A full discussion and debate about the border crisis reaches far beyond what I can outline in an article, but I believe it is still worth discussing, especially given that it is an election year.

Anytime there is discussion of a “crisis” in American politics, it is usually due to the inability of our lawmakers to formulate policy that actually helps those in need. This crisis is no different.

First, it is helpful to provide a summary of what is currently happening down at America’s southern border for those who do not have the time to follow such a complex issue—because that is what it is: anything but simple. 

During the Biden administration, the migrant crisis has expanded dramatically. For example, “in the month of December 2023 alone, border patrol agents recorded 302,000 encounters (these include apprehensions and immediate expulsions), a new high.” For context, the “monthly average from 2013 to 2019 was 39,000.” 

According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection:

• In 2019, there were 1,148,024 border encounters. 
• In 2020, there were 646,822 border encounters (this massive reduction was largely due to COVID-19, but some of it is attributed to Trump-era immigration policy).
• In 2021, there were 1,956,519 border encounters.
• In 2022, there were 2,766,582 border encounters.
• In 2023, there were 3,201,144 border encounters. 
• So far, in 2024, there have been 1,487,195 border encounters. 

There are also more people from different countries attempting to cross the border. Mexican nationals make up a much smaller portion of the population crossing the border than in the past. Instead, the U.S. border is now seeing many demographics. These include people from countries such as Venezuela, Haiti, Ecuador, Ukraine and even China.

One of the major impediments to improving the border security process is the backlog of immigration and asylum cases. According to the article linked above, “there were an astounding 3.3 million cases pending as of December 2023, but just 682 immigration judges. That means the average caseload is more than 4,500 per judge.” 

Clearly, this isn’t feasible. In addition, border patrol agents on the ground are under intense pressure due to the massive flow of immigrants. In a 2023 hearing, Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security Joseph Cuffari described that despite “greater workloads, staffing levels have remained the same, with CBP and ICE using details and overtime to temporarily surge staffing along the Southwest border.” Cuffari stated that this practice will not be sufficient moving forward. Thus, America must immediately send resources to the southern border.

So, with this understanding, it seems likely that Republicans would capitalize on providing the necessary resources to the southern border, especially since immigration is a massive issue, right? Wrong.

Republicans missed an opportunity to enact a comprehensive border bill that would have provided further assistance to Ukraine and Israel (which are highly debatable but not the focus of this article) and send much-needed resources to combat the southern border crisis. A significant amount of money would be allocated to “address existing operation needs and expand capabilities at our nation’s borders, resource the new border policies included in the package, and help stop the flow of fentanyl and other narcotics.”

Instead, the bill died on the Senate floor. House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed in an interview that the bill wouldn’t do a “darn thing” to solve the crisis. Yet earlier in the interview, he also suggested that constructing new immigration policy is highly difficult and America needs something right now to address current needs. So which one is it? Solving the crisis entirely is an unrealistic goal in such a short time period. It is an extremely complex process. However, when Democrats bend to the Republicans, it is not good enough because it doesn’t stop the problem entirely. See the contradiction?  

Johnson also claimed that border patrol agents do not think any of this funding would help them do their jobs even though large amounts of money are dedicated to hiring additional personnel to handle immigration cases and encounters. Johnson claims that the border patrol does not need more “buckets;” rather, they need the flow to stop entirely. This is contrary to what the inspector general said above, and while it is necessary to stem the flow through the border, it is impossible to cut the flow of immigrants completely. People are not going to stop taking the journey to America, and we need to formulate policy that enables our law enforcement to handle the situation accordingly. 

This does not mean having an open border with lax security. The glaring issues at the border need to be addressed. Human trafficking and the flow of illicit narcotics by cartels are not just political issues but moral issues that demand action. I am all for border security so long as it is founded on morals and consistency—and the Republicans who are winning support over this issue are pulling the blinds over the eyes of Americans. They do not care about solving the issue right now, nor are they concerned about morality (I wouldn’t go so far as to say the  Democrats are particularly moral either, but the Biden administration supported this bill). 

As one analyst writes, the “politics that have killed this deal in 2024 are clear. If Republicans pass legislation that improves the border chaos that’s plagued President Biden’s presidency, they ease the political albatross around his neck in the middle of a presidential campaign.”

Like most things, it is simply a political game, and many Americans are falling for it hook, line and sinker. It is a reality that “many Republicans are prepared to wait until 2025 to address border security. If Donald Trump defeats President Biden and reenters the Oval Office, they believe that they will get everything they want without enacting compromise legislation that would limit Trump’s powers. In the meantime, they believe the issue is damaging Biden, and they do not see why they should help him during an election year.”

It is clear Republicans want Trump to take the credit for “fixing” the border problem. The worse it gets, the more credibility Trump receives. However, the last person I trust is a man who stumbled dangerously close to having a Hitler-esque moment when he claimed that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of our nation. Isn’t his wife Slovenian? When pressed about his imprudence, Trump said that he “never knew that Hitler said it” and that he had never read Hitler’s manifesto “Mein Kampf”. This is coming from the same man who claimed to be a “very stable genius.” I’m glad the Republican frontrunner is a man historically ignorant of the most brutal fascist thug to ever breathe air. He seems like the perfect leader for the future of our nation and our respect of morality. 

Unfortunately, this is the game we must all play. Just be cautious when entering it. This bill was an opportunity for our government to prove to the American people that a divided government could work together in a time of crisis and that substance could take precedence over partisanship. Unsurprisingly, it fell short. Perhaps we are foolish ones for expecting the bare minimum.