Over this past weekend a fourth charter bus carrying illegal immigrants arrived in Washington, D.C. from Texas. It was the latest example of both leadership in action on the state level and a demonstration of how to respond to the utter incompetence that continues to emanate from the White House.
Many pundits, especially those on the left, scoffed when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he was putting in place a plan to offer passage to the nation’s capital to illegal immigrants arriving through Texas’ southern border. The White House even derisively called it a “stunt.”
Abbott signaled he was serious about protecting his constituents, even as the White House continued to show what could only be construed as a callous disregard for the safety of Americans through a policy that has left the southern border porous.
“To help local officials whose communities are being overwhelmed by hordes of illegal immigrants who are being dropped off by the Biden administration, Texas is providing charter buses to send these illegal immigrants who have been dropped off by the Biden administration to Washington, D.C.,” Abbott said during a press conference April 6 in Weslaco, Texas, the Washington Examiner reported. “We are sending them to the United States’ capital, where the Biden administration will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people that they are allowing to come across our border.”
Sure, it was an in-your-face move by Abbott, but it was only instituted following Biden’s continued disregard for the safety of Americans, and in particular, those living in southern border states.
It is not overstating matters to say the southern border has been an absolute disaster from the moment Biden was sworn in. One of his first acts, after first crippling America’s energy production, was to call a halt to the building of the highly successful border wall. There was little reason behind it other than pure spite arising out of hatred of anything, however successful, that was put in place by his predecessor. Apparently, Trump Derangement Syndrome didn’t end with the installation of Biden as president as it continues to fester long after inauguration day.
But it’s not just an apparent disdain of Trump that motivates the left-wingers that control the White House. No, it’s also become clear DC elites have a pretty healthy disdain for the vast majority of Americans that live between the two coasts of the United States. Just listen to the White House and how it refers to Americans who are truly fortunate to not be part of the coastal morass that has taken hold.
Repeatedly, this White House refers derisively to that part of the US as “rural America.” They apparently believe that outside of their elitist bubble we are all just a bunch of yokels who are just now learning to configure our modems to access AOL.
Such an attitude though explains why they do not see the border disaster as a problem. It never directly affected them, only those “rural America” border towns and that is the brilliance of Abbott’s plan. It forces the elites to face up to the massive problem they created.
Just in March alone, there were a reported 221,000 encounters — the most in a month since 2000 — between border patrol agents and illegal immigrants on the southern border. Many were classified as “got aways.” With the Biden administration now planning to lift the Trump-era Title 42 (which was put in place to protect Americans from the surging coronavirus), it is now estimated that 18,000 illegals will be coming across the southern board per day, which would be roughly 540,000 per month.
During this perilous journey of wrong-headed policymaking, we have also witnessed the vilification of overworked border patrol agents. When a photo emerged of agents on horseback keeping migrants away from their horses, they were immediately pilloried as having “whipped” the migrants. Everybody from Biden on down pronounced them guilty of abuse before the facts became clear. This past week those same agents were cleared, but the national media kept that quiet.
Abbott has demonstrated, much like Trump, that the only way to address this issue is through strength of resolve. In addition to the DC bus option, Texas also put in place a secondary vehicle inspection process for trucks coming across the Mexican border to further reduce the likelihood of stowaway illegals or the entry of illicit drugs. It caused a massive backup into Mexico. It also caused four Mexican governors to agree to enhanced border security measures and Abbott agreed to drop the secondary inspection for trucks coming out of their states.
Biden’s way has shown the disastrous consequences of weakness and capitulation. Thankfully, we still have leaders like Abbott.
Dave Ruthenberg is a multiple award-winning columnist and is opinion editor at Main Street Nashville. Contact him at druthenberg@mainstreetmediatn.com.
