C. Norman Allen | Southern Border Crisis: A U.S. Embarrassment

SCV Voices: Guest Commentary
SCV Voices: Guest Commentary
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The current situation at our southern border has evolved into a full-blown crisis. President Donald Trump decently managed the border by giving authority to the Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Departments to catch and return people crossing our border illegally, returned back to Mexico until properly vetted and court dates set. Mexico agreed to this process. 

Under the Joe Biden administration that process has now been turned into the same “catch and release” program that was a complete failure under the Barack Obama administration. The same failed procedures under Obama are being repeated by Biden, who thinks the American public does not remember the disastrous outcomes that such policies caused during his old boss’ tenure. 

It’s an embarrassment to our nation and is viewed as weakness of our government around the world. Other countries that enforce their own border protection look at us as if we are some backward land with no thought of respect for our own law-abiding citizens. 

Trump’s actions were proven effective in deterring illegal immigrants entering our country. That was ignored with the wall’s construction being stopped cold when Biden took office. That policy made illegal crossings a crisis early on. There’s very little help the CBP can offer to stop this alarming volume of illegal immigrants since they are told they cannot hold people for more than a very limited amount if time thereby causes a serious strain on needed resources and the ability to properly vet the validity of the people entering our country. 

America has always been a place where people who want to come here legally can do so to start a new life or build upon a dream or goal. Having hordes of people coming here without beneficial plans or means of support is wrong. We wouldn’t want 25 unwanted guests showing up at our own home with expectations of being fed, clothed, and have medical help provided at our own cost, would we? 

Here are the problems with not protecting and keeping illegal immigrants out of our country without proper methods for legally gaining entry: 

1) Many criminals are among the people who illegally enter our country. It’s impossible to stop them all; some are caught but there are many others getting through. MS-13, a notorious South American gang, has numerous members here in the U.S. who came across illegally and now spread terror and fear in many neighborhoods in the U.S.

2) The surge of illegal drugs coming across our borders is causing deaths in soaring rates. Fentanyl is a highly addictive opioid that has killed more than 93,000 Americans in 2020 and it is continuing to rise due to this drug being brought to our land in droves. Other drugs smuggled into the U.S. by the drug cartels are also adding to the misery and death of Americans.

3) There are many cases of COVID-19 among the illegal immigrants crossing our border that continues to dangerously permeate our society. With our population just starting to get back to some small sense of normalcy after this horrendous pandemic, this is the last thing we need now, to bring in more people with disease and infections. 

4) There’s a tremendous strain on our economic resources in housing, feeding, providing medical care, and all other benefits that these people require. How does this get paid for? By the taxes of the American workers and reduced benefits for all legal citizens.

5) That leads to my last reason of why illegal immigrants coming into the country are wrong: The workforce is hampered by a low-wage, uneducated and unskilled labor force that takes away jobs that other Americans would normally be trying for, especially immigrants who came here legally. I blame corporations that use this unskilled labor force to keep cheap wages and low benefits that hurt the American worker and economy. Regardless of what the job is, anyone who comes here and is willing to work for a few dollars a day takes the place of someone who is entitled to a fair wage based on being a full citizen and educated worker. 

All of these reasons seem to not matter to our current administration. Vice President Kamala Harris was put in charge of the border crisis, yet only visited El Paso after many weeks of criticism. El Paso was and is not the true area of the real crisis. In fact, it is one areas of the wall’s success. Harris simply traveled to make her photo op and speak rhetorically while not addressing any solutions. Her theme was to find the “root cause” of the massive chaos. That was and is a joke. There was no travel needed to figure that out. 

The Democrats don’t want to stem the tide of illegal immigrants invading our country because they can turn a good portion of them into voters to keep the Democrats in power. 

There’s little chance that an enormous number of unskilled, uneducated people will do anything to improve the lives of our citizens and those legally here. Democrats are the magnets with their promises of riches, then keep them fooled and misinformed so the illegal immigration cycle continues. 

This cycle has to stop. There are some leaders out there starting to push back, like Texas deciding to fund and build a portion of the unfinished wall in their section of the border. Until we get more leaders thinking like that and put a clamp on the illegal immigrants coming into the country, the situation will only get worse. 

As a result. Americans will all be suffering the consequences in some form or another. 

C. Norman Allen is a Santa Clarita resident. “Right Here, Right Now” appears Saturdays and rotates among local Republicans.

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