Feb 10, 2019 6 min read

The most basic duty of our government is to defend our nation and its people. That defense is not only against territorial conquest by armed invaders but also against invasion by legions of non-citizens who enter illegally.

Our nation has the right to defend its borders and the right to determine who does and does not enter its sovereign territory. It is inarguable that the southern border of the United States is the entryway for many clear and present dangers to the nation. Can a reasonable person seriously question that of the 12 million or more illegal aliens currently in this country, many, if not most, entered from Mexico?

The uncontrolled invasion of the United States by millions of illegal aliens costs us hundreds of billions of dollars annually, savages the rights of our legal citizens when the invaders bring with them crime, drugs and disease, consumes our resources and burdens our legal and social systems. Those are facts.

FBI statistics demonstrate that illegal immigrants commit crimes at rates much higher than legal citizens. An estimated 2000 murders, 51,000 assaults and 7,000 sex offenses are committed every year by illegal aliens. Would those crimes occur if the illegal aliens were prevented from entering?

The cost of illegal aliens is estimated to be $300 billion annually. That cost over a decade is $3 trillion.

The heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl crossing the Mexican border costs this country another $500 billion annually and exacts a terrible toll in human suffering.

Despite the portrayals of the invading hoards as “oppressed people only seeking a better life,” clear evidence speaks otherwise. Far too many are coming only to consume our resources, take advantage of our generosity and pillage our land.

So here are two questions before us: Does everyone in the world have the right to enter the United States and live here? Secondly, do American citizens have the right to determine who comes to live in this nation and the rules they must follow for that privilege? Who could honestly answer yes to the first question and no to the second question? We have had immigration laws throughout our history. Up until fairly recently, they were enforced.

Recognizing that American citizens neither want nor deserve to be ravaged by this illegal invasion, President Trump made controlling illegal immigration and protecting American citizens a significant issue in his campaign. As he continues to follow through on his campaign promises, he has endeavored to follow through on the immigration issue by proposing enhanced border security, including the construction of a wall in many areas along our southern border.

The wall is strongly supported by those responsible for border security as well as by the data and the experiences of other nations that have built walls on their borders.

On a recent visit to the border, the border patrol chief stated that 90 percent of illegal traffic occurs where no fencing exists. Data before and after the construction of a border wall near Yuma, Ariz., verify that illegal traffic was reduced by 90 percent. When the border wall was built in the Yuma area, arrests of illegals declined from 138,000 to 13,000 annually over a few years. Further, crime in that area decreased significantly.

There was a time not long ago when even Democrats favored walls. In 2013, all 54 Senate Democrats voted in favor of $46 billion for border security, including 350 miles of wall.

Why is it that Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are suddenly so adamantly opposed to providing $5.7 billion in funding for a critical section of border wall?

It can’t be because this nation is not justified in protecting its borders or because our citizens are not justified in determining who can and cannot enter and live in this country. It can’t be because the president and Congress are not justified, and constitutionally mandated, to protect the citizens of this country. It is certainly not “immoral,” as alleged by Pelosi, because it protects the safety and integrity of our citizens. It can’t be because there is no need to protect our southern border.

Pelosi first said that walls were ineffective. That is clearly not true because a large body of experience supports the effectiveness of walls. She then said we couldn’t afford it. Really? She had no problem proposing $43 billion in aid to other nations for security. She had no problem finding $3 billion for the laughable “cash for clunkers” program under Obama.

The real reason the Democrats oppose the wall is all about politics, raw naked politics, and their personal power. It is also about the survival of the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party is increasingly irrelevant. President Trump has put in place programs that have restored a vibrant economy and improved the lot of most Americans. This nation is once again optimistic about the future. The Democrats have nothing to offer the people of America. They have nothing to offer the businesses that employ people and create wealth. What the Democrats propose is to reverse all the things that are making America great again. They propose increasing taxes, increasing regulation, destroying the free market and restoring the bloated bureaucracy that was destroying us under Obama. The only mantra they can articulate is to “hate Trump.” Their party is disintegrating, bereft of productive ideas and besieged by socialist ideologues focused on class envy and massive redistribution of wealth.

To the Democrats, an endless supply of illegal immigrants upon whom they will lavish massive social assistance programs in order to purchase herds of Democratic voters is imperative. They see millions of newly created Democrats as the only way they can maintain their power.

Pelosi and Schumer are fully aware that if Trump fulfills his promise to build a wall, they have no chance in 2020. For this crassly political calculation, they are willing to see drugs and crime continue to pour into this country to drain our nation’s coffers. They are willing to cause American citizens to suffer for their hubris. This is how little they care about the American people.

Dave Ball is vice chairman of the Washington County Republican Party and a Peters Township councilman.