America Is Under Siege and Its Leaders Don’t Seem to Care

Commentary

March 28, 2024

By Dale Wilcox

Disturbing video of illegal aliens storming the border is further evidence that America is under siege while its leaders are asleep at the wheel.

Earlier this month, a group of more than 100 illegal aliens stormed the U.S. border, breaking through razor wire local authorities in Texas had built, and overwhelming members of the state National Guard. The footage went viral on social media and across the internet, but comes as no surprise to those of us who have spent years warning of the dangers posed by America’s surrendered border. This isn’t the first time footage of illegal aliens storming the U.S. border has gone viral, and it’s unlikely to be the last.

Last year, a similar video shocked the nation, that time showing a group of roughly 1,000 illegal aliens storming a bridge near El Paso, Texas, while attempting to force their way into the United States. There has been much debate in political and legal circles as to whether or not the word “invasion” is an appropriate term to use when describing the current crisis at the border. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, one definition of invasion is “the act of entering a place by force, often in large numbers.”

This raises the question: How can anyone watch this video or the similar one from last year and not conclude that America is under invasion? More importantly, how can American leaders continue to sit on their hands while the people they swore to protect face such a brazen assault on their sovereignty and way of life?

The footage of overwhelmed Texas National Guardsmen being stampeded by illegal aliens while valiantly attempting to defend their homeland should infuriate every American, but instead of sending reinforcements, the federal government has attempted to cut Texas’ legs out from under it every step of the way. The Biden administration has taken Texas to court, arguing that it should have the right to cut down the razor wire put there to discourage illegal border crossings. The administration has also sued Texas over a new law that would allow the state to do the job the feds have abdicated by arresting illegal aliens. Instead of helping Texas defend its territory, the federal government has subjected the state to endless legal harassment, leading to scenes such as the one displayed in the recent video.

This latest incident encapsulates everything that’s wrong with current policy at the border. While Texas’ razor wire has been somewhat effective in reducing the number of illegal crossings, it requires much more robust barriers to successfully repel the large number of illegal aliens currently coming to the border on a daily basis.

Instead of helping Texas defend its territory, the federal government has subjected the state to endless legal harassment, leading to scenes such as the one displayed in the recent video.

On its very first day in office, the Biden administration made this much harder when it ordered construction of the border wall halted despite funding having already been appropriated for it. The administration has also allowed gaps in existing wall to remain, even going so far as to sue the state of Arizona when it attempted to use shipping containers to close the gaps in late 2022.

While this latest incident occurred in Texas, the federal government’s repeated legal and political efforts to ensure the border remains unsecure is what has allowed this crisis to spiral out of control. If the United States had a fortified wall at its southern border, it would obviously be much harder for hordes of illegal aliens to storm through it. Physical barriers are just one tool necessary to secure the border, but it would make mass incursions like the one that recently occurred in Texas virtually impossible. An investigation by my organization recently found an internal audit report from the Department of Homeland Security admitting that border barriers are the most effective measures for curbing illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Anti-borders activists will claim that the United States shouldn’t make policy based on a couple of embarrassing videos. However, videos of illegal aliens invading the United States do not show isolated incidents, but demonstrate the daily reality of life at the border. Illegal border crossings have been at record highs for three years now, and the situation has only continued to deteriorate.

Data recently released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection revealed that more than 250,000 foreign nationals illegally crossed the border in the month of February alone, a new historical record for February. Overall, more than seven million illegal aliens have entered the United States over the last three years. These numbers are catastrophic, not just because they result in embarrassing videos, but because over time, they erode the sovereignty and security of the nation to the point of no return.

This latest video from Texas was a national humiliation that should alarm the public and cause American leaders to reevaluate the choices they made that led to that moment. It should invoke intense feelings of patriotism and a resolve to ensure that something like this never happens again.

Dale Wilcox is executive director and general counsel for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a public interest law firm working to defend the rights and interests of the American people from the negative effects of mass migration.

Also published at The New American, March 14, 2024.

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