Customs and Border Protection in the El Paso sector is calling for help. They’re being overwhelmed by the sheer mass of migrants crossing the border and claiming asylum. As one border patrol agent noted, they’re seeing a 500% increase in apprehensions compared to this time last year.
“It’s staggering,” McAllen City Manager Roy Rodriguez said. “Really, we’ve never seen anything like this before.”
It's time to close the border. https://t.co/8xJT8BdgBz
— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) March 31, 2019
Opinion
It seems the majority of the fight for border security is about the wall. While the wall will help, it’s neither fast nor comprehensive enough to address the problem that is present in the here and now. We need facilities to house the massive increase of illegal immigrants coming over and claiming asylum. Then, we need more people to handle the situation and protect the border. Right now, CBP is undermanned and lacking in the necessary resources to keep us safe.
It’s not just about American citizens. As long as we’re allowing these people to come across our borders, we have a responsibility to make sure they’re safe as well. This may be an unpopular opinion, but it’s the reality of how America is supposed to act. It behooves us to keep them safe and secure in order to keep ourselves safe and secure. By releasing them into the interior where many of them have nothing with which to work, the likelihood they’ll turn to crime is dramatically increased.
Legislative changes must be made at a massive scale as well. We cannot continue the broken policies that were designed for a time when asylum requests were manageable with current resources. Instead of limiting beds and shelter, we need to increase it dramatically. Instead of giving them freedom and a request to appear for their hearing, we need to be able to hold them, expedite the hearing, and repatriate them with their home nation if they are not granted asylum.
This surge is only going to get worse. With the “mother of all caravans” forming now in Honduras, we can’t wait around for the wall to get built. While it’s being debated, actions must be taken immediately to address this issue. I’d say we need to do it before it becomes unmanageable, but it appears we’re already there.
Quote
“The surge numbers are just overwhelming the entire system.”
Final Thoughts
We need the wall, but it won’t come fast enough. Immediate action is needed. Fix the laws. Give more resources, manpower, and facilities to the border patrol. Start sending the message to Central America that there’s no free ride waiting for them here.
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