Article 24: Transforming America – A Broken Border

The United States of America has a grave illegal immigration problem. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reports that nearly 11 million illegal aliens have crossed into the United States since the beginning of the Biden administration. According to World Population Review, this is larger than the population of 11 U.S. states combined. The Director of Defense Oversight for Washington on Latin America (WOLA) says that “with over 8,000 illegal alien encounters at the border each day, it is possible the overall migrant encounter number this year could reach 3 million or more.” We are a nation of immigrants and would not enjoy the ethnic diversity we have were it not for the amalgamation of citizens from around the world who settled and assimilated here, but rampant illegal immigration destabilizes a country. The United States is undergoing an untenable transformation due to the unrestrained illegal immigration crisis at our borders. Among other factors and paramount to the stability of a nation are a secure border and an effective, functional immigration system. During President Biden’s tenure, the United States has seen an invasion of millions of illegal aliens due to an intentional failure to enforce our immigration laws. Laws that are written to keep America and Americans safe and the border running smoothly. During former President Trump’s administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and officers were empowered to arrest and deport anyone who was living in the U.S. without legal authorization. If you were here illegally, you broke our laws; you were not rewarded with permission to remain in the United States.
National Public Radio reports that under the Biden administration, ICE was to treat immigration cases differently: “being present in the U.S. without legal authorization “should not alone be the basis” for immigration authorities to arrest or deport someone.” In effect, the Biden administration abandoned the enforcement of our immigration laws. 11 million illegal aliens later, we find ourselves with an overrun border, a further broken immigration system, and overburdened cities. Violating America’s immigration laws poses a threat to national security, public safety, and border security.
Who is coming here? Primarily from Latin America, military-aged men between the ages of 17 and 45 make-up the bulk of illegal entrants into our country. In fact, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) reports that 65% of retentions at the border are single adult males. U.S. border towns and homes are being destroyed by the influx of millions, and the CBP only has enough manpower to address a small part of the volume of people pouring into our country each day. Most of those retained are released into the interior and the few who are not (due to a criminal background or being on the terrorism watch list) are returned to their homelands only to cross the southern border again. Worse still is the U.S. government’s inability to confirm the number of illegal alien “got aways.” Our government cannot account for the number of illegals who were not apprehended at our borders and therefore, cannot possibly know who is in our country. What is happening is irresponsible and dangerous.
Why are they coming? Latin American countries are suffering from dictatorial and socialist governments, worsening the living conditions for their citizens. Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela are ruled by Marxist dictators who have brought misery and poverty to their countries; Ecuador is reeling from a wave of violence unlike it has seen in years; Mexico is suffering from violence at the hands of armed groups and cartels who kill with impunity; and nearly all of the economies of the region have not fully recovered from the COVID pandemic. The erosion of democratic institutions, crime and insecurity, and dire economic conditions across Latin America have fueled the flight of illegal immigrants to the United States. Can a nation assimilate millions of illegal aliens without losing itself? Not without a transformation to the culture and its make-up. It is impossible to teach the importance of the U.S. Constitution, the American work ethic, an understanding of the free market system (capitalism), and adequately assimilate millions of illegal aliens into this country in a single generation without significantly altering its constitution. We are certainly a nation of immigrants and are the better for it, but we also integrated in a controlled manner. It took multiple generations to develop the American culture and way of life as we know it today.
In fact, 30 million Europeans immigrated – legally – to the United States during the 63 years of the Age of Mass Migration (1850-1913.) That’s an average of 476,190 immigrants entering America each year. In the three years since Biden’s been in office, we have allowed 11 million illegal aliens entry! This rampant illegal immigration crisis is wreaking havoc on communities and cities throughout the country as the cost to house, feed, and assist such large numbers takes a toll on local resources. Demographically, this massive illegal immigration emergency will further transform the cultural make-up of the nation, with Hispanics becoming an even larger minority group than it is today. (Hispanics are the largest minority group in America, making up 32% of the U.S. population according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Census.) It is anticipated that a larger voter base will develop as the American-born children of illegal aliens grow and become eligible to vote.
Why break the border? America is a welcoming nation, however, there is a political gamble that the Left is taking by purposely breaking our laws. The Left is counting on the high probability that illegal aliens will alter the voting landscape of the country and will bring their homeland mindset – of big government and dependency – with them. Immigrants to America come with the hope of finding work and making a better life for themselves, but most cannot abandon the expectation that the American government will provide for them (like their governments did back home) upon their arrival. Coming from socialist countries where social services and programs for citizens are the norm, many illegals expect to find a similar system here. In fact, as asylum seekers, there is a feeling of entitlement to the public services and programs offered by the U.S. government (at the expense of the American taxpayer) that are set aside to help those newly arrived. America meets those expectations by delivering from Day 1 and the dependency on government begins. Americans value hard work, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – the American Way. Whereas the Right wants to preserve this ethos, the Left wants to change the American experiment from one that values individual rights and freedoms with limited government, to a socialist one, with greater government intervention, regulation, and dependency. The mass assimilation of millions of illegal aliens without significantly transforming America is impossible. A broken border is the pathway to a new America and a new American system. Join me next month as we look at the consequences of a broken border to the
United States.