President Trump announced his intention to deploy the National Guard to the U.S.’s southern border last month to a mixture of praise from his supporters and the usual far-left worn out cries of “Trump is a xenophobic racist.”
The President’s move came the same day as a caravan of Central American migrants — mostly from Honduras and El Salvador — announced it was disbanding its much-publicized plan to enter the U.S illegally.
Though some of the immigrants coming from Central America are not terrorists and genuinely only want to escape the drug wars of their home countries, there can be no doubt they have become political pawns. The President is intent on keeping his campaign promise to stem the tide of illegal immigrants, and those who hate him will exploit any human interest story that might turn public opinion against him.
The National Guard was deployed to our nation’s borders in much smaller numbers by both Presidents Obama and Bush. However, Trump’s decision has been portrayed by the mainstream media as a picture of a President who is callous toward the human suffering of those who ignore our border laws.
On his announcement of deploying the Guard, the President said in a memorandum:
“The situation at the border has now reached a point of crisis. The lawlessness that continues at our southern border is fundamentally incompatible with the safety, security, and sovereignty of the American people. My Administration has no choice but to act.”
Kirstjen Nielsen, the Secretary of Homeland Security said Mr. Trump had directed the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon to coordinate with border state governors in determining how best to deploy National Guard forces to assist Border Patrol agents who are spread much too thin.
The governor and other state leaders of California have resisted the Federal government’s right to enforce our immigration laws. The mayor of Oakland even took it on herself to warn illegals with criminal records that I.C.E. was coming to deport them so they had time to escape deportation.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of California Adam Braverman said:
“The American Dream has beckoned immigrants from across the globe because of the promise that prosperity and success are within reach for all. Those immigrants have contributed their voices and perspectives to make up our uniquely American experience. But the foundation for the American Dream, and what allows our democracy to flourish, is a commitment to the rule of law.”
Most Democrats seem to either not know or care about the concept of rule of law. President Trump understands the caravan of immigrants were fleeing the lawlessness of Central America. He sent the National Guard to our borders to ensure the cancer of disregard for the rule of law does not further infect our nation.
Founding Father Samuel Adams said the rule of law means that “there shall be one rule of Justice for the rich and the poor; for the favorite in Court, and the Countryman at the Plough.” The United States has a long history of being open to those who are truly fleeing oppression but that must be guided by a nation’s determination to ensure the same law governs all citizens.
Our country receives thousands of people who seek asylum each month because they face danger as a result of their religious and political beliefs, their race and other issues. Such cases are routinely processed with little notice from the media. There have been a number of convoys that have made a similar journey as this most recent one and gained little or no media attention. What sets this one apart is that it occurs at a time President Trump is determined to stem the tide of illegals and the far left is determined to thwart Trump at every turn.
After all the media attention, caravan leaders say about 8o percent of the group will stay in Mexico while they seek to receive legal temporary papers. A handful of migrants with strong asylum claims have continued to the U.S. border on their own. Border agents have slowly admitted 17 migrants, mostly women and children.
When it comes to legitimate asylum applications, international and U.S. laws oblige the United States to give migrants a fair chance if they fear returning home. Such applicants entered into the asylum process in the way the law prescribes. That process can take months to years and the majority of asylum claims by Central Americans are ultimately unsuccessful.
Border agents, augmented by the National Guard have been directed to ensure that such illegals are not allowed to enter the country until the proper process is carried out. Under the Obama administration, far too many such immigrants awaiting the lawful process were allowed to enter the country and disappear before they could be deported.
President Trump told those attending a recent rally that one of the “reasons [Democrats support immigrants and sanctuary cities] is because the Democrats actually feel—and they are probably right—that all of these people pouring across are going to vote for Democrats. Not for Republicans.”
According to the headlines read by most Americans, Trump’s efforts failed. The narrative is that the caravan crossed the border intact and a few criminals were deported. The true story for the most current caravan is that eleven of the group were arrested for violating the law and are in custody, eight seeking asylum are being processed, and another 140 are waiting in Mexico. A significant number of the original 1200 or so migrants either left the caravan or chose to stay in Mexico.
In the wake of calling out the National Guard President Trump said, “Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military.”
Trump has also continued to ratchet up pressure on Congress and Mexico to take action to stem illegal immigration. He tweeted: “Cash cow NAFTA is in play, as is foreign aid to Honduras and the countries that allow this to happen,” he tweeted.
Mark Krikorian, the director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said:
“The administration seems to have responded vigorously enough to avoid sending the message that future efforts like this caravan will succeed. Once you send the signal that some people will be able to get away with this, others will receive that signal and follow . . . and 150 people will become 150,000 and after that a million.”
President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard is a good step in sending the right message.
