Ehrlich: To Fully Understand Biden's Border Crisis, Consider These 7 Details
The free-for-all America has witnessed at the southern border (5 million “encounters” and 1.5 million gotaways) has been ongoing for the last 30 months.
Many books will be written about the series of policy decisions (and plain ol’ gross negligence) that led to the daily chaos. Indeed, the storylines are limitless, given the width and depth of this travesty.
But there are specific subplots worthy of special consideration by those attempting to fully understand how we ended up here. Herein follows seven of those storylines:
1. On the heels of the scheduled lapse of the Title 42 pandemic health restriction, the Biden Department of Homeland Security released more than 1,100 migrants with criminal records into the country.
Besides releasing criminals and those facing criminal charges, Border Patrol had inexplicably been instructed to refrain from making additional arrests. We will likely never know how many additional crimes have been committed by the emancipated offenders.
Alleged border czar (and vice president) Kamala Harris was nowhere to be seen as the foregoing events unfolded.
2. In May, The New York Times (of all media) reported on the widespread exploitation of migrant children who had been released to adults by an overburdened and underfunded immigration system.
The report was generally ignored by other establishment media outlets in light of its unproductive narrative. Nevertheless, a broken system allowed thousands of young children to be employed in dangerous workplaces without consequence.
One can imagine (recall the outrage over “children in cages”) what would have unfolded had the same circumstances occurred under the Trump administration.
The bottom line: Even children of tender age can be sacrificed in the interest of open borders.
3. As reflected above, the Biden administration’s reversal of Trump-era border protections led to plenty of bad press — and bad numbers. One response from DHS was to create a new initiative in order to manipulate the real numbers for the general public.
A case in point was a trumpeted “parole program” that allowed 30,000 migrants a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to apply for permission to enter while still living in their home country. (Applicants were supposed to have U.S. sponsors who would support them financially.)
When a significant drop in individuals from those countries showing up at the border occurred, the administration — what else? — claimed success.
Note: Twenty red states filed suit to challenge the legality of the shell game also known as the “parole program.”
4. Recall the establishment media going nuclear after video footage emerged of Border Patrol agents on horseback allegedly using whips to control migrants seeking to cross the border at Del Rio, Texas.
Here was the perfect narrative for an uber-woke media: “racist” law enforcement using brutal tactics against helpless asylum-seeking migrants. Democrats in Congress and immigration rights groups piled on. Never to be out-demagogued, President Joe Biden promised, “Those [agents] will pay.”
A thorough investigation revealed that horse reins were not utilized during the “unprecedented surge” of approximately 15,000 Haitians at the international bridge… but at least one agent had used “denigrating language” during the melee. Yep, all that moral indignation over one agent’s use of inappropriate language during a tense border encounter.
Per usual, there was no apology forthcoming from Capitol Hill or the White House press room.
5. Recall the panic when your parents showed up unannounced at the front door of your college dorm. You immediately instructed your roommates to hold them off until your room could be made at least minimally respectable.
Such is the modus operandi Border Patrol is ordered to follow whenever dignitaries visit the Biden-era southern border. The agency’s inspector general found that the dress-up was intended to create the illusion of preparedness for any forthcoming surge — and that post-visit the scene would return to the everyday overcrowding and general chaos.
The IG further found that Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement were stretched beyond reason because the agencies had been level-funded despite their widely expanded scope of mission.
6. My wife, former deputy drug czar (under Trump), will tell you in detail how fentanyl was principally delivered through the mail during the early days of the Trump administration. She will further tell you that Trump made it his business to tell President Xi Jinping to stop it — which he did. (On May 1, 2019, Xi fulfilled his commitment to the G-20 to formally control all forms of fentanyl as a class of drugs.)
Which was all good until the Biden administration decided to open the border and thereby launch a new era wherein fentanyl precursors are transported from China to labs in Mexico and then trafficked through ports of entry into the U.S.
Results are as expected: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 107,375 people died of a drug overdose/poisoning in 2021 and that 67 percent of those deaths involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
7. A variety of horrific consequences followed the end of Title 42. But the symbolism attached to the forced vacating of Middletown, New York, hotels by two dozen homeless Vietnam vets to make room for illegal migrants may be the most powerful. (Note that the struggling vets were transferred to a more inconvenient venue in light of their treatment needs.)
Here, illegal migrants were prioritized per the standard practice of the Biden DHS. Such is the adverse impact of woke-inspired immigration policy. Shameful — and embarrassing to this great country.
Just a few additional anecdotes to add to your Biden-era angst. And there appears to be no end in sight.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.
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