** Washington Post: Arizona And Texas Governors: The Border Crisis In Our States Was Created By The Biden Administration
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Governors Doug Ducey & Greg Abbott
Washington Post ([link removed])
April 14, 2021
The Biden administration recently made an astonishingly out-of-touch statement: “The border is secure ([link removed]) .”
The president himself needs to take a trip to our states.
Unlike President Biden, we’ve both been to the U.S. border in our respective states, Texas and Arizona, and the situation is much different from what Washington politicians and bureaucrats are telling Americans.
The U.S. Border Patrol is overwhelmed. Local law ([link removed]) enforcement ([link removed]) and mayors ([link removed]) are calling out ([link removed]) for help ([link removed]) . Citizens in border ([link removed])
communities ([link removed]) are concerned ([link removed]) for ([link removed]) their safety ([link removed]) . And nonprofits ([link removed]) , left to pick up the pieces of a broken federal policy, are trained ([link removed]) .
In typical Washington fashion, the federal government has thrust this man-made crisis ([link removed]) on states. But for the people we represent, this isn’t a political issue — it’s a real-life issue.
What’s happening at the border shouldn’t come as a surprise.
The president and Vice President Harris campaigned on a platform of relaxing border security. They supported health care ([link removed]) for undocumented, illegal immigrants. Biden’s pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants ([link removed]) offered amnesty for those who circumvented the legal process.
They also rushed to repudiate ([link removed]) policies of the Trump administration ([link removed]) , including repealing the Migrant Protection Protocols ([link removed]) — a policy that required asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for their court dates and that we fought ([link removed]) to uphold ([link removed]) .
These actions have led to the unprecedented surge of migrants who are overwhelming the border.
ABC News’ Martha Raddatz visited both of our states recently. She aired footage last month of interviews with people attempting to enter the country illegally. “Would you have tried to do this when Donald Trump was president? ([link removed]) ” she asked. “Definitely not,” said one asylum-seeker. “So did you come here because Joe Biden was elected president?” Raddatz asked. “Basically,” said the man.
It’s no wonder Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has called Biden the “migrant president ([link removed]) .”
The administration’s policies and communications have encouraged thousands of people to make dangerous trips to our southern border. This has caused a humanitarian crisis that is endangering the lives and welfare of U.S. citizens, as well as those attempting to come here.
Apprehensions at the border in March reached the highest monthly level ([link removed]) in two decades.
Many of these migrants are kids ([link removed]) .
In fact, Customs and Border Protection has more than 18,000 migrant children in custody — the highest number in the history of the agency. Many of these children are in ([link removed]) overcrowded federal facilities and face a significant chance of contracting covid-19.
The crisis at the border has also threatened the safety of Texans and Arizonans.
Yet, aside from two trips by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the administration has been nowhere to be found. Biden showed his apathy for this crisis by passing control of the administration’s response to Harris. Her record includes voting against funding for border security, comparing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to the KKK ([link removed]) and calling efforts to secure the border “a distraction from the real issues ([link removed]) .” It’s clear that this administration does not take this issue seriously.
So how can America fix this crisis?
To start, the administration needs to immediately reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols, which disincentivize migrants from making the dangerous journey to the border by ending the policy of “catch and release” for those seeking asylum. Law enforcement officials and leaders in border communities are concerned that repeal of these protocols is a major factor behind the surge in illegal border crossings. Reinstating them would go a long way toward alleviating the crisis at the border.
Next, administration officials at all levels should state clearly that our country’s borders are not open and that immigrants seeking a better life or more economic opportunity should not be attempting to utilize the asylum process. The State Department should be heavily engaged in this strategy, as the Mexican president’s continued statements blaming this crisis on Biden ([link removed]) are concerning.
We’ve already begun to activate our states’ National Guards to the border to assist, but border enforcement is a federal responsibility. So we are requesting federal reimbursement to support this mission to resolve a problem of Washington’s creation.
We continue to support legal immigration. But what’s happening now is not legal, and it needs to end.
The president and his team should resolve these issues as soon as possible — for the protection of Arizonans, Texans, these migrants and our entire country.
View the full op-ed online ([link removed])
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