OPINION:
It is often said, “When one door closes, another opens.” The observation is applicable to the southern border, thanks to President Biden’s latest scheme to ensure open access to the U.S. homeland.
The border Texas shares with Mexico is the widest front in the ongoing illegal incursion. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has scored a partial victory with his recent installation of floating buoys that thwart immigrants seeking to traverse an especially fordable section of the Rio Grande. Like clockwork, the Biden Justice Department has sued Mr. Abbott and the state, complaining that the lengthy barrier violates the Rivers and Harbors Act, which “prohibits the unauthorized obstruction or alteration of any navigable water of the U.S.”
Common sense would find fault with individuals who violate U.S. sovereignty by crossing the border without authorization. But U.S. officials instead target Mr. Abbott and heroic Texans attempting to perform on their own the critical duty of guarding the entryway that Team Biden has propped open. Texas isn’t called “the Lone Star State” for nothing.
With the riverside door closed, at least temporarily, the feds have opened another one — actually, scores upon scores of them, according to the New York Post. In Arizona, workers have unlocked 114 large gates in the metal-pollard border wall and welded them open. The explanation: Flood waters need to flow unimpeded during the monsoon season, and unobstructed migration routes must be provided for endangered herds of antelope.
That is, if the antelope aren’t trampled by the stampede of humanity rushing through the ajar portals. About 1,400 immigrants a day are passing through the gates, making the Tucson sector the nation’s busiest point of illegal entry. Like monsoon waters, individuals determined to accept Mr. Biden’s offers of asylum and assistance are taking the path of least resistance, at U.S. taxpayer expense.
Not that Americans are stingy. To the contrary, the U.S. provides more development assistance worldwide than any other nation, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Border-state residents have spent years and fortunes struggling to deal with the massive influx of illegal immigrants overrunning their communities, thanks to policies the president instituted when he took office. With the flood of humanity pressing northward, cries of despair are emanating from proud sanctuaries like New York City, where taxpayers are facing a bill of $12 billion over three years for immigrant social services, according to the Big Apple’s mayor, Eric Adams.
It’s unsurprising that a recent Square Center survey finds that 82% of respondents are concerned about the “current situation at the border.” Asked to describe the border situation since Mr. Biden became president, 50% say it has gotten worse. Another 25% say it’s about the same, and a meager 15% say border conditions are getting better.
It is an insult to the sensibility of the U.S. citizenry for President Biden to couch his policy in acts that safeguard the free flow of water and wildlife but leave the nation’s border unsecured. Clearly, Americans are worried and aren’t buying the president’s excuses.
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