By Cal Thomas

For more than three years, President Biden and his Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have told the country they do not have the power to stop the flow of migrants entering the country unlawfully unless Congress passes new laws. Funny how Biden had no problem using his power to cancel former President Trump’s border restrictions by executive order, but as the election nears, Biden has suddenly discovered the power to do something after all.

President Biden has signed an executive order that appears to be nothing short of amnesty. The order will supposedly “cap” the number of migrants at 2,500 per day (they will still cross the border and break current immigration laws). Will the president also “cap” the amount of fentanyl and other drugs and the number of human traffickers, criminals and terrorists who appear to be slipping in? These “ got-aways” may never be identified or caught, unless they commit new crimes.

Writing for the Center for Immigration Studies, Don Barnett says: “ The Biden administration is doing an end-run around the nation’s immigration laws — by giving migrants work permits in record numbers.”

Barnett notes that “Since President Biden took office, more than 3.3 million migrants have been given an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), commonly known as the federal work permit, even though many didn’t even legally have the right to be in America. And as of February of this year, pending EAD applications stood at another 1.4 million. In many cases, migrants are given the right to work before they are even given asylum, a green card or other legal documentation that allows them to stay.”

This is amnesty anyway you define it. 350,000 migrants reportedly will be allowed to remain in the U.S. and their asylum cases closed. Most were unlikely to show up for court dates anyway, since their court dates are many years ahead.

The supposed “capping” of migrants at 2,500 per day is meaningless. Who will do the counting? If the cap is imposed on one day when the arbitrary number is reached, what happens the next day? Another 2,500, of course. All breaking the law to enter the country. This is like giving shoplifters a maximum they can steal before they are arrested and prosecuted. Oh wait, that is already happening in California.

Biden has apparently seen the writing on the unfinished border wall. Immigration is among the top issues for voters in 2024 and Biden’s executive order is in response to a political necessity, not the necessity of controlling the border, which all countries must do or risk losing it all to a steady flow of non-citizens.

President Biden and his predecessor President Obama made a promise to “fundamentally transform America.” Obama made that promise days before the 2008 election and Biden has used the same words to affirm that goal.

Neither Obama nor Biden have told us what they wanted to transform America from and to so that voters might have the chance to decide whether they want to go along for the ride and where it will lead. This is the problem with so much that happens in Washington. A small number of people — some elected, some appointed — decide for more than 300 million people what they think is best for them, when it is more about what is best for themselves and their political careers.

The November election will decide whether most of us want to continue on this involuntary journey. One hopes not because the destination will likely not resemble the America we have known and loved.

Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).