President Joe Biden
“Biden’s failure to secure our border is an enormous national security threat. We are witnessing a crisis driven by Democratic politics, not policies to protect America.”
— U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa.
There was a recent story in a Texas newspaper about a Hispanic man who traveled by bus from his home in Laredo, Texas, to Mexico to see a soccer game.
Leaving the stadium, someone stole his driver’s license and passport. The police took a report and told him the closest U.S. consulate was closed until Monday. When he arrived at the border, the agent told him he could not enter the U.S. without a driver’s license or a passport. No one could help him until the consulate opened Monday.
Perplexed and bewildered, he was left walking around Nuevo Laredo wondering what to do. That’s when he saw a large group of migrants huddled around a border sign that read “Asylum Seekers.” Since he spoke Spanish, he went over to mix and mingle and question how they crossed the border without a passport or a U.S. ID.
While in the middle of the crowd that was moving steadily toward the border entry, within an hour he found himself back into the U.S. without nary a question asked.
In a recent Pew poll, voters said their biggest concern this election was inflation and the economy; followed by violent crime, high gas prices, border security, foreign policy, gun control and global warming. Abortion and race diversity placed at the bottom of issues that concerned most voters.
With the midterms under way, Democrats are hoping to distract voters from their numerous policy failures that have lowered their standard of living, with record high inflation, and high gas prices. By focusing on abortion and racial issues, they hope voters will forget about the economy, high inflation and gas prices; violence in the streets, and a border policy that threatens the lives of all Americans.
Mexico and the U.S. share a 1,954-mile border, from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. It is the busiest border in the world and a hub of commerce and tourism for both nations. This border affects the economic well-being and safety of Mexican and U.S. border states. It can also be the most dangerous space between two nations that threatens America’s safety and national security.
Under U.S. immigration law, it is illegal for anyone to travel or immigrate to the U.S. unless they fall into very narrow exceptions. They include displacement due to war and legitimate political asylum. If those foreign migrants don’t qualify under those strict exceptions, they can’t enter the U.S. legally.
“The reality is these immigrants have arrived. We now need to provide for them.”
— Vice President Kamala Harris
On Inauguration Day, President Joe Biden issued five immigration executive orders and said he planned to open our borders with an immigration policy that was more humane and welcoming.
He’d allow all unaccompanied minors into the country and assured everyone seeking asylum would be welcome here. As a result, illegal border crossings soared to all-time high in under two years — with no end in sight.
In 2021 alone, U.S. Border Protection experienced 1.7 million encounters at the border; the highest number ever recorded in a single year. That doesn’t include those who evaded border patrol officers. So far this year, we’ve already sharply outpaced 2021’s record-breaking numbers.
Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 100 terrorist suspects, the most in any 12-month period.
“Those who decried Mr. Trump’s border policies on Facebook are silent now.”
— Karol Markowitz
Border agent records indicate we set a new historic yardstick of illegal gang members, convicted criminals, suspected terrorists and drug dealers crossing the border last year. Agents claim it is dramatically worse this year since smuggling cartels are taking advantage of Biden’s immigration policies. They estimate more than 275,000 migrants were able to sneak by agents and enter illegally.
Customs and Border Protection reported nearly 2.4 million encounters with unauthorized migrants at the border so far in 2022. Records show that 2.2 million were caught by Border Patrol agents as they tried to sneak in, and the rest were caught at entry ports demanding the agents let them enter.
Fearing these numbers would affect Democrats running for office during the midterms, Joe Biden ordered the Department of Homeland Security to hold off releasing these new numbers just before midnight Friday. Even critics in liberal media said it was a futile attempt to bury bad political news.
“Bad news travels at the speed of light; while good news travels like molasses.”
– Tracy Morgan
In September alone, CBP encountered 227,547 illegal immigrants at the southern border. That was the third-highest month on record. Among them were 20 terrorist suspects snatched trying to sneak into the U.S. from Mexico. That’s a monthly record that topped the previous high of 15 set last May.
From 2017 to 2020 when Donald Trump was president, the Border Patrol arrested only 11 terrorist suspects entering the U.S. from Mexico. In 2021, Border Patrol grabbed 15 alone. This brought the total for 2022 to 98, which shattered all previous records. Patrol agents claim that these numbers indicate that when more terrorists are caught, it also means more are most likely getting through.
The DHS report didn’t reveal how many of the 2.4 million total illegal migrants they caught were allowed to remain here, but based on data the agency submitted in a recent court case, it could be millions. That’s in addition to roughly 600,000 “gotaways” border agents detected but didn’t catch.
Last year, a man connected to an Islamic group was charged with trying to sneak a hit squad into the U.S. He bragged he had smuggled in two Hezbollah leaders already and charged each of them $50,000 apiece. Homeland Security head Alejandro Mayorkas said this was proof that Mr. Biden’s policies worked?
“Terrorists might take down our tallest buildings but they can’t take down America.”
– George Bush
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, told Fox News, “When you had 1.7 million individuals last year, and now another 2.7 million, that’s over 4.5 million individuals encountered at the border. Plus, if you add the gotaways, that adds up to over 5 million more illegal aliens in the U.S. in just two years.”
President Barack Obama told us, “Elections have consequences.” With early voting under way in a number of states, Democrats are avoiding border security, inflation, violence in the streets and high gas prices while campaigning. They are relying on race and abortion to give them another trifecta this election. But not all candidates agree. Socialist Bernie Sanders said this is a formula for disaster.
The pollsters are predicting close races across the nation because of one Supreme Court decision. But what the progressive gods give they can take away. With so many things voters are unhappy about and our security and safety at risk, focusing on one issue at a time when the party in power usually loses seats is a bad strategy.
Political pundits have a sense of deja vu that this election could be a repeat of Obama’s midterm elections.
“The job facing American voters is to determine which hearts, minds and souls command those qualities best suited to unify a country – not divide it.”
– Jeffery J. Lloyd
William Haupt III
The author is a contributor to The Center Square
