It’s official – the Biden administration has set a record for the most border encounters in a fiscal year. The kicker? There are still months to go for this number to go well beyond the two million illegal aliens who have already been encountered, and in many instances, released into the country.
The controversy surrounding this historic border crisis has created a national debate pitting the worlds of those who would like to enhance the ease of access into our country against those who would like to see a more regimented, lawful system. As this war of ideologies continues, the quality of life for people on both sides of the border deteriorates and our country becomes more fractured. The only product we have seen from this philosophical battle is a national stalemate in the determination of how migration should be handled, how the border should be secured, and how our immigration system should be governed.
The narrative from the Biden world is one of implausible denial – that the current state of our border is not even a problem or inflicting harm on communities all across the country. On top of that, implausible denial of the depredations being endured by the migrants themselves, at the hands of the cartels and human traffickers their policies have empowered. While many migrants who make it here, and their families back home, do benefit from this model, the negative side effects on not only public safety – but American workers – cannot be understated.
A recent FAIR report analyzing the relationship between an increase in cheap foreign labor and the American economy shows the cold hard truth – a flood of laborers who are willing to work for a cheaper wage not only keeps more Americans on the sidelines but also lowers wages dramatically for those who are participating in the economy. The prospect of acquiring a guest worker visa or being let in after making a frivolous asylum claim is one of the greatest pull factors to come to our country.
The other place where world views differ is when the Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claims “This Administration is committed to…offering protection to those fleeing persecution and torture.”
What he fails to realize is what migrants experience on their trek to the U.S. to take advantage of opportunities he has given is dangerous, and in many cases, deadly. This was confirmed in a 2021 report by the UN that said the over 1,200 lives lost along the Mexico-U.S. border dubbed it the “deadliest land crossing in the world.”
This year we have seen travesties that would be too graphic for horror films. In one instance, over 100 people were saved in a 24-hour period from three separate “stash houses” in El Paso where conditions were described as crammed, unsafe, and unsanitary. In another we saw almost 20 Haitians die when their dinghy was upset in choppy waters on the way to Miami. The world migrants must endure on their trip to come here illegally, which has been all but encouraged, creates an inhumane world of terror for those seeking a more prosperous future.
Perhaps the greatest difference in world views created by the Biden administration’s indifference to the situation at our border and the laws that keep it secure has been playing out on the state level. In the world of states such as New Jersey, California, and Massachusetts, American taxpayers are unwillingly assisting those who risk life and limb by offering stimulus checks, government sponsored health care, and driver’s licenses just for making the journey illegally.
This is a stark difference from those in the world of Texas, Florida, and Arizona, which are encouraging travelers to not embark on the horrific journey by implementing policies such as returning migrants to the border crossing, charging parents who bring or send children on the trip with endangerment crimes, and pleading with the Biden administration to return to using the tools of prompt removal to create a larger deterrent.
In short, record immigration – combined with incoherent, open borders policymaking – does not create a truce between ideologies. It only gives ammunition to both sides fueling the metaphorical war between different political worlds that we are seeing unfold before our very eyes.
Will the Biden administration finally decide it is time to end a crisis they started? Unlikely. The war between ideological worlds will continue, further endangering American citizens, and sadly, the basis of freedom, equality, and justice – national sovereignty.
The only answer? You, the American voter.
Ron Kovach is Press Secretary at the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
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