Against the Grain II

Biden needs to implement a stricter border policy

While many don’t want to admit it, policies enacted by U.S. President Joe Biden have stimulated the economy.  Leading indicators reveal a strong and robust economy with hundreds of thousands of jobs being added each quarter.  While a president does not singularly make all of the decisions that lead to the position of the economy, the fact that he is in leadership affords him the opportunity to take credit for the successes as he is certainly blamed for the failures.

Gas prices are lower than previously and to many Americans, that is the top indicator of the economy. Unfortunately, food prices continue to soar as we are headed to an inevitable challenge in the food supply chain.

With that established, the other side of the debate on the effectiveness of Biden is the U.S. border.  A seemingly unstoppable flow of illegal immigrants who just trespass on U.S. soil and set up residence is staggering.

According to the Pew Research Center, in 2021there were 6.4 million illegal immigrants residing in the U.S. from countries other than Mexico. That marked a stark increase from the estimation in 2017 which stood at about 900,000.  Central America and Southeast Asia provided the bulk of these increased additional squatters. El Salvador, India, Guatemala, and the Honduras are the top origins of immigrants other than Mexico.

These immigrants flowed to Florida, Washington, California, and Nevada.  The Mexican invaders flow mostly to California and Texas.

While this data is readily available, our president, senate and congress have not figured a reasonable policy to stop the illegal robust flow.  The strain of the influx has all-but-crippled some local governments along the border and just above the border. Policies set in place for decades to protect migrating families looking to escape their countries for various reasons have exploited the kindness of the United States.

Not only does the presence of these individuals strain jobs, food supplies, and housing, loopholes in policies allow these individuals to receive federal aid. Among other things these problems have escalated to catastrophic proportions.

Two areas in which illegal immigrants are exploiting loopholes are emergency Medicaid and free school lunches. However, they are infiltrating the systems of cities, once they arrive these two are the most notable benefits that legally cannot exclude them.  Many will not apply for other aid because it might bring attention to themselves and lead to deportation.

Republicans and Democrats have occupied the presidency and neither has been able to effectively slow the rate of migration. The very core value of this country is to be the land of the free.  The place where the world’s people are invited to come to a safe haven. Long gone are the days when America can just freely add migrants.  The realization that resources are finite and the warnings of scientists of food shortages must place the U.S. in self-preservation mode.

If there was one area that President Barack Obama was not effective, it was fighting the influx of immigrants. Keep in mind that even if he wanted to, the battles he faced in the House of Representatives and the Senate were epic. In his second term he was not afforded opportunities to effectively run as the polarizing of the parties came to a head. Nothing he championed was successful to a bitter Senate and Congress.

Former President Donald Trump implemented an initiative to put up a border wall. The problem with the wall solution is the sheer size of the U.S.  In addition, Mexican invaders were innovative in circumnavigating walls that had already been constructed.  From tunnels from miles out to methods of scaling the walls at its lowest points, just constructing a physical barrier has its limits.  

Biden has been hampered by this issue as well. Fortunately, he has acknowledged the issue. It is now up to the two parties and two legislative branches to form a bi-partisan solution. The sad part is the probability of an effective bi-partisan solution is not likely to happen because of the sheer enmity of the two parties.