Addressing the Crisis At the Border
The quiet, island town of Martha’s Vineyard made national headlines for the recent arrival of Venezuelan immigrants. They traveled from San Antonio, TX to Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis flew them north to Massachusetts, a sanctuary state that would accept these illegal immigrants. Residents of Martha’s Vineyard welcomed the 50 new immigrants, and were able to provide beds, food, healthcare, and shelter. Democrats have used the charitable actions of those on Martha’s Vineyard as an example that see, America can welcome this influx of immigrants and provide them with adequate resources. But this one example completely ignores the crisis at the southern border and how, if the United States carries on this way, it is set to face dire, long-term consequences.
Since President Biden took office, the United States has seen a massive increase in border crossings. Migrant encounters reached their highest level on record in 2021, with a total of 1,659, 206 encounters. Both the number of single adults and unaccompanied children have skyrocketed since 2020 and have reached new highs. With this comes human and drug trafficking; just last month, U.S Border Patrol seized $4.3 million in fentanyl near Gila Bend, Arizona.
Even if immigrants are able to survive the dangerous journey to the southern border, they face terrible living conditions once they reach the border. Unsanitary conditions, scorching temperatures, inadequate food and water, and lack of security have created a dangerous environment. El Paso is spending $54,000 a day on basic supplies for migrants, including food and shelter. Department of Homeland Security estimates that almost 750 people have died at the southern border, with 3 months in the year still left to go.
It’s not bad policy for a country to want to care about its citizens and legal immigrants and enforce border security. In fact, several countries have strict immigration laws, such as Japan, Switzerland, and Denmark. These countries all have a standard of living equal to or better than the United States, and yet, there’s not the same outcry for the government to welcome immigrants in those countries as there is in the United States. Maybe it’s the United States’ history of immigration in the 19th and 20th century; maybe it’s the United States’ unique situation in sharing a border with Mexico and is not far from several other Latin American countries with struggling populations; whatever the reason, Democrats fully support welcoming anyone and everyone.
It wasn’t that long that ago that former President Barrack Obama said in a press conference that “we simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked, and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently, and lawfully to become immigrants in this country.” America has always been a melting pot of different cultures and has responded well by welcoming its newest citizens. But to properly support legal immigrants and its citizens, the US government needs to do more to curb illegal immigration.
In today’s current crisis, yes, Americans should care about supporting those less fortunate, especially when it’s an opportunity for individuals and communities to step in and offer assistance in place of the government. But this is a weak argument when it comes to illegal immigrants, who broke the law and are cheating the system compared to those immigrating legally. Why shouldn’t all those resources go to American citizens who are struggling? To all those in Martha’s Vineyard who helped the 50 immigrants, that’s great that they stepped up for individuals who needed it, but 50 people placed on a wealthy island of 20,000 is nothing compared to the threat communities in Texas face every day. Residents of Eagle Pass, TX report feeling unsafe after being overrun by migrants that are leaving trash on the street, robbing local businesses and families, and killing animals to eat.
Most Americans recognize that there’s both a humanitarian and security crisis at the border—only about 30% say that the US government is doing a good job at the US-Mexico border. The longer the border crisis goes on, the more likely Americans are going to see long term consequences. It seems like the compassionate thing to do at the moment is to help people who are struggling, but unless Americans are prepared to help illegal immigrants in the long term, the Biden Administration needs to be putting actions behind their words and do more to fix the border crisis.