(DCNF)—When U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joe Edlow returned for another stint in the Trump administration, he expected to wrangle with a mess left by the Biden administration’s border crisis.
Soon, however, Edlow would be met with a surprise. Not only was USCIS forced to tackle a record-setting pile of asylum cases, but he was tasked with leading an agency that, for 4 years, did very little to address immigration fraud. The director has since buckled down on asylum fraud, identifying discrepancies in immigration programs and tightening election integrity.
“What I didn’t know was what some of our backlogs turned into,” Edlow said to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Nominated by President Donald Trump in March and officially sworn into the position in July, Edlow took the reins of an agency put to the brink amid following 8.5 million migrant encounters along the southern border during the Biden era. Although largely unfazed by what he uncovered, the immigration chief says he was still taken aback by his predecessors’ sheer apathy for weeding out fraud.
Prior to leading the agency, Edlow had served as chief counsel and deputy director of USCIS during President Donald Trump’s first term in office. In July, he returned to a backlog of asylum cases that dwarfed the numbers he previously dealt with.
“We had about 450,000 cases that were pending on the asylum active docket,” Edlow said of the end of Trump’s first term. “When I got back, there were over 1.5 million cases.”
“Does anything surprise on me what they were doing? Yeah, what surprised me is they weren’t doing much,” he continued. “We already knew that there was a misalignment of priorities and resources, but that became painfully obvious that really USCIS was acting as kind of the the arm of the administration to help maneuver the parole programs, to do what they could on credible fear and to ultimately try to address the growing border crisis that the Bidens have created.”
Americans are painfully aware of the illegal immigration crisis that raged during most of President Joe Biden’s tenure.
Fiscal years 2023 and 2024 were the worst and second worst years, respectively, for inadmissible border encounters in history, according to Customs and Border Protection data, leading to an incredible strain of resources at border communities and major U.S. cities. Altogether, the Biden administration oversaw more than eight million migrant encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border during its four fiscal years in office.
Record-level immigration into the U.S. inevitably correlated to a monumental uptick in asylum claims, which are largely processed by USCIS.
There were roughly 311,000 pending affirmative asylum claims in January 2018, according to a Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report. By the end of fiscal year 2022 — well into Biden’s tenure — this number nearly doubled to 625,000. By 2024, the backlog of affirmative asylum cases surpassed one million for the first time in history.
Affirmative asylum claims are distinct from defensive asylum claims in that they are lodged by foreign nationals already in the U.S. and not in deportation proceedings, according to USCIS. Defensive asylum claims are made by those already undergoing removal.
As illegal immigration skyrocketed, leaving federal immigration agents and local officials scrambling to keep up, the Biden administration implemented a slate of programs that GOP critics characterized as amnesty run-arounds to alleviate the terrible optics taking place at the Mexico border.
The Biden White House launched the CHNV program, allowing more than half a million Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan nationals to enter the U.S. Biden officials also revamped the CBP One app allowing foreign nationals to easily apply for asylum en masse, and extended deportation protections for a slate of countries, allowing their citizens to remain in the U.S.
Government officials that held the line against immigration fraud were largely given the boot, according to their accounts. A slate of Trump-appointed immigration judges were booted by the Biden administration, prompting GOP investigation at the time.
“I was punished by the Biden Administration for calling out fraudulent asylum claims while I was an Immigration Judge,” Matt O’Brien — who served as a judge during both the Trump and Biden administrations — said to the DCNF. O’Brien was fired by the Biden White House after establishing a tough record on asylum applicants.
Of the 288 asylum cases he decided, O’Brien granted asylum for 25, granted eight other types of relief and denied relief for 255, according to Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse data. This equated to a denial rate of 88.5%, well above the 57.7% average for all immigration court judges at the time, and a denial rate that earned him the disdain of open-border immigration activists.
“And that happened because open borders radicals love immigration fraud. They have treated it as a feature of the system, not a bug,” O’Brien said. “That’s why we currently have hundreds of thousands of Central Americans who have never experienced persecution getting asylum.”
O’Brien, who now serves as the deputy executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, was among several Trump-appointed immigration judges given the boot during the Biden administration, prompting an investigation by congressional Republicans at the time.
Edlow, not at the helm of the country’s legal immigration system, believes there was a “get-to-yes mentality” among USCIS during the Biden era, paving the way for fraudulent claims to get through.
In contrast, the Trump administration has gone to great lengths to shore up its fraud enforcement apparatus.
In just the past few months, USCIS has implanted new measures to better prevent foreign nationals from voting in U.S. elections and has illustrated how Special Immigrant Juvenile program was rife with adult gangbangers, sexual predators and even alleged murders. However, the USCIS chief says they’ve only just begun cracking down.
“We’ve got to return the integrity of the immigration system, and that’s really a job for USCIS,” Edlow said to the DCNF.
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Why Bullion Beats Numismatics and Collectible for Your Safe or IRA
Precious metals continue to attract Americans seeking reliable ways to protect their wealth amid inflation, geopolitical risks, and stock market swings. Whether stored in a home safe or held inside a self-directed IRA, physical gold and silver deliver tangible value that paper or digital assets often lack. Yet investors must choose carefully between bullion—pure bars and coins valued mainly for their metal content—and numismatics or collectibles, where rarity, history, and collector demand heavily influence pricing.
Advisor Bullion serves as a dependable source for straightforward, high-quality bullion. The company specializes in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, emphasizing transparent pricing and products that deliver maximum metal content for every dollar spent. This approach makes it ideal for both personal holdings and retirement accounts.
Bullion consists of refined precious metals in standard forms like one-ounce coins (American Gold Eagles, Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs) or bars. Their value tracks closely to the current spot price of the metal. A typical gold bullion coin trades near the live gold spot price plus a small premium. This structure keeps costs clear and predictable.
Numismatic coins and collectibles add substantial value from factors such as age, rarity, minting errors, or historical significance. A pre-1933 U.S. gold coin or graded proof piece can carry premiums of 30%, 50%, or even 200% above melt value. While this appeals to hobbyists, it creates complexity. Pricing depends on subjective grading, collector trends, and auction results instead of daily spot prices.
For investors focused on wealth preservation and retirement security rather than building a collection, bullion often delivers better results.
Lower Costs and Better Liquidity for Home Storage
When keeping metals in a home safe or private vault, liquidity and efficiency count. Bullion offers clear benefits:
- You acquire more actual gold or silver per dollar invested. Numismatics divert a large share of your money into rarity premiums and massive sales commission, reducing your metal exposure.
- Selling bullion involves tight bid-ask spreads, so you recover nearly full spot value with minimal fees. Collectibles require finding the right buyer and may sell at a discount if demand for that specific item weakens.
- Bullion prices remain transparent and update with global spot markets. You can track gold near current levels or silver accordingly and know exactly where your holdings stand. Numismatic values are priced by the Gold IRA companies with hefty margins applied.
- Standardized coins and bars store efficiently and divide easily for partial sales. Rare coins often need protective slabs and controlled conditions, adding hassle and expense.
- Bullion enjoys worldwide acceptance. A 1-oz Gold Maple Leaf or Silver Eagle sells quickly to dealers anywhere. Niche numismatic pieces may appeal only to limited buyers, slowing liquidation when speed matters.
In times when quick access to value becomes important, bullion’s simplicity stands out.
Stronger Fit for Precious Metals IRAs
Precious metals IRAs continue gaining traction as investors diversify retirement portfolios beyond stocks and bonds. IRS rules permit certain bullion products in self-directed IRAs if they meet purity standards (.995 fine for gold, .999 for silver) and are held by an approved custodian. Eligible items include American Gold and Silver Eagles plus many generic bars and rounds from recognized mints.
Numismatic and most collectible coins generally face heavy scrutiny from custodians due to valuation disputes and elevated markups. These higher premiums mean less actual metal ends up working inside the account.
Bullion avoids these issues. Its value links directly to verifiable spot prices, which simplifies reporting and lowers the risk of regulatory challenges. More of your IRA contribution purchases real metal instead of dealer profits or speculative upside. Over time, owning additional ounces that appreciate with the metal itself can create meaningful outperformance compared with high-premium alternatives that deliver fewer ounces.
Regulatory guidance from the CFTC and state securities offices repeatedly cautions against aggressive sales of expensive numismatics or “semi-numismatic” coins for IRAs. For retirement planning, transparent bullion from established providers reduces risk and aligns better with long-term goals.
How to Get Started with Bullion
Begin by clarifying your goals. Are you protecting savings in a safe, or moving part of a retirement account into a precious metals IRA? Focus on the number of ounces you can acquire at current prices rather than chasing marked-up collectibles.
Diversify sensibly: use gold for core preservation and silver for its blend of industrial and monetary qualities. Mix coins for easier divisibility with bars for lower per-ounce costs on larger buys. Arrange secure storage—whether at home with proper insurance or through professional facilities.
As economic uncertainties linger and faith in conventional assets erodes, bullion continues proving its worth as a dependable store of value. Its direct approach avoids the hype that sometimes surrounds collectible markets and keeps the focus on the metal itself.
For investors prepared to strengthen their portfolios, Advisor Bullion supplies the expertise and selection needed to acquire high-quality bullion efficiently. Whether building personal holdings or integrating metals into an IRA, their emphasis on transparent, investment-grade products helps secure more ounces today that support greater financial security tomorrow. In a complicated financial landscape, bullion’s clarity and reliability make it the smarter foundation for protecting what matters most.