For decades, big cities have helped lead the sanctuary city movement. Far away from the mayhem of the southern border and the consequences of illegal immigration, New York City, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and Chicago have proudly touted themselves as a place for unlawful migrants to build a new life and shielded them from federal immigration enforcement. Now, the Big Apple is pleading for help in much the same way Texas and Arizona have been for decades.
During the 2020 presidential campaign, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden announced he would be a more humane president regarding illegal immigration. Still, what he meant was never defined.
Now we know.
Since he took office on January 20, 2021, America has seen a record-breaking number of people show up at the southern border and enter the country illegally. Others just walked across and slipped into the US unaccounted for by the Border Patrol. I won’t even get into the horrible tragedies of human, sex, and drug trafficking.
Just consider these statistics for a moment. The government’s fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30 every year. Here’s the number of people the Border Patrol has encountered by year:
- FY 2019 – 859,501
- FY 2020 – 405,036
- FY 2021 – 1,662,167
- FY 2022 – 2,214,652
- FY 2023 (October – December – 3 months) – 863,929
The numbers only represent the people the government knows about. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), those who entered the US illegally in the first 18 months of Biden’s presidency equaled the entire population of Ireland.
That’s astounding!
The administration has blamed everything but its own sabotage and neglect to follow immigration laws for ideological reasons. When Biden chooses not to follow the law and things get out of control, Democrats say the system is broken.
Is it broken, or did they break it by picking and choosing what laws they would follow?
In Texas and Arizona, communities have been devastated by the mass migration, which the Biden administration and Democrats incentivized. If one comes to America without taking the proper steps, some states have handed out free housing, education for their kids, health care, and other government benefits. Some states even give them free driver’s licenses, and cities are considering allowing illegal immigrants to vote.
So, is it any wonder border states being hurt by illegal immigration are asking sanctuary cities to participate in migrant care if the federal government won’t do its job?
Don’t think it’s all Republicans. Democratic El Paso Mayor has dealt with thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants taking over his city. He has sent well over 7,000 of them to New York City as well.
As New York City struggles under the weight of the crisis, it gets to live what it preaches as a sanctuary. It has cost citizens over $1 billion to house, feed, and care for the migrants. They’ve even put them up in 4 and 5-star hotels.
How are these migrants who wanted to come to America illegally paying NYC back for its hospitality?
Some are laughing in their faces.
The ungrateful immigrants are protesting the new free accommodations. These are the same people that have destroyed hotels and caused mayhem. One has to wonder if they were genuinely seeking asylum and trying to escape their situations from their home country or if they were tourists ready to give Mayor Eric Adams a negative review on social media.
Now, Adams is pleading with the federal government to help him. It’s obvious the federal government isn’t going to do so any more than they have communities in Texas or Arizona. The minute he does, the states and communities will sue them in federal court for not enforcing the laws on the books and showing favoritism. The whole situation has put the Biden administration in a catch-22.
The only proper action the federal government can take to offer cities relief is to deport the migrants.
Biden has argued that deportation is humane. What about the inhumanness enacted toward American citizens? Many on the southern border have faced serious crimes committed by the migrants. It’s now extending to sanctuary cities.
Almost all of us have roots in immigration. Still, those who came before us got jobs, not accommodations.
One has to wonder if those who witness or experience the impact of illegal immigration see things in a different light now.
Will most Americans, and even liberal New Yorkers, accept much more of this?
Adams should come out strongly and denounce the bad behavior. He should remind those who really did escape oppression that the US is offering them an incredible blessing. Instead, they are acting like too many ungrateful Americans ready to protest and denounce this amazing country at the drop of a hat.
Now, it appears that illegal immigrants have learned how to act like entitled Americans.
What does that say about us?
Don Purdum
The Conservative Era, Copyright 2023