There is a myth that Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy (D-MA) and Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson are responsible for the current abysmal state of America’s immigration policy. In fact, the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act that Ted Kennedy wrote and LBJ passed into law, had little bearing on illegal immigration.
The real culprit behind America’s failing immigration policies—specifically as they relate to illegal immigration—is the current president.
Joe Biden Broke the Border
It’s a cheap cop-out for analysts to try to argue that President Joe Biden has nothing to do with the causes of the crisis at our Southwestern border. The issue of illegal immigration is primarily one of enforcement (or, in the case of Biden, lack of enforcement).
There has never been a starker comparison than between the policies of former Republican President Donald J. Trump and current Democratic Party President Joe Biden. During Trump’s presidency, he prioritizedenforcement at the border.
Under Biden, the US government embraced a laissez-faire approach to border security. Because of this, there has been an historic increase in illegal immigration into the United States from when Trump left office until today, in the third year of the Biden Administration.
Even though illegal immigration has exploded under President Biden’s watch, it was still nowhere near as bad as it could have been because the Trump-era Title 42 policy had been kept in place (although Biden did want to get rid of it). Now that policy has come to an end.
Experts are worried because a veritable army of illegal immigrants are surging toward the border with news that Title 42 has expired. Title 42 was the Trump-era rule that gave the federal government expansive powers to kick illegal immigrants out of the United States.
It was developed to better protect the United States from unwanted exposure to COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic. The rule was carried over during the Biden Administration and used to stunt illegal migration. Now that President Biden has finally declared that the pandemic is officially over, Title 42 is going away. He could have pushed for it to have been extended.
Of course, Biden and the Democrats don’t want that to happen.
They like the ceaseless flow of unchecked, illegal immigration into the country. Democrats and immigration activists believe that this is not an army but instead welcome guests who should be embraced and integrated into our society immediately.
Yet, the human stampede on our open southwestern border will have the same impact as an invading army. It will irreversibly change our economy, our society, and our living standards.
There is a reason that until the 1990s, when they figured out that countless new illegal immigrants entering the United States could be beneficial for them politically, most Democrats opposed illegal immigration.
Famous Mexican-American civil rights icon, Cesar Chavez himself protested illegal immigration to the United States!
Illegal immigration destabilizes the country, invites people who may be criminals or bring diseases, and creates an undue burden on our society and economy. It’s also bad for illegal immigrants, who are often abused by those who bring them into the country and exploited by the Americans who employ them.
Everyone is looking for someone to blame for this. Blame Biden.
Biden vs. Trump’s Immigration Policies
The sea change in immigration policy happened under his watch. It truly comes down to enforcement.
When border arrests are up, when there’s even a partially built wall along key points of the border, when US policy is tough on illegals who do make inside the United States, all these things create the conditions that dissuade people south of the border from trying to break into the United States for our welfare benefits.
Further, unlike former President Trump, Biden does not get along with many of the leaders in Latin America. That might sound shocking to you, considering that so many Left-wing leaders have ascended to power in their respective countries south-of-the-border since Biden became president.
Yet, Biden has worst relationships with those Far-Left leaders in Latin America than the Right-wing Trump ever did.
These relationships are key to curbing illegal immigration to the United States. After all, there’s no amount of border security that will prove to be comprehensive if Washington doesn’t have healthy relationships with the leaders of the countries from where the illegals are emanating.
Trump, with the help of his controversial son-in-law, Jared Kushner, worked hard to have strong ties with the leaders of Latin America—notably the socialist Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO).
Because the Trump Administration had such strong relations with AMLO (nicknamed the “Bernie Sanders of Mexico”), President Trump was able to get the Mexican government to assist in curbing the flow of immigration (in exchange for diplomatic and economic incentives, of course).
He further got AMLO to sign onto the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). All this because Trump had strong ties both with AMLO and his predecessor.
By contrast, Biden has alienated and insulted AMLO.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who was laughably placed in charge of the Biden Administration’s response to the ongoing border crisis, offended leaders of Central American countries that were taking significant steps to curb the criminal elements of the region from flooding our broken border with illicit narcotics, trafficked persons, illegal arms, and criminals.
It’s as though this administration wants to both ignore the border crisis and implicitly encourage the invasion of our country by undocumented, mostly poor illegal immigrants.
Fixing the Border
Do not blame anyone or anything other than Joe Biden for this border crisis.
Protecting the border is relatively easy. It requires tough, consistent enforcement mixed with healthy diplomacy. What’s more, you need a reliable wall to channel to flow of people into chokepoints that are more easily controlled by American border guards.
There should also be a much larger US military presence on the border until further notice. Possibly on orders of magnitude higher than what the pampered princes in the Pentagon are comfortable with. We’re excellent at securing the borders of Mideast countries.
Sadly, America isn’t so great at securing its own porous borders.
Until Joe Biden gets serious about border enforcement, with the end of the Trump era program known as Title 42, the United States is in for it when it comes to being overwhelmed by illegal immigration. Don’t expect the Democrats to fix the problem. They’re encouraging this. Remember that when going to the polls to vote in November 2024.
Biden broke our border.
MORE: Kamala Harris Is a Disaster
MORE: Joe Biden – Headed For Impeachment?
A 19FortyFive Senior Editor, Brandon J. Weichert is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, as well as at American Greatness and the Asia Times. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower (Republic Book Publishers), Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life (May 16), and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy (July 23). Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
