OPINION:
Our border is wide open, our law enforcement personnel are overrun, and America has never been more vulnerable than it is at this very moment. That is the urgent message I heard directly from Border Patrol agents and local sheriffs at recent events organized by the advocacy group Advancing American Freedom in Texas and New Mexico.
President Biden inherited the most secure border in American history — yet in less than four years, he has singlehandedly created the worst border crisis in history.
To date, nearly 8 million illegal aliens have crossed the border on Mr. Biden’s watch. That’s more than the populations of 38 states. Last month alone, nearly 180,000 illegal aliens were encountered — roughly 6,000 per day. By comparison, President Barack Obama’s Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson once said that a mere 1,000 encounters per day “overwhelms the system.”
How could a tsunami of illegal immigration crash into our shores so suddenly? Simple — it didn’t happen by accident or random chance; it was by design.
On his very first day in office, Mr. Biden suspended all deportations nationwide, shut down construction of the border wall, reinstated “catch and release,” canceled the Remain in Mexico policy, and proposed amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. These actions sent a message, loud and clear, to millions who had been kept out during our time in office. Overnight, illegal immigration surged to levels unseen in decades. The crisis has only gotten worse with each passing day.
One cause for concern among the Border Patrol agents I spoke with is the growing trend of aliens arriving from hostile nations. Since Mr. Biden became president, nearly 80,000 Russian nationals and over 50,000 Chinese nationals have entered our country illegally. No one knows why they are coming in such huge numbers — whether they seek the blessings of freedom or undermine freedom from within.
One repeated refrain I heard from those with experience on the ground was, “It’s not about what we’re seeing. It’s about what we’re not seeing.” Given the severe shortage of manpower and resources, the Border Patrol has no idea how many thousands — or even millions — of illegal aliens have entered the country unobserved.
Even when border agents do see groups of aliens infiltrating our country, they are often unable to apprehend them in time. Under nearly four years of Mr. Biden, there have been over 1.6 million known “gotaways.” That’s more than the previous 12 years combined.
But even when apprehensions are made, the sad fact is that Mr. Biden’s Department of Homeland Security releases over 85% of the aliens it catches. They are often turned over to left-wing nongovernmental organizations that favor open borders and are funded by the Biden administration with billions of your tax dollars.
Needless to say, morale has never been lower for those serving on the front lines of protecting America’s borders. The men and women I spoke to believe that they have been abandoned and betrayed by the president, who has virtually forced them to stand down. At the same time, an endless flood of illegal aliens and deadly drugs rushes into the country they swore to protect.
President Biden and the Democrats could end this crisis just as fast as they created it. All the president has to do is reinstate the commonsense border enforcement policies he inherited and repealed. He has the power. All he needs is the will to act. And if Mr. Biden continues to fail to secure our southern border, the next Republican president and Republican Congress must.
• Mike Pence is a husband, father, grandfather, Christian, conservative and Republican — in that order. He served as the 48th vice president.
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