On border security, immigration, Biden and Democrats have left Texas out in the cold | Opinion

Immigration and border security have often been issues that each party views from a specific vantage point. It’s one of the reasons they remain difficult to act on in a fractured Congress. But few national issues affect one state in the way that these concerns affect Texas.

So far, President Joe Biden and national Democrats have left Texas to handle a surge of illegal immigration on its own, all while stating it’s Congress’ fault that Biden hasn’t done anything to prepare for the latest round of mass arrivals.

Our nation would not be strong without a legal path of immigration for asylum seekers, and it is weak without strong border security. A country that is serious about the safety and well-being of its citizens values the integrity of its borders. It’s also true that a country that honors its heritage and laws allows those who arrive legally to enter. The two must function together.

Title 42, a Trump-era policy that stayed the swell of illegal immigration to reduce the transmission of COVID by quickly expelling migrants at the border, ends Thursday, and Congress and the Biden administration have known for months that it was coming.

US Customs and Border Protection data show that authorities have expelled migrants at the southern border almost 3 million times since Trump implemented the policy. Imagine the influx without it.

There is only one way to look at border security between the Texas and Mexico border: Our border is secure or it is not. A nation that cares about sovereignty secures its borders — full stop. Anything else can contribute to serious crime. Not everyone who is attempting to enter the U.S. is doing so to seek a better life. Biden should be on board with this, but he’s not. In 2021, he canceled border wall contracts, prompting Texas to build its own wall sections.

No one is entitled to enter the U.S. immediately and without caution, verified claims and paperwork, and extraordinary patience. The hubris of immigrants tearing across the border because they seek a better life in the United States is understandable, but wrong. There are ways to gain entry, and it’s asinine to act as if it’s OK to allow people into the United States through non-legal ports of entry. Anyone entering the U.S. this way should be immediately turned around.

With Title 42 lifted, border towns such as El Paso have already seen — and will continue to see — a massive increase in migrants entering the U.S., some through legal ports, some through smugglers and porous parts of the border. El Paso already declared a state of emergency. Gov. Greg Abbott said he will deploy “tactical border force” to handle the major influx and is doing the best he can do with the resources he has.

Migrants began pouring over the border in droves as soon as Biden became president, because of his lax border and immigration policies, including removal of Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy. According to the American Immigration Council, a Washington nonprofit that advocates for better immigration law, the number of asylum seekers and migrants apprehended after crossing the border between ports of entry increased from 75,316 in January 2021 to 200,658 in July 2021. It more than doubled after Biden took office.

Texas primarily bears the brunt of this chaos. It’s an affront to the Texas border towns that must navigate the influx Biden created, risking their town’s order and safety. Allowing this is an insult to the millions of people who have come to the United States legally, following the correct processes and waiting the many years it often takes to get the right to come and stay permanently.

Border security and immigration issues cannot be solved overnight. But the Biden administration was fully aware that the end of Title 42 would cause chaos, and he has blamed Congress for being unable to do anything to prevent this aftermath. Many of his policies have created chaos at the border and Texas has been left to handle it on its own.

This is not solely a Texas problem, it’s a national one — and it’s one Biden created and could have prevented.