Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Thursday, March 19, 2026

President Donald Trump is allegedly wringing eye-watering sums of money from the very same people he has decided not to let into the country. The Cato Institute, an independent think-tank based in D.C., published figures on Wednesday on what it calls "the largest fraud in the history of the U.S. immigration system." The non-profit accuses Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of charging a conservative estimate of $1.3 billion to migrants in fees for visa processing and other services they have precisely zero intention of providing. The administration is allegedly continuing to impose those costs on prospective immigrants from more than 90 countries despite the fact that they are, as a result of the Trump administration's policies, effectively "banned from receiving immigrant visas and immigrating permanently to the United States."

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Under Rubio's leadership, officials at the State Department have apparently even gone so far as to issue internal guidance actively prohibiting staff from informing those migrants they stand no hope of success, because "this could be seen as pre-adjudication" on their applications.

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The entire government apparatus has been converted into a money-making scheme.

#1 | Posted by jpw at 2026-03-19 01:08 PM | Reply

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