The word “Potemkin” comes from Russian minister Grigory Potemkin building fake portable villages along the Dnieper River to impress his former lover, Russian Empress Catherine II, during her journey to Crimea in 1787. As recently appointed governor of Crimea, Potemkin ordered the phony portable structures disassembled after she passed, and re-assembled farther along her route to be viewed again as if new. As the Empress arrived in her barge, Potemkin’s men, dressed as peasants, would populate the village. In politics and economics a “Potemkin Village” is any construction (literal or figurative) meant to hide an undesirable or potentially damaging situation and to deceive others into thinking the situation is better than it really is. (Wikipedia)
The U.S. / Mexico border fits that to a T (or, in this case, a P). When Castro emptied his jails for the last time in the late ‘90s he flooded Miami, Florida with Cuban criminals. Thousands were being held in custodial facilities in Miami. While the President was making up his mind what to do with them they rioted. This caused a congressional investigation and representatives were sent to Miami to assess the situation. In true Potemkin form, the Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) secretly transferred thousands of Cuban criminals to other custodial facilities to make it appear the numbers were minimal and they had control of the local situation. The ruse was discovered but the INS leadership who ordered the deception were not fired – or even reprimanded. They were promoted to higher positions in INS. This type of deception on the American people was standard procedure during my eleven years and nine months with INS.
The truth is Congress knows border security is simply a Potemkin village because they are the Grigory Potemkins who order the façade. They and the State Department are the ones who create the recurring “immigration crises.” It’s like Renee Zellweiger said in the movie Cold Mountain: “Men piss on themselves then complain it’s rainin’!” That’s Congress.
Congressional demographic subversion of the U.S. Constitution occurs about every ten years when the Democrats need more voters and Republicans / Chamber of Commerce wants cheaper labor. There is never a real immigration “crises” at all. The real crisis is our very generous laws are not being enforced. No politician is saying that.
It starts with both political parties sending “the word” through agency heads to the border agents and inspectors that “there are Laws and then there are laws.” In other words, don’t be so strict about enforcing the law. Note the CBP brochures mention “providing a service” to aliens before enforcing the law. Immigration inspectors are told “There is no rule saying you HAVE to have proof of residence and economic solvency before issuing a permit to a Mexican citizen to “visit” the United States. In fact it is the ONLY way we can tell if the alien is living outside the U.S. Permits to travel further than 25 linear miles from the Mexican border used to be granted only for the duration of the visit’s purpose with the address and contact information of the destination written on the back. Suddenly in the late ‘90s we were told to issue 6-month permits to every Mexican regardless of their purpose in entering the United States. Congress and the INS commissioner subverted the law and by “policy” instituted a de facto open border.
That was the day the border actually disappeared and became a Potemkin Village. It didn’t matter how many illegals the Border Patrol (reportedly) caught crossing the border. The Ports of Entry became the gateway to the Promised Land. The Mexicans couldn’t believe it – and laughed in our faces when we tried vetting them.
At the same time, “sitting the X” – a highly successful concept devised by a Chief Border Patrol Agent in Texas (a Hispanic who was elected to Congress) in which his agents saturated the sector with stationery posts – was interpreted differently. Instead of agents being able to move off the “X” and intercept the illegals they were ordered to stay put – literally. Several agents told us they would see illegal aliens walking within speaking distance and the agents were not authorized to get out of their cars to apprehend the illegals. Politicians bragging about border patrol apprehensions is ludicrous. Those numbers are as controlled and contrived as the polls showing Hillary Clinton winning the presidency. Several Inspector General investigations prove it.
If not enforcing the law doesn’t open the floodgates wide enough, Congress consciously creates a stampede by announcing their intention to offer amnesty to illegal aliens already in the U.S. This creates the fake immigration “crisis” by motivating tens of thousands more from Latin America to get in while the getting is good. The Clinton-Gore campaign “Project 500,000” did just that and, after telling INS adjudicators to skip the background investigation and the interview in English, granted citizenship to over 6,000 criminal aliens.
Congress gerrymanders “refugee status” to further their electoral subterfuge. The Clintons did so by placing AIDS infected Africans at the top of the list.
The 9/11 terrorist attacks are a direct result of Congress and the State Department ordering INS inspectors “DON’T F__k WITH THE 7As!” (their words). The airline industry didn’t want to pay for the seats of out-of-status foreign “students” being sent back on the next plane home. The airline lobby called Congress, who called the State Department, who called the INS Commissioner, who….. Tens of thousands of foreign out-of-status “students” re-entered the U.S. on INvalid visas only to disappear into our country.
So when I see politicians (and aspiring politicians) conduct “inspections” on the U.S. / Mexico border I think of good ol’ Grigory (Congress) and Catherine (American citizens). They come down with their media entourage, have their picture taken with loyal agents and inspectors, and a rancher or two for a few hours then go back to their districts claiming to be subject matter experts. And nothing gets done.
Which makes Washington, D.C. the real Potemkin Village.
