Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has had a change of heart about the immigration crisis at her state's southern border with Mexico.
Hobbs, a Democrat, recently reversed a decision not to deploy the National Guard. She sent more than 200 troops from the Tucson sector and allocated up to five million dollars of Arizona taxpayer money to send troops to the Lukeville gateway.
Hobbs also demanded that the federal government reimburse Arizona for $512.5 million spent on “migrant transportation, drug seizures and law enforcement” under Joe Biden's administration. She promised to “regularly” seek reimbursement from the federal government to mitigate the crisis at the Arizona border.
What provoked this sudden activity from our previously apathetic governor? Finally, the direct expenses to Arizona could no longer be ignored. They are affecting Arizona's budget and its future financial viability.
For Hobbs and many mayors, governors and other Democratic elected officials, compassionate sympathy for the plight of illegal immigrants was a good look, as long as the expense was covered elsewhere.
These elected officials formed hundreds of sanctuary cities, counties, and states. Mayors of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other major cities took pride in ensuring their places were open and welcoming.
Like President Joe Biden himself, these mayors welcomed illegal immigrants to our borders. Sure, they heard reports of complaints from border communities suffering from the growing masses of illegal immigrants in need, but those complaints were mostly just from conservatives in red states. [ou seja, de maioria republicana].
However, when the influx of illegal immigrants became so overwhelming that they had to be exported across the country, the outlook changed. Too late, Hobbs and others realized that this growth was out of control and the fiscal demands truly unsustainable. Their pleas to the federal government for help were ignored.
It's good that our governor now recognizes there is a problem, but Hobbs failed in her response. We don't need more money, we don't need more troops; We must have the determination to enforce the law against unauthorized entry into our country.
Instead, we announce to the world that the United States welcomes all migrants and those who arrive here will be admitted under the clever scheme of supposedly seeking asylum. They will receive transportation to the country, food, shelter, medical care, education and social services.
We are then shocked when millions arrive from the Third World. Hobbs claimed additional funds were needed to “manage the influx of migrants”, inadvertently admitting error. The new money flowing to the southern border was not used to stem the flow, but to speed up the process of admitting even more invaders.
We desperately need a policy of admitting only those who are legally qualified for admission and turning away the rest. It's not that complicated or expensive. This would save money and possibly save the future of our nation.
The downside of unlimited influx goes far beyond the expenses borne by local governments dealing with the short-term needs of illegal immigrants. An estimated 15 to 20 million migrants have entered our country illegally so far this century, some 6.6 million processed in Biden's three years alone.
Most of these illegal immigrants may not have bad intentions, but among them lurk terrorists, criminals and foreign agents.
The US is facing some daunting challenges. Most of our schools are failing to improve the education of disadvantaged children. Public spending and our crushing debt load cast a dark cloud over our future.
Waves of lawlessness and organized criminal behavior sweep across us. The influence of social theories inspired by Marxism threatens to lead Americans, once believers in the motto “and pluribus unum” (“out of many, one”), to enclaves of identity at war.
The country is simply not in a position to spend more money or take on more problems, let alone accommodate a tsunami of 20 million illegal immigrants that will exacerbate every existing problem.
The United States has a reputation as a nation defined not by “blood and soil” but by the values upon which we were founded — equality of all before the law, representative government, the rule of law, limited government, and individual rights.
The illegal immigration of tens of millions undermines each of these principles, American sovereignty and what the United States means to the world.
Tom Patterson is a retired emergency physician and former director of the Goldwater Instituteand former Arizona state Senate majority leader who wrote the original schools law charter of State. He is also a contributor to Heritage Foundation.
©2024 The Daily Signal. Published with permission. Original in English.
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