that kind of explains why we have such a close race.”

MLS also analyzed the voter gender gap using a pooled sample of all registered voters interviewed in the four MLS polls from July to October. Women, who made up 51% of registered voters in the combined July-October polls, favored Harris by 14 percentage points, while men, who made up 48%, favored Trump by 12 percentage points, a 26-point gap between the genders. Though significant, the difference is smaller than the 32-point gap in 2020 and the 30-point gap in 2016.

The gender gap is especially large among non-white voters, suburban-dwelling voters, and voters under age 30 and between the ages of 45-59. The gender gap is smallest within rural communities and small towns, older voters, and born-again Protestants.

Enthusiasm levels across both the gender and partisan gap remain high, something Franklin says could drive voter turnout to 2020 levels.

“[The year] 2020 set records for turnout. It would be hard to reach those levels again,” Franklin said. “But I think with this level of enthusiasm, we do have some reason to believe that we should expect to see turnout close to the 3.3 million we saw last time.”

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Poll: Wisconsin Voters Reluctant to Approve Tax Increases for School Funding

(The Center Square) – With a total of 137 local school referendum questions spread across ballots in Wisconsin, recent data shows voters’ support for increasing property taxes to fund public education is waning.

Marquette Law School polled 834 registered Wisconsin voters from Oct. 16-24, asking their opinions on presidential candidates, the direction of the state, and public school referendums, among other things.

The poll found that voters’ desire to prioritize public school spending over lower property taxes peaked in late 2018, when 57% of Wisconsin registered voters polled said increasing school spending was more important and only 37% said reducing property taxes was more important.

But now, voter support for increasing school district funding has fallen to its lowest level since Marquette began tracking the sentiment in 2013, with only 44% in the most recent survey saying school spending is more important, versus 55% who chose lower property taxes. The change occurs even as voters’ reported satisfaction with Wisconsin schools has returned to November 2023 levels, though not to pre-pandemic levels.

School districts in Wisconsin are subject to a 1993 state law that places limits on how much local governments can increase their property taxes each year. But a district’s property taxes can be raised above the revenue limit through voter-approved ballot proposals.

This past spring, voters across the state approved 62 of the 103 school referendum questions on the ballot, the lowest approval numbers in a midterm or presidential election year since 2010, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

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BREAKING: Supreme Court says Virginia Can Remove ‘Noncitizens’ From Voter Rolls

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted Virginia’s emergency request to keep “noncitizens” off voter rolls, Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Wednesday morning via a social media post.

The Wednesday morning announcement comes after a coalition of 24 state attorneys general joined the commonwealth in urging the high court to allow Virginia to remove “self-identified noncitizens” from voter rolls.

Miyares announced Sunday evening that the commonwealth would file an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort to block a ruling an order from the U.S. District Court to return over 1,500 noncitizens to the voter rolls that have been removed since Aug. 7.

The 6-3 ruling overturns the unanimous decision from a panel of judges in the Fourth Circuit of Appeals that rejected Virginia's request on Sunday to stop an order from a lower court to reinstate noncitizen registrations removed from voter rolls.

In the amicus brief filed to the highest court, the attorneys general argued that the ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia “undermines the constitutional authority of states to determine voter qualifications” to maintain election integrity “by allowing only eligible citizens to vote.”

The top prosecutors argue that the District Court’s ruling is “based on flawed interpretation” of the National Voter Registration Act’s 90-day “quiet period.” They claim the quiet period “does not apply to the removal of noncitizens from voter rolls.”

“Noncitizens are not eligible voters,” the brief reads. “They were not eligible voters before Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act, they were not eligible when Congress passed the NVRA, and they are not eligible today.”

Miyares has defended the commonwealth's removal of noncitizens from the voter rolls, claiming the ruling was “politically motivated.”

"It should never be illegal to remove an illegal voter," said Miyares. "The Department of Justice pulled this shameful, politically motivated stunt 25 days before Election Day, challenging a Virginia process signed into law 18 years ago by a Democrat governor and approved by the Department of Justice in 2006.”

The Friday ruling drew criticism from Republicans, including former president Donald Trump, who claimed the move was an attempt by the Biden Administration to “weaponize” the Justice Department.

“Now their truly Weaponized Department of ‘Injustice,’ and a Judge (appointed by Joe), have ORDERED the Great Commonwealth of Virginia to PUT NON-CITIZEN VOTERS BACK ON THE ROLLS. This is a totally unacceptable travesty,” Trump posted on X.

In the lawsuit, the Justice Department alleged the commonwealth unlawfully removed individuals deemed “noncitizens” from voter rolls within 90 days before an election, citing a “quiet period” in the National Voter Registration Act that mandates “no such voter cancelation or list maintenance programs may be conducted” within that time period.

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Wisconsin DNR Warns of Invasive Carp in 2 Rivers

(The Center Square) – There’s a warning about invasive carp in two western Wisconsin rivers.

The Department of Natural Resources said silver carp have been found in both the lower Chippewa River and lower Black River.

“In July, the DNR began receiving reports from anglers of jumping fish suspected to be invasive carp at the Dells Dam on the lower Chippewa River in Eau Claire. The Dells Dam in Eau Claire prevents further upstream passage of invasive carp in the Chippewa River System,” the

DNR said. “On Aug. 1, DNR staff went to the dam and observed jumping fish but were unable to verify the species of fish.”

The department said it confirmed silver carp in the lower Black River in September.

“The dam in Black River Falls is a barrier to upstream fish migration, and no observations or other detections of invasive carp have been reported in the lower Black River at this time,” the DNR added.

Silver carp are an invasive species in the Midwest and have done immense damage to other rivers where they’ve been found.

“It is believed that the carp may have migrated in June and early July due to the high-water levels observed on the Mississippi River, which would have allowed fish to move upstream into adjacent tributaries,” the department explained. “Tributaries to the lower Chippewa River, such as the Red Cedar River up to the Lake Menomin Dam and the Eau Claire River up to the Lake Altoona Dam, may be other potential locations where invasive carp might be observed since these waterbodies do not have barriers that would prevent upstream fish movement from the adjacent lower Chippewa River.”

The DNR is not saying what it plans to do about the carp but is asking people to keep an eye out for them.

“Although no technology currently exists to eradicate invasive carp, the DNR is working collaboratively with other state and federal agencies on the research and development of invasive carp prevention and control technologies,” the department added. “Anglers and others who capture any potential invasive carp are asked to euthanize the fish, put them on ice and contact a local aquatic invasive species staff, fisheries biologist or warden to confirm identification.”

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Trump Receives Endorsements From Muslim, Arab Leaders at Michigan Rally

Some Arab- and Muslin-American leaders endorsed Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally Saturday in Novi, Michigan.

The endorsements are notable in the key swing state that is home to more than 200,000 Muslim-American voters. According to RealClearPolitics' polling average, Trump holds the narrowest of leads over Harris in Michigan, 47.9% to 47.7%.

"We're winning overwhelming support from the Muslim and Arab voters right here in Michigan," Trump told the crowd.

That support from Muslim leaders includes Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib and Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi, as well as Imam Belal Alzuhairi.

Saturday's rally occurred less than 24 hours after Israel struck Iran with strategically targeted missiles the night before. The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East was among the reasons the Muslim and Arab leaders cited in their endorsement of the former president.

"We are supporting Donald Trump because he promised to end war in the Middle East and Ukraine," Alzuhairi said. "The bloodshed has to stop all over the world, and I think this man can make that happen."

Alzuhairi added, "I personally believe that God saved his life twice for a reason," referring to the two unsuccessful assassination attempts against Trump's life.

Two recent polls indicate that many Arab- and Muslim-Americans, traditionally voting blocs for Democrats. are drifting away from Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris as the Biden-Harris administration struggles to balance U.S. support for Israel with appeasing a significant anti-Israel faction within the Democratic Party.

In one poll of 500 Arab American registered voters conducted by The Arab American Institute, Trump and Harris were nearly split, 42-41%, a drop in support from the level Democrats received in 2020, as The Center Square previously reported.

In the other conducted in late August, The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released a poll showing American Muslim voters supporting Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and Harris equally, at 29% each, with Trump at 12%. In Michigan, the poll found that 40% of Muslim voters support Stein, 18% support Trump, and just 12% support Harris.

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Virginia Appeals Order to Return Noncitizens to Voter Rolls

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced late Sunday the commonwealth will file an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort to block the return of more than 1,500 noncitizens to voter rolls.

The appeal follows a unanimous panel ruling Sunday from the Fourth Circuit of Appeals rejecting Virginia's request to stop an order from a lower court to reinstate noncitizens removed from voter rolls within 90 days of an election.

The latest ruling comes two days after the commonwealth filed an emergency motion to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Friday night to stay a ruling from the district court.

Shortly after Friday's ruling, Miyares defended the commonwealth's removal of noncitizens from the voter rolls, claiming the ruling was “politically motivated.”

"It should never be illegal to remove an illegal voter," said Miyares. "The Department of Justice pulled this shameful, politically motivated stunt 25 days before Election Day, challenging a Virginia process signed into law 18 years ago by a Democrat governor and approved by the Department of Justice in 2006.”

The Friday ruling drew criticism from Republicans, including former president Donald Trump, who claimed the move was an attempt by the Biden Administration to “weaponize” the Justice Department.

“Now their truly Weaponized Department of ‘Injustice,’ and a Judge (appointed by Joe), have ORDERED the Great Commonwealth of Virginia to PUT NON-CITIZEN VOTERS BACK ON THE ROLLS. This is a totally unacceptable travesty,” Trump posted on X.

The former president commended Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s vow to appeal the “illegal order,” while calling on SCOTUS to remedy the situation.

“Gov. Youngkin is absolutely right to appeal this ILLEGAL ORDER, and the U.S. Supreme Court will hopefully fix it! Only U.S. Citizens should be allowed to vote. Keep fighting, Glenn – AND REPUBLICANS IN VIRGINIA, KEEP VOTING EARLY!”

Shortly after Miyares’ announcement, Youngkin commended the attorney general for taking decisive action.

“It’s commonsense noncitizens shouldn’t be our voter rolls. Thank you [Jason Miyares] for filing immediately with the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency appeal of the order for Virginia to put over 1,500 people who self-identified as non-citizens back on the voter rolls,” Youngkin posted on X late Sunday evening.

The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department the commonwealth unlawfully removed individuals deemed “noncitizens” from voter rolls within 90 days before an election, citing a “quiet period” in the National Voter Registration Act that mandates “no such voter cancelation or list maintenance programs may be conducted” within that time period.

It’s unclear if there is enough time for the Supreme to rule on the matter before Nov. 5.

11 Million IllegalsmSouthern Border Arrests

Nearly 565,000 Illegal Border Crossers in Arizona in Fiscal 2024

There were nearly 565,000 illegal border crossers reported in Arizona in fiscal 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Arizona’s 378 miles of shared border with Mexico is staffed by CBP and Border Patrol agents in the CBP sectors of Tucson and Yuma. Tucson Sector’s 262-mile shared border with Mexico extends from the Yuma County line to the Arizona-New Mexico state line. Yuma Sector’s nearly 182,000 square miles of primarily desert terrain extends from Imperial Sand Dunes in California to the Yuma-Pima County line.

The Tucson Sector has historically been one of the busiest along the U.S.-Mexico border. In fiscal 2024, Border Patrol agents there reported 463,567 illegal border crossers, the most of any sector along the southwest border during the year, which runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. The second greatest number was reported by San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents of nearly 325,000, The Center Square reported.

Tucson Office of Field Operations agents also reported 47,051 illegal border crossers in fiscal 2024, significantly less than San Diego OFO’s 183,890 over the same time period.

In CBP’s Yuma Sector, Border Patrol agents reported 53,877 illegal border crossers. Because of the sector’s vast desert, large drifting sand dunes, mountainous terrain, ever-changing Colorado River, and temperatures exceeding 120 degrees, Yuma Border Patrol agents often rescue illegal border crossers in distress.

Combined, apprehensions in Arizona totaled at least 564,495 in fiscal 2024 excluding gotaways, those who illegally entered and evaded capture. Data for both sectors is consistent with nationwide data: the overwhelming majority of illegal border crossers are single adults coming from all over the world.

In Tucson Sector’s Cochise County, Sheriff Mark Dannels says despite numerous requests, he’s never met with President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris the entire time they’ve been in office as his rural county has been pummeled with illegal border crossers and cartel-related crime.

“My community's frustrated over the last three and a half years with what we've dealt with … when it comes to crime and the policies that have failed this country; the policies have failed our citizens, and the tragedies that my neighbors are addressing silently, because nobody's listening,” Dannels, who is also the chairman of the National Sheriff’s Association for Border Security, said.

Over a 31-month period, his office booked 3,762 people in the county jail for border-related crimes, he said. “These are not immigration issues. These are border-related crimes, with double digit murders.”

In an investigation led by the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, Arizona Border Patrol chiefs expressed concerns about gotaways and national security risks. Tucson Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent John Modlin said, “When we make an arrest, we can then vet that person and find out, if they have a criminal history, if there are national security concerns. Gotaways are a public safety concern … potentially a national security concern.”

“The smuggling organizations to our south are very well organized and resourceful,” he said, referring to Mexican cartels. “Each and every person crossing through the Tucson Sector must pay these criminal organizations. The migrants we encounter are completely outfitted in camouflage by the smuggling organizations before they cross. Most run from and fight our agents to avoid apprehension. Many are previously deported felons who know they are inadmissible to the United States and many pose a serious threat to our communities.”

Modlin also expressed concerns about having to pull agents from other areas to deal with surges, a practice used across sectors, The Center Square reported. Yuma Sector Deputy Chief Border Patrol Agent Dustin Caudle said the sector’s three interior checkpoints are critical for interdicting gotaways, but the majority of fiscal 2022 and most of fiscal 2023 they were down, meaning the border was wide open and unmanned.

As Border Patrol agents were inundated with surges of illegal border crossers and given timeframes to process and release them into the country under Biden-Harris policies, background checks and vetting weren’t always performed and individuals on the terrorist watch list were released into the country, according to congressional investigations and Office of Inspector General reports. Americans living more than 2,600 miles away are also suffering consequences. Crimes being committed in New England can be traced back to foreign nationals who illegally entered the country in Arizona, The Center Square reported.

Despite ongoing challenges, federal, state and local law enforcement agents in Arizona have seized a record amount of fentanyl in the last few years, enough to kill billions of people. Earlier this year, CBP agents seized half a ton of fentanyl at the Lukeville Port of Entry in the Tucson Sector, the largest fentanyl seizure in CBP history. With two milligrams considered a lethal dose, and 22,696.2 lethal doses in a pound, they seized more than 453 million lethal doses, enough to kill roughly the entire population of the U.S. and Mexico.

Arizona parents who’ve lost children to fentanyl, like Josephine Dunn, have called on the Arizona legislature and Congress to act, The Center Square reported.

As the Biden-Harris administration escalated flights of illegal foreign nationals into the country, Arizona’s border apprehensions were down in fiscal 2024 compared to the more than 775,000 reported in fiscal 2023, The Center Square first reported.

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Steil, Van Orden Highlight Crimes, Costs of Migrants in Wisconsin

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Republican Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil testified at a House Judiciary Committee meeting last week about the dangers of sanctuary cities and the community challenges illegal immigration has posed across the state, particularly in Whitewater.

Steil has previously pointed to Whitewater as a “case study” of the damaging effects of illegal immigration under the current administration. The influx of roughly 1,000 migrants to the city of 15,000 has led to increasing strain on law enforcement, school resources, and housing capacity in Whitewater, according to reports. Now, the city is witnessing cartel activity, including drug and human trafficking operations, Steil testified, referencing multiple reports.

“We know the danger that that poses in our communities,” Steil said. “And there has been state legislation where we could have had an opportunity to ban sanctuary cities here in the United States, and we’ve not been successful in doing that under Democratic leadership.”

Though Madison is the only city in Wisconsin officially classified as a sanctuary city, Whitewater officials seem uncertain over whether the city is legally able to send away migrants, who have temporary asylum status under the Biden-Harris administration’s “catch and release” policy, where migrants who illegally cross into the country are allowed to wait in the U.S. for their claims to be processed in an immigration court.

The effects of illegal immigration have also affected Wisconsin on a statewide scale, Van Orden testified at the hearing, particularly at prisons in the state.

In particular, Wisconsin’s Federal Correctional Institution Oxford is holding 650 migrants who have committed felonies, more than half of the prison’s housing capacity of 1,200. According to Oxford administrators, the cost of housing a single inmate is $42,000 per year, amounting to $27 million in taxpayer dollars going to holding migrant inmates.

A record 14 million illegal border crossings have occurred under the Biden-Harris administration, with nearly 3 million occurring during the past 2024 fiscal year, the second-highest number in U.S. history.

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