A former Trump administration official is calling for former President Donald Trump to establish a presidential commission to create a comprehensive public record of the immigration surge at the U.S. Southwest Border during the Biden administration. The author argues that such a commission is necessary to study the causes and consequences of the event, which he claims saw at least 8 million foreign nationals enter the country between January 2021 and January 2025.
Todd Bensman, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center, asserts that this period represents a "transformational event of lasting generational consequence" that affected all Americans and potentially influenced the 2024 presidential election. He contends that without a studied and documented history, the lessons learned from this crisis will be lost, increasing the likelihood of future repetitions.
Bensman criticizes the Biden administration for what he describes as obstructing the flow of information and denying the severity of the situation. He claims that official communications characterized record-breaking border crossings as mere "challenges" and that administration officials, including President Biden, repeatedly stated "The border is closed. The border is secure!" despite evidence to the contrary. The author also points to a lack of transparency regarding the costs associated with caring for migrants and how U.S. tax money was used to aid migrant flows through international agencies and NGOs.
While acknowledging that commissions can sometimes be perceived as wasteful or their recommendations ignored, Bensman cites historical examples like the Warren Commission and the 9/11 Commission as instances where such bodies provided crucial information and justification for policy action. He suggests that a congressional commission is unlikely due to current political divisions, making a presidential commission the more viable option.
Bensman believes that appointing a commission is a matter of "legacy stuff" for Trump, as it could prevent future border catastrophes. He suggests that such a commission could potentially unearth information that the Biden administration withheld, including details on the financial expenditures and the destinations of millions of migrants who crossed the border.