Todd Bensman - Tackling the Border Crisis: From Journalist to Policy Advisor

In this episode of Hearts of Oak, I welcome back Todd Bensman as he prepares to join the administration to tackle immigration challenges. Todd shares insights on the dramatic shifts in border enforcement since the Trump administration, including the decline in daily crossings and the need for increased deportations amid legal and infrastructure hurdles. We discuss the complexities of federal agency coordination, strategies against drug cartels related to the fentanyl crisis, and the role of tariffs to encourage Mexican cooperation. As Todd transitions to a policy advisor role, he reflects on navigating the political landscape within the Republican party while aiming for meaningful immigration reforms that balance national security with economic factors. Todd Bensman is an investigative author of the 2023 book OVERRUN, How Joe Biden Unleashed the Greatest Border Crisis in U.S. History (Posthill Press/Bombardier Books) and also America’s Covert Border War: The Untold Story of the Nation’s Battle to Prevent Jihadist Infiltration (Posthill Press/Bombardier Books, February 2021).   The two-time National Press Club award winner, a former journalist of 23 years, currently serves as the Texas-based Senior National Security Fellow for the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a Washington, D.C. policy institute for which he writes, speaks, and grants media interviews about the nexus between immigration and national security. He frequently reports from the southern border, traveling widely inside Mexico and in Central America. He has testified before Congress as an expert witness and regularly appears on radio and television outlets to discuss illegal immigration and border security matters.   He writes about homeland security and terrorism subjects for Newsweek Magazine, Homeland Security Today, The New York Post, The Daily Mail, Townhall, The Federalist, the Investigative Project on Terrorism, SpyTalk, The Daily Wire, The National Interest, and other publications. He serves as a Writing Fellow for the Middle East Forum and also teaches terrorism, intelligence analysis, and journalism as a university adjunct lecturer.   For nearly a decade prior to joining CIS in August 2018, Bensman led counterterrorism intelligence for the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division and its multi-agency fusion center. Before his homeland security service, Bensman worked as a reporter for more than two decades, covering national security after 9/11 as an investigative staff writer for major newspapers.   Contact Todd at [email protected] and sign up for his newsletter to receive alerts when new columns and reports publish. Connect with Todd Bensman 𝕏:                  https://x.com/BensmanTodd Website:        https://www.toddbensman.com/ Connect with Hearts of Oak. . . 𝕏                         x.com/HeartsofOakUK WEBSITE            heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS        heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA  heartsofoak.org/connect/ SHOP                  heartsofoak.org/shop/ *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on 𝕏 x.com/TheBoschFawstin