Kids Test Scores Continue to Fall in Math and Reading [Full News Memo]

What’s happening at the southern border, President Biden’s memory questioned, Tucker Carlson and Vladimir Putin interview and more.

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President Biden’s memory questioned: A special counsel appointed in Jan. 2023 found President Biden "wilfully retained and disclosed" classified documents, but did not charge him. Robert Hur, the counsel lead, spent 5 hours interviewing Biden and noted multiple times that the sitting president forgot key dates as to when he was vice-president and when his son Beau Biden passed away. He also added that one reason it would be difficult for a jury to convict him is because he is “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Biden responded with an impromptu press conference rebuking the report and stating that his “memory is fine.” (video)

Full quote from special counsel: “We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone for whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him-by then a former president well into his eighties-of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”

Apple released its new mixed-reality goggles last week. “Apple Vision Pro”, with a starting price of $3,500, overlays digital content in the physical world. The initial use cases highlighted by Apple include using the headset as a personal movie theater or a virtual office for remote work. The headset has a mode called “EyeSight”, which Apple says, “helps you remain connected to those around you. EyeSight reveals your eyes and lets those nearby know when you’re using apps or fully immersed in an experience.” Video of how the product works.

U.S. Kills Militia Leader: Wissam Mohammed "Abu Bakr" al-Saadi, was killed in a targeted drone attack by the U.S. in Baghdad this week. Two other members of his militia were also killed. The U.S. alleges al-Saadi played a key role in the death of 3 U.S. troops in Jordan last month. The strike comes as the Pentagon seeks to deter more attacks on U.S. bases in the region.

More: More than 160 attacks have been carried out by Iranian-linked militia groups against U.S. bases and forces in the Middle East since October 7, 2023, according to the Pentagon.

Tucker Carlson and Vladimir Putin: The former Fox News host released an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday evening. The 2 hour interview took place at the Kremlin, in the same spot that many U.S. presidents have met with Putin in the past. When asked about the invasion of Ukraine, Putin gave a 30+ minute in depth explanation of Russian history, according to his perspective. Putin also said he would consider releasing U.S. journalist, Evan Gershkovich, who is detained in Russia under espionage charges if the U.S. is open to releasing detained Russians. It’s the first time Putin has been interviewed by a western journalist since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

More: The video had garnered more than 40M views on X platform as of 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, just three hours after it was released.

The mother of the Michigan school shooter convicted of killing four students in 2021 was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. According to prosecutors, Jennifer Crumbley was legally obligated to prevent her 15-year-old son from causing harm to others. More specifically, she was accused of not securing a firearm and ammunition in their home and not seeking appropriate mental health support for her son. It’s the first time a parent of a school shooter has been convicted in connection to the attack. James Crumbley, the father, is set to face trial in March. 

Context: On Nov 30, 2021, Ethan Crumbley, 15, shot 10 students and a teacher. Despite a parent meeting following disturbing drawings found in his notebook, his parents refused to take him home. His backpack contained a recently-acquired gun from home.

Tracy Chapman performed her hit song “Fast Car” with country singer Luke Combs at the Grammys on Sunday. The song rocketed up the charts of streaming platforms such as Spotify and Spotify. Since the Grammys, streams of Chapman’s original version have more than tripled. (Full video)

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Immigration: What’s Happening at the Southern Border

Immigration at the U.S. southern border has become a central theme in Congress, with lawmakers debating ways to address the crisis and showing few signs of a potential agreement. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is battling the Biden Administration over the state’s jurisdiction to secure its border and manage the flow of migrants. 

The number of migrants entering the U.S., largely at the southern border, has ballooned in the past few years, increasing from about 500k in 2018 to more than 3M in 2023. At times, there have been caravans of thousands of migrants journeying through Mexico toward the U.S. 

• 2018: 521k migrant entries

• 2019: 978k

• 2020: 401k

• 2021: 2M

• 2022: 2.8M

• 2023: 3.2M, or an average of almost 9k people per day. For context, 3.2M people is 1% of the entire U.S. population.

• 2024: Thus far, migrant crossings are trending ~15% higher compared to 2023. 

  • Data is from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP):

In 2021, Pew Research estimated about 11M illegal immigrants were living in the U.S. After the sharp increase in the past few years, it’s not known how many unauthorized people are currently living in the U.S.

What’s driving the increase?

The majority of migrants that enter the U.S. originate from Mexico (about 30%), Venezuela (11%), Guatemala (9%), Honduras (9%), and Columbia (6%), along with other Central and South American countries. Many of these countries face unstable and deteriorating economic and political situations, pushing more people to risk the often-dangerous migration journey. In addition, the Biden Administration has been more lenient on immigration than the Trump Administration.

Addressing common questions about migrants at the border

1. How do migrants enter the U.S.? 

Currently, the majority of migrants are traveling in groups and enter in mass at common points on the southern border, primarily in Texas, Arizona, California, and New Mexico. Some stretches of the border have walls and barbed-wire fences, but many stretches have no barrier.

There are dozens of designated legal ports of entry (POE) on the U.S.-Mexico border that are operated by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). However, the number of migrants entering the country illegally (not through a port of entry) far outnumbers those entering legally. For example, the CBP said 83% of the encounters on the southern border in the month of December 2023 were between ports of entry.

In addition, many migrants are smuggled into the U.S. by Transnational Criminal Organizations, most commonly the drug cartels. For example, CBP arrested 69 migrants on February 2, 2024 that entered through the El Paso, Texas, storm drain system.

• In its news release, CBP wrote: “Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCO) operating in the El Paso Sector exploit storm drain manholes within the city of El Paso to smuggle migrants illegally into the U.S. This is a trend employed by the TCO’s for many years. The El Paso storm drain system is large and complex, and migrants often get lost or encounter chemicals, toxic gases, insects, and venomous animals…”

2. After entry, what happens?

Migrants that legally enter at a POE, along with those apprehended for crossing illegally, are initially held in processing centers, screened for national security risks, and conduct an initial asylum interview. Legally, they are allowed to be kept in such centers for no more than 72 hours.

• Some migrants are put into an “expedited removal” process for deportation. This is most common for those that have previously attempted to enter the country illegally, those with criminal histories, and single adults.

  • For perspective, according to ICE, 142k immigrants were deported in 2023, up from about 70k in 2022.

• Others that are considered higher risk may be sent to ICE detention centers across the U.S., where they wait for their immigration case to be heard. Ultimately, immigration officers exercise their judgment in deciding whether a migrant warrants being held in a detention center. Factors considered include the person’s immigration history, criminal records, family ties, humanitarian issues and whether a person is a flight risk.

• Currently, however, the vast majority of migrants are released into the U.S. and given a court date for their asylum/immigration case to be heard. It often takes years for the case to ultimately be heard and adjudicated. The number of pending immigration cases has swelled in the past few years, reaching 2.5M in 2023, up from ~1M in 2019.
  

Who can request asylum? 

U.S. law allows any migrant to request asylum, regardless if they entered the country legally through a point of entry, or illegally. Asylum gives immigrants protection to live and work in the U.S. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a foreign national can be granted asylum if they establish a “well-founded fear of persecution [in their home country] on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”

• There were about 240k asylum application filings in 2022, an all-time high.

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