I continue to keep an eye on the happenings at the southern border, as it ultimately impacts us all. I’ve noticed it’s being totally ignored by most news outlets now, which is unfortunate, as the situation is actually worsening.
For instance, June numbers are in from CBP: Over 190,000 crossing contacts that month alone (those are just the ones contacted and processed by CBP. Now we have a trend of continued month-on-month apprehension increases since January. We are now well on pace for passing a 21-year high for illegal crossings.
Recent reports from CBP and DHS indicate up to 20% (yes, 20%!) of the kids crossing, especially in the Del Rio region, are COVID-positive.
As of today, 44 border agents are ill with COVID, and 5 are now hospitalized.
HHS has been transporting all detained migrants into the interior of the US, typically deposited in larger cities, where local agencies must begin to provide support, in almost every state across the US. That support is not reimbursed by HHS. That includes the COVID-positive cases, mostly with the Delta variant. These transports are mostly by bus, however a significant number are given airline tickets as well.
There are moves now in the Biden camp to get congress to vacate the Title 42 regulations that force most immigrants to be returned across the border (due to ongoing pandemic risks).
There are also moves by this same camp, with the (current) Senate leader, to add amnesty to the current infrastructure bill. Let’s be clear: Without a secure border and immigrant entry process, amnesty will result in one thing: A run on the border that is massively higher than the records we are now seeing.
And through all of this, our Colorado governor, both of our senators and some of our congressional delegation are silent. Illegal Fentanyl is spiking death rates in Colorado (and across the US), the I-25 corridor and US 287 corridor remain extremely popular for human trafficking, and our charitable organizational resources are quickly becoming tapped out by the crisis.
Picture this: In FY ’21 CBP has apprehended (and in most cases, been forced to release) enough people at the southern border to completely replace the populations of 8 states and Washington D.C. (individually, not collectively). They are on track in July to encompass the populations of 11 states. Of course, that only takes into account the apprehensions; if we consider the estimates for the “got-aways” that number jumps to 15 states’ populations.
The simple fact is this: We don’t have the resources to sustain what is happening right now in not only the human impact, but in also the criminal impact from drugs and violence. Consider this: In 2019, we saw 72,000 overdose deaths. In 2020, with the lockdowns contributing, we saw 93,000 overdose deaths. A 29% increase! Those drugs were mostly illegal, overwhelmingly opioids, and primarily brought in across the southern border. And while the CDC is playing their cards close on 2021 data, every single state health department I researched this week is showing significant 2021 increases in overdose death rates.
There is no common sense to what we are implementing as policy in both national and state levels, especially considering federal law is being totally ignored… by federal leadership! This is where solutions need to be found, and securing the border was a good start (that progress has now halted), followed by actions at the national level to encourage necessary immigration and collaboration with state partners to plan for and manage arrivals, whether seasonal or longer term. None of this is happening today with the crossings happening in every region along the border; instead we see the Biden administration effectively shoving the problem down states’ throats. Which is also why you now see 15 states bypassing Washington and sending their own National Guard troops – not under orders, but as volunteers – to back up Texas law enforcement at the border. This is federal law that’s not being enforced, and those laws were mostly written by, and voted for, by the same old democrats that remain in Washington today.
Ironic, isn’t it.
