Kerby Anderson

Do we have a crisis at the border? Earlier this month, the Biden administration acknowledged that it was a challenge but downplayed that it was a crisis. This statement shows how politicians change the rules and criteria in order to fit their narrative.

Alejandro Mayorkas serves as the secretary of Homeland Security in the Biden administration. She rejected reporter questions about the crisis on the border by merely saying that it was a challenge. But it was the same woman who a few years ago as deputy secretary of Homeland Security (along with Vice President Joe Biden) referred to a border crisis when there were 1,000 attempted crossings a day.

The Border Patrol reported that on one day recently there were 6,000 border crossings in one day (4,700 trying to enter illegally, 900 who were observed but not detained, and 400 who were detained and sent back). When the Obama administration was in office seven years ago, 1,000 border crossings in a day was a crisis. Today in the Biden administration, 6,000 border crossings a day isn’t a crisis.

Someone who believes it is a crisis is Democratic member of Congress Henry Cuellar. He finally decided to send pictures of a border facility crowded with men, women, and children to the Houston Chronicle. As a Democrat, he says he supports the Biden administration but felt he needed to do more and encourage the administration to listen to people at the border. He is frustrated that the administration is listening “to the immigration activists and advocates” and needs “to listen to the border communities.”

If we are to address the festering problem of immigration and border security, we must start by telling the truth. Denying a crisis when one exists is not a good first step. I applaud Representative Cuellar for calling attention to an issue ignored by this administration and often ignored by the media.