The border crisis that has ravaged the U.S. for four years is essentially over, and it took President Donald Trump less than a month to end it.
At this time just over a year ago, roughly 4,800 illegal aliens were entering the U.S. daily. Now, the number is 285, a decline of 94 percent. While 285 illegal crossings a day is still 285 too many, the U.S. has largely regained operational control over its border after not having it for four years.
The reason for this is simple. The U.S. now has a secure border because it now has an administration that has decided to enforce federal immigration law. Not long after putting his hand on the Bible, President Trump took significant action to secure the border, declaring a national emergency, and deploying the military to ensure its security. A few weeks later, Trump issued another essential executive order, halting taxpayer benefits to illegal aliens. The Trump White House has sent an unmistakable message to illegal aliens and their benefactors: The party’s over.
Without a single change in federal immigration law, Trump and his team have halted the flow of illegal immigration and restored security to our southern border. They have also exposed their predecessor’s malfeasance as being the driving force behind the border crisis.
While the Biden Administration spent their time searching for the “root causes” of illegal immigration and demanding Congress pass “comprehensive immigration reform,” i.e., amnesty, Trump has demonstrated that the executive branch has all the tools necessary to secure the border, and just has to use them. The U.S. has existed as a sovereign nation for nearly 250 years, and during that time Congress has passed myriads of laws ensuring the president has the ability to protect that sovereignty. All the Biden Administration’s excuses to the contrary were just that—excuses.
Trump has proven once and for all that the powers afforded to the executive branch are more than sufficient to secure the border and have essentially shut down illegal crossings within a matter of weeks. Still, while the border crisis might be over, the illegal immigration crisis is still ongoing. Border security is essential, but enhanced deportations were always the pillar of Trump’s promise to restore U.S. sovereignty and reverse the damage done by his predecessor.
During the Biden Administration’s four years in office, more than 10 million illegal aliens crossed the border. While it is not known just how many illegal aliens currently reside in the country, it is fair to say the number is in the tens of millions. Many of these illegal aliens are dangerous criminals who pose threats to U.S. national security and public safety. The Trump Administration has begun targeting criminal illegal aliens for deportations, but deportations on the scale necessary to reverse Biden’s dereliction of duty will take much time and many resources. The current executive is off to an excellent start, having successfully stemmed the flow of illegal immigration.
When tending to an injured patient, the doctor must first stem the bleeding. The U.S. is an injured nation because of Biden’s self-inflicted border crisis, but the current administration has managed to stop the bleeding, which is all that could have realistically been expected of them during their first month on the job. In addition to militarizing the border, cutting off the spigot for illegal aliens, and declaring a national emergency, the administration has restored a culture of enforcement inside the previously demoralized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and has filed lawsuits against sanctuary cities to compel their enforcement of immigration law. Contrast these policies with the policies enacted during the early days of the Biden Administration, and it’s clear why they produced such disparate results.
During Joe Biden’s first days in office, he issued executive orders suspending deportations, halting construction of the border wall, and stopping the wildly successful Remain-in-Mexico program. It was obvious to many at the time but should be clear to everyone by now that these policies were directly responsible for the greatest border crisis in American history.
When it comes to immigration policy, a majority of Americans now understand what works and what doesn’t. We know that a vigorous enforcement policy deters foreign nationals from coming illegally, while a lax enforcement policy has the opposite effect. We know that offering welfare benefits to foreign nationals encourages them to enter our country illegally, while banning welfare benefits incentivizes them to stay home. We know that allowing illegal aliens to roam free throughout the country leads to more illegal crossings, while detaining them sends a clear message that they should not come. And, most importantly, we know the executive branch has all the tools necessary to secure the border if they choose to use them.
The Trump Administration’s mission to restore America’s sovereignty and security is still ongoing, but they have swiftly and decisively secured our borders by simply exercising power the previous administration forfeited.
William J. Davis is a communications associate for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a public interest law firm working to defend the rights and interests of the American people from the negative effects of mass migration.
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