Wisconsin Right Now

U.S. Customs and Border Protection released monthly border apprehension data on Friday, saying, “statistics show lowest southwest border encounters in nearly four years.” CBP also claimed illegal border crossings were down by 34% from June to July and the drop is due to a presidential proclamation issued in June. Troy Miller, a senior official performing the duties of the CBP Commissioner, said  recent Biden-Harris policies led “to the lowest number of encounters along the southwest border in more than three years.” Despite these claims, the total number of apprehended illegal border crossers surpassed 10.5 million in July with two months left in the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. That number excludes 2 million gotaways, those who illegally entered and evaded capture, bringing the total number to more than 12.5 million. That is greater than the individual populations of 45 states. If illegal border crossers were a state, they’d be the sixth most populous state ahead of Ill

Protection of parental rights and other education reforms are the focus of several bills passed by the Wisconsin Senate on Tuesday. The Empowering Parents K-12 Education Reform Package of bills includes legislation aimed at increasing charter schools in the state as well as eliminating parent income limits and pupil caps for eligibility. The bills easily passed the Republican-led chamber, but it’s anticipated all will be vetoed when they reach the desk of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, the former superintendent of Wisconsin’s public school system. A recent Marquette University Law Poll reported 59% support the use of publicly funded vouchers to attend private or religious schools. Real Clear Opinion Research found that 72% of registered voters support the concept of school choice, an 8% increase since early 2020. Empowering Parents K-12 Education Reform Package Assembly Bill 963 requires the government prove “a compelling interest” before public employees usurp parental or