The border and the inaction of the Republicans in Congress
By Dr. Harold A. Black
blackh@knoxfocus.com
haroldblackphd.com
Virtually everyone I know thinks that the southern border is a disaster. I just returned from my annual deer hunting trip in Eagle Pass, Texas, the epicenter of the illegal crisis. More illegals stream across the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass than at any other point in the border. Last week, over 4,000 came across in a single day. The mayor declared a state of emergency. At last count, illegals from 162 different countries have entered the United States at Eagle Pass. The greatest number is from Venezuela fleeing the oppressive socialist regime of Nicholas Maduro. However, over 20,000 Haitians have crossed there. There has been a surge of Indians (from India), Chinese, Africans and those from the Middle East. During the Biden years, more than 8 million illegals have entered the country.
Then there are the got-aways, those who have not been apprehended. It is highly likely that terrorists have walked into the country along with rapists, drug dealers and other criminals. Last year when I was in a shooting tower looking at deer, two columns of young men with backpacks looking at their cell phones wandered in front of us. The rancher has many videos on his trail cameras of others, mostly young men, walking through his ranch on their way to the highway after crossing the Rio Grande. His family has owned the property for five generations and he is at his wits end because the federal government refuses to enforce the immigration laws.
I’ve wondered why. Some say the Democrats are trying to import their next generation of voters, provided they cannot get the vote for those who are crossing the border now. I am not so sure. The Hispanics are typically pursuing the American dream, something that many young native-born Americans denigrate. Hispanics are hard-working. Have you ever seen a Hispanic panhandling? Me neither. They are religious mostly Catholics and are anti-abortion, anti LGBTQ with strong family ties. Their values are those ridiculed by “progressives”. Do you really think that these Hispanics will become Democrats? Maybe some, but most? I doubt it. So please enlighten me and tell me why the Democrats seem to favor open borders.
The Republicans in Congress rant and rave about the failure of Biden to do something about the border and sought to impeach his head of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas who is a Cuban-American. The vote to impeach failed because 8 Republicans voted not to impeach and 12 Republicans didn’t vote at all. Some conservatives had a cow over the failure to impeach. I was not one of them. Impeachment proceedings are for show and are not to be taken seriously. Their purpose is to keep a hot topic issue before the voters. Much like the Democrats dragging out the January 6 committee lest the voters forget the alleged “insurrection,” the only purpose of the Republican’s impeachment hearings is to not let the voters forget the disaster at the border.
Much like the Democrats, the Republicans are not serious about solving the problem. They know that even if they voted to impeach Mayorkas (or Biden for that matter), the Senate would never vote to convict. Basically they are wasting our time and money and are not devoting themselves to the serious business of governance. The Republican complaining and bemoaning is just for show. If they were serious about addressing the problems of the border, they would grind to a halt all other business. All spending bills originate in the House. They would say that there will not be any business conducted until the mess at the border is addressed. There will be no spending bills, no bills of any type introduced except bills limiting the inflow of illegals into the country. They would cite national security concerns. They would cite the myriad of problems faced by border towns and residents. They would cite the burdens placed on social services, school systems, hospitals and law enforcement. But what do our representatives do? They cite all those problems and they do nothing about it. Like my father used to say, “That sounds good – if you are interested in sounds.” Again, the reason is that the Republicans really don’t want to do anything to solve the illegal surge now. They want to wait until after the presidential election. If a Republican president is elected, then maybe they will move to address the problem. But not before.
