Say it ain’t so… Joe!! Spin, semantics, and partisan finger pointing aside, migrations to our southern borders have intensified and surged to such levels not seen in previous administrations – both Democrat and Republican. The porous US-Mexico border is not a hypothetical; regrettably, it is a fact.
Speaking at a press conference in Mission,Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he’d seen people crossing the river illegally during an aerial tour of the area. “There is a crisis on the Texas border right now with the overwhelming number of people who are coming across the border. This crisis is a result of President Biden’s open border policies.”
The negative impacts at all local, state, and national levels of American society present not only significant challenges economically, but also national security and public safety threats, the likes of which we haven’t fully realized.
February 2018, OpsLens published my article, Is Mexico a Failing State wherein I discussed the geopolitical significance and the rise of violence and lawlessness both inside Mexico and the “spillover effect” outside the country.
Out in these parts of west Texas, large legacy ranches (we’re talking thousands of acres) have operated for decades in relative safety. Rarely was there an illegal found on the property.
A game camera on the 1500-acre ranch where our property is located (some 80 miles from the border and not on the main highway) captured illegals in camo-clad clothing carrying large backpacks. No doubt loaded with drugs.
Fortunately for our neighbor, they did not burglarize the hunting cabin, but kept going. Other ranching neighbors haven’t been so lucky. Many have had property damaged and/or stolen. Whether on horseback or in an all-terrain vehicle, everyone is on high alert and no one is unarmed.
The nearest town of 1100 residents is 10 miles away. The inundation of people, many of whom are not Mexican or Central American, but OTMs (other than Mexicans) has created chaos in what was a peaceful and quaint west Texas town. A routine traffic stop of an 18-wheeler for a minor traffic offense (failure to stop at a stop sign) yielded the entire trailer packed with Hondurans in a non-air conditioned cargo container. A high-speed chase, that made national news just north of the border town of Del Rio, resulted in a horrific crash with multiple deaths.
Border patrol estimates from one sector alone indicate individuals from 50 different nationalities have attempted to cross. Let’s not forget the 2 individuals from Yemen that were recently caught trying to cross the border on the terrorist watch list. Could it get any worse? You bet… Now the cartels and coyotes are tossing toddlers over the border wall!!
The question remains how much more “evidence” and to what degree of severity is required before this problem is addressed? I realize the current thinking and press secretary talking points are loath to admit that President Trump in his approach, both diplomatically and in terms of action steps to secure the border, did see results. How long can the current administration keep their head in the sand?
The late Democrat Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” The Biden administration, as well as Congress, would do well to remember that.
