The ruse these illegal immigrants have been using to get released is an asylum claim. Even though the vast majority of the claims are clearly without merit (and half of those released in order to pursue their applications never bother to follow through), the Left, both in and out of government, has encouraged their filing, and the prolongation of cases.

Having incentivized the flow of Central American asylum seekers, the Democrats then opposed all the steps needed to prevent asylum from being used as a strategy for illegal immigration — such as amending the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, overturning the Flores Settlement, raising the bar for a “credible fear” claim (the first hurdle in the asylum process), and funding more detention beds.

And the incentives for bogus asylum claims come within the larger context of the Democrats challenging the very idea of enforcing immigration laws. Long before #AbolishICE became a rallying cry for the party’s socialist wing, Democratic bigwigs have been saying that no illegal alien should ever be sent home merely because he snuck into the country or overstayed a visa. Nancy Pelosi in 2013 put it very clearly: “If somebody is here without sufficient documentation, that is not reason for deportation.” Hillary Clinton said much the same during one of the 2016 primary debates: “Of the people, the undocumented people living in our country, I do not want to see them deported.” Likewise with Bernie Sanders, at the same debate; in response to Jorge Ramos’s question, “And can you promise not to deport immigrants who don’t have a criminal record?” Sanders answered, “I can make that promise.”