President Joe Biden can deny it all he wants, but the reality is we have a crisis at our southern border.
I saw it with my own eyes last month when I visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas. The surge of unaccompanied minors, the subpar living conditions of migrants, and the state of an overworked and overwhelmed Border Patrol have been direct consequences of the Biden administration’s failed policies.
This was never supposed to happen under Biden’s watch. As a candidate, he promised the American people that he would “secure our border while ensuring the dignity of migrants.” As president, he has done neither.
Instead of upholding his promises, President Biden decided it would be better to make a hard-left turn on his immigration agenda. One of his first acts in office was sending an immigration bill to Congress to grant mass amnesty to illegal immigrants. He also ended the so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy, which curbed illegal immigration by stopping the abuse of our nation’s asylum laws.
Through their words and actions, the Biden administration sent a clear signal that our border is open for anyone and everyone, and the world took notice.
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Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who was no fan of former President Trump’s policies, said bluntly: “Expectations were created that with the government of President Biden there would be a better treatment of migrants. And this has caused Central American migrants, and also from our country, wanting to cross the border thinking that it is easier to do so.”
That’s exactly what happened, and the results have been predictable, avoidable and tragic.
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Consider that last October, 71,945 illegal immigrants were caught trying to enter the United States. There were similar apprehensions in the months leading up to Biden’s inauguration, with 72,111 apprehensions in November, 74,020 in December, and 78,444 in January.
The big change came in February – Biden’s first full month in office – when 101,028 illegal immigrants were apprehended at the border.
Then in March, the number of apprehensions skyrocketed to 172,331, including an all-time record number of 18,890 unaccompanied children.
These numbers have real-world consequences on real people.
Our immigration system is so overwhelmed right now that many migrants are being housed in subpar conditions. There is nothing humane about seeing 4,000 migrants being held in a facility that is only supposed to hold 250 people under COVID-19 protocols. There is nothing humane about seeing unaccompanied children – including many toddlers – sleeping on floors in facilities after human smugglers abandoned them.
Biden’s response has been to deny reality and deflect responsibility.
There is nothing safe or secure about cartels capitalizing on the current crisis. The cartels are using and exploiting children to distract Border Patrol while smugglers sneak across another area carrying drugs that will soon poison and kill Americans.
The Biden administration’s policies have fallen well short of being humane to migrants or strong on border security. As a result, we now have both a humanitarian and security crisis.
Biden’s response has been to deny reality and deflect responsibility.
Simply ignoring a problem and hoping it goes away is not a strategy. Without decisive action and leadership, things will only get worse. We will see more spikes in illegal immigration and more illegal drugs being smuggled in by drug cartels.
The first step is for the administration to finally acknowledge there is a crisis. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris need to go down to the border soon to see firsthand what is really happening.
The second step is for the president to start addressing this crisis and make it a top priority. He needs to push for more border security infrastructure, technology and personnel, and ensure that his policies stop serving as an open invitation for people to enter the United States illegally.
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If the president asks Congress for help, I’m willing to work with him. I believe there is still a path to reach a consensus on solutions to secure our border and better enforce our nation’s immigration laws.
Our nation desperately needs the president’s leadership right now. I hope he’ll start providing it.