What Should America Do to Stop the Hordes of Migrants from Coming

             The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns the sovereignty of America and the lack of security along the southern border. Under the administration of Joe Biden, the sovereignty has been destroyed because he opened the border to all people who want to come to the United States.

Since the beginning of this fiscal year, more than one million people have crossed into the United States illegally. The number of illegal crossings in October 2020 was 71, 946. The encounters for July 2021 were 213,534, but the number of encounters went down to 208,887 in August. Border Patrol and law enforcement are overwhelmed by the numbers. 

Right now, there are somewhere between 4,000 and 8,000 migrants congregated under the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas. They cross the Rio Grande River into the United States and wait under the International Bridge for Border Patrol to pick them up for processing. Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez made the following comments to The Washington Times.

These people are basically turning themselves in to Border Patrol, and Border Patrol has no room for them at the Border Patrol station…. They’re technically not ion custody. They come up, they’re given a ticket for placement, and they’re laying around waiting for a bus to pick them up.

It is not safe, it is not healthy, for all involved, for the people that are down there underneath the bridge. It is a situation that in my opinion has gone south and it’s not going to get any better until somebody does something….

            According to Martinez, the migrants go back into Mexico to get food and water, and then they return to the U.S. camp. They are allowed to stay in the shaded area underneath the Del Rio International Bridge “to prevent injuries from heat-related illness. Drinking water, towels, and portable toilets are provided for the use of the migrants until they can be progressed.

The vast majority of single adults and many families will continue to be expelled under the CDC’s Title 42 authority, and those who cannot be expelled under Title 42 and do not have a legal basis to remain will be placed in expedited removal proceedings.

            There are reports that 20,000 more migrants are “enroute” for Del Rio. Is there any question as to why Texas Governor Greg Abbott is acting to stop the crossings? Because the federal government refuses to secure the border, Texas is acting on its own. As the reports told of thousands of illegal migrants congregating under the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas, Abbott is ordering entry points at the Mexican border to be closed. 

The sheer negligence of the Biden Administration to do their job and secure the border is appalling. I have directed the Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard to surge personnel and vehicles to shut down six points of entry along the southern border to stop these caravans from overrunning the state.

The border crisis is so dire that the US Customs and Border Protection is requesting our help as their agents are overwhelmed by the chaos. Unlike President Biden, the State of Texas remains committed to securing our border and protecting Americans.

            The Trump administration built approximately 500 miles of wall along the border, a wall that works in protecting the border. The Biden administration stopped the building and allowed the border wall materials to be abandoned along the open spaces where a wall was to be built.

With the negligence of the Biden Administration to secure the border, Texans is moving ahead with their plan to construct more than 700 miles of barrier. The expenses of doing so will come from the $2.9 billion security program set up by Texas. Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick noted that Texas has spent $5.3 billion on border operations since 2016, even though “Texas taxpayers should not have to pick up the tab for what the administration should be doing.” Texas realizes that they have no choice but to do the job not being done by the federal government. 

Roughly half of the latest $1.8 billion appropriation will go toward wall construction. Currently, just 150 miles of the 1,250-mile Texas-Mexico border have any substantial barrier. The state has identified 733 miles of borderlands where building can proceed without precipitating private-property disputes.

Meanwhile, Texas is deploying more law enforcement officers to the border region and increasing prosecutions of migrants arrested on state charges ranging from criminal trespassing to theft to smuggling.

Some border localities are stepping up, too….

            The United States will soon lose its status as a sovereign nation because it does not control its borders. All Americans should be grateful that Texas is making a stand for sovereignty.