Ask 25 random Americans why Donald Trump is doing so well in the Republican primaries and you might get 25 different answers. His pre-existing celebrity, his brash manner, his strength. But what might be more important than any of those things is Trump’s inflexible position on illegal immigration. His promise to build a great wall on the Mexican border was the policy that kickstarted his campaign last summer, and it alone is largely responsible for the pushback he’s gotten from Republican Party leaders. With the way both he and Ted Cruz have been attacked, it’s clearer than ever that the powers-that-be in this country have no interest in solving the problem of illegal immigration.
While all of this is going on, Border Patrol officials are pleading with the Obama administration to send them more manpower. Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Brandon Judd of the National Border Patrol Council said the situation was spiraling out of control.
“The unaccompanied minors could have walked right up to the Port of Entry and asked for asylum,” Judd said. “Why did the cartels drive them to the middle of the desert and then have them cross over the Rio Grande only to surrender to the first Border Patrol agent they came across? The reason is that it completely tied up our manpower and allowed the cartels to smuggle whatever they wanted across our border.”
Also testifying Thursday was Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. McCraw said that the Obama administration was actually cutting back on the border security resources needed to enforce the law. “Most recently, DHS requested a 50 percent reduction of persistent aerial detection, situational awareness, and monitoring support for Operation Phalanx from the Department of Defense,” McCraw said. “Any decrease in aerial observation is not only imprudent, but contradicts the very mission of comprehensive border security enforcement.”
The problem, Judd said, wasn’t limited to border security. He blamed the Department of Homeland Security for creating additional incentives for illegal immigrants. Because so many of them fail to show up for their scheduled deportation hearings, DHS set new standards requiring officials to release more detainees. “Agents believe this exploitable policy was set in place because DHS was embarrassed at the sheer number of those who choose not to follow the law by showing up for their court appearances,” Judd said.
At the outset of the 2016 election, Trump alone was willing to address the cold, hard reality of illegal immigration. While Jeb Bush was calling it an “act of love” and Marco Rubio was fighting to push amnesty through the Senate, Trump had the audacity to put America first. For that, he has been scorned by both parties.
Our failure to act will indeed solve the illegal immigration problem; eventually our society will deteriorate to the point that no one wants to come here. Maybe we shouldn’t wait.
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