By Ron Branstner
Illegal immigration was one of the top issues in the 2024 presidential election. Donald Trump’s strong stand on the issue contributed to his reelection, yet the topic is largely ignored by media in Wisconsin. Critics of the Biden administration’s open border policies are smeared, ignored, and cancelled.
Ron Branstner, a long-time activist on immigration issues in the Minneapolis area and host of a podcast on Catching Fire News, is not deterred. On November 4 he rang some alarm bells during a Zoom session with concerned citizens in Appleton. The meeting was hosted by the Fox Valley Initiative, “a group of patriots interested in local, state, and federal issues that impact our lives.”
In a long presentation filled with facts and figures, Branstner described the history of illegal immigration prior to the Biden administration, its relationship with the United Nations’ Sustainability Goals, and the role played by nonprofit organizations in circumventing democratic processes. He ended by telling the audience what they can do to restore law and order in their communities.
The current immigration and refugee crisis began when the Obama administration changed the rules for refugee resettlement reporting and eligibility for asylum seekers. The plan was for Hillary Clinton to take office in 2016 and open the southern border to unlimited immigration, but the surprise election of Donald Trump delayed that plan for four years. Countries in Europe did open their borders in 2016 and as a result, their immigration crises are worse than in the United States.
Unlimited immigration is a tool used by the United Nations to achieve its 17 “Sustainable Development Goals,” in particular Goal #10, reduced inequality. Remittances from immigrants to their families back in developing countries are used to redistribute hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth from rich to poor countries. The plan is working: Worldwide remittances now total $840 billion a year. Remittances to Mexico alone reached $61.1 billion in 2022.
This massive redistribution of wealth comes at the expense of local communities and workers in the United States. Immigrants qualify for a myriad of social programs and are assisted by 10 nonprofit organizations that are paid to facilitate their entry into the country and to sign them up for benefits. Rather than spend that money in the communities they now occupy, immigrants send much of the money back to their home country. This deprives local businesses of revenue while simultaneously placing rising pressure on local taxpayers to pay for the newcomers’ free housing, education, health care, and food.
The federal government originally pledged to cover all expenses arising from refugee resettlement for three years. Today, they pay only for 90 days. While some immigrants and refugees do work and pay taxes, many either don’t work at all or are paid cash “under the table” and avoid paying taxes. Researchers find that only highly educated and skilled immigrants pay more in taxes than the cost of the public services they use. The rest impose a net burden on taxpaying citizens.
Branstner said concerned citizens should first ask their congressmen to be their advocate and voice on this issue. He singled out Congressman Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district as a strong voice for his constituents on this issue.
Next, city and county elected and appointed officials need to be educated on the problem and asked to investigate, hold public hearings, and adopt resolutions insisting that their approval is required before any refugees can be resettled in their communities.
Branstner’s third recommendation was to get local sheriffs involved. He said they are violating their oath of office by not arresting and acting with federal authorities to deport aliens who break laws and pose a threat to public safety. Most sheriffs fail to assert their constitutional authority to enforce the law regardless of what mayors, county executives, or state officials tell them to do.
Finally, Branstner said “the only way you can stop this is to reject federal grants that have sustainability provisions.” Many communities accept grants from federal agencies with strings attached. Demand to see the full grant applications and agreements that local officials submit and sign, and protest loudly when their provisions usurp local control and violate your constitutional rights.
Ron Branstner can be contacted via the CatchingFireNews.com website. Catching Fire News is a project of the American Policy Foundation.