In just his first 100 days in office, President Biden issued 94 executive actions to reverse President Trump’s successful border policies and weaken our nation. Among them, few have been as harmful to Tennessee and America as the President’s decision to halt construction of the southern border wall, leaving hundreds of miles of the border unprotected.
At the time, the President claimed that continuing construction of the wall was “not a serious policy solution” and a “waste of money.” Since then, over 9.2 million illegal aliens have entered our country, costing American taxpayers as much as $451 billion a year, including $50 million a year just for the Biden administration to store unused Trump-era border wall material.
In the face of this crisis, however, the Biden administration has refused to change course, doubling down on the same broken policies that are making illegal immigration legal. Just last October—the same month more than 240,000 illegal immigrants crossed our southern border—Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed that there would be “no more wall construction” under his watch. Meanwhile, President Biden has repeatedly claimed that border walls fail to stop illegal immigration.
Thankfully, Governor Greg Abbott and authorities in Texas are proving the Biden administration wrong every single day with their Operation Lone Star campaign.
As part of the state’s efforts to deter illegal immigration, Texas law enforcement has placed buoys, shipping containers, and razor wire fences in and along the Rio Grande to prevent illegal immigrants from entering our country.
Late last month, I visited Eagle Pass, Texas, to see the state’s border security in action, and Texas authorities pointed to these temporary barriers as the driving force behind the Lone Star State’s declining number of illegal entries.
In fact, as Texas has bolstered its border barriers, migrants are traveling further west to states with weaker border protection, such as California and Arizona, to illegally enter the United States. As a result, illegal immigration into Texas dropped by 54 percent between December and January. In the Del Rio sector, which includes Eagle Pass, illegal entries fell by 76 percent.
Texas’s success with combating illegal immigration proves the obvious: Border walls work.
While the Biden administration pretends otherwise, this fact should come as no surprise. Border walls—from Ancient Athens to the Great Wall of China—have protected cities and nations for thousands of years. Today, border barriers are used on nearly every continent on earth to protect countries from illegal entry, drug smuggling, and terrorism.
Often, these border walls benefit our allies most of all. For more than seven decades, for example, South Korea’s border barrier has been essential to Seoul’s security against Communist North Korea.
While the circumstances may differ, all border walls have one thing in common: They help to prevent people from illegally entering a country. And in America, we are in desperate need of this protection.
Since President Biden’s inauguration, thousands of pounds of lethal fentanyl, hundreds of individuals on the terror watch list, and more than 30,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records have entered our country.
In total, under President Biden more than 1.7 million known “gotaways”—illegal immigrants who evade apprehension—have entered our country. On Easter Sunday alone, almost 1,000 of these migrant gotaways crossed our border, and we have no idea who these people are or what they are doing in our country.
Every day, we see the tragic consequences of President Biden’s open border policy. Just last month, an illegal immigrant—who was deported by President Trump in late 2020 before reentering the United States—shot and killed a 25-year-old woman during an attempted carjacking in Michigan, leaving the young victim’s body on the side of a highway.
This tragedy should never happen to anyone. That’s why, in the U.S. Senate, I have introduced the Creating Obstructions Necessary to Address Illegal and Nefarious Entry Rapidly (CONTAINER) Act, which would empower border states such as Texas to place temporary barriers on federal land to protect our communities, especially from criminal migrants.
If President Biden refuses to do his job and protect the American people, it is imperative that we support the border states and communities that are stepping up to do the job he won’t: securing the border and building the wall.
* * *
Dear Ms. Blackburn,
I acknowledge your assertion that border walls are effective. However, I have a few questions. First, why did President Trump not manage to complete the border walls and have Mexico pay for them, as he promised? Some argue that the emphasis on border toughness is primarily a political strategy to secure votes.
Recently, I witnessed a live stream where a gentleman drove along a section of the border that you and others have visited. Surprisingly, he found three wide-open and unmanned openings just a quarter mile down the road. Can you explain this discrepancy?
Additionally, there was a border bill proposed by Republicans that could have contributed to addressing this issue. However, it was pulled after President Trump requested it. If your commitment to Americans is as strong as you suggest, why was this bill not pursued?
Regarding El Chapo’s escape from jail, it’s worth noting that a wall did not prevent it. Instead, an extensive tunnel was dug all the way to the prison. This highlights the resourcefulness of those determined to bypass barriers.
Furthermore, the immigration application system appears broken, with very few approvals. It seems almost pointless to apply. Lastly, like the one here, many border walls seem motivated by animosity rather than genuine safety concerns.
As my mother used to say, actions speak louder than words. Perhaps focusing on practical solutions rather than photo ops and blog posts would yield better results.
Christopher Cooper
* * *
Bill and Hillary won a zoning appeal to build an 8-foot cedar fence around their house in Chippaqua, N.Y. (Chicago Trib 12/16/99). The Obamas have a 10-foot wall around their DC home (NBC 12/30/19).
Other Democrats who opposed a border wall and want stricter gun control on you and me spend many thousands of dollars on their own security. Rep Jayapal, D-WA spent $45,000 on security including a fence (Spokesman-Review 8/2/23). Rep Cori Bush, D-MO, defund the police and gun control advocate, is accused of spending hundreds of thousands on security (KCUR 1/30/24).
Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he is safer walking his dog in DC now than we he arrived. He failed to admit he gets personal security which we only learned about when he “had to quarantine because one of his security team got COVID” (WashPo 2/8/21). Does he also have a wall at his DC home? We may have to wait to find out.
It’s easy to oppose a wall, favor defunding the police or want to heap regulations controlling guns when you have thousands of dollars of armed personal security and walls around yourself.
Ralph Miller
* * *
Dear Christopher Cooper,
Allow me to answer some of your questions to Senator Blackburn. To begin with, you should address her as Senator Blackburn, not Ms. Blackburn. It’s a matter of respect for her office.
President Trump had to fight tooth and nail with Democrats to get any section of the border wall completed, yet he still managed to get the most important parts completed. Construction was to continue but President Biden stopped it when he was elected. That’s on President Biden, not President Trump. As Senator Blackman stated, we are spending $50,000,000 a year just to store the materials to build the wall, since President Biden put a stop to it and even had sections removed. While Democrats cried over the cost of the wall, they are fine with spending over $450,000,000,000 and year to support the illegal immigrants because it is on the back of the tax payers, not the elected officials.
I’m truly sad for you that you would use the escape of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman as part of your defense for us not needing the wall. Did you know that the prison he escaped from is in Mexico? It has no relevance whatsoever to our border wall.
The live stream you witnessed is a perfect example what the results of President Biden using funds for more border patrol going to the IRS, 87,000 new IRS agents, to go after the middle class Americans. I know he said it would target people with incomes over $400,000, but the proof in the pudding is those with and income of $200,000 are being targeted.
Border walls are not a result of animosity toward immigrants, rather safety concerns that drive or motivate animosity. You got that backward. Why do you not care about victims like Laken Riley? Why do you not care about immigrants chanting “death to America, death to Israel”? I have to believe that you are in agreement with these illegals rather than Americans. I have to believe that you don’t care about police officers, store owners, American citizens and young ladies such as Laken Riley being brutalized and/or murdered by illegal barbarians who are given a free pass in our country.
I hope and pray that I’m wrong about you, Mr. Cooper. However, if I’m right you are most certainly a part of the problem and not the solution.
J. Pat Williams