At What Point is it a Crisis?

At what point would you consider President Trump's "immigration crisis" a real crisis? How many more needless deaths must occur? How many more children must be separated from their family? How much more taxpayer money must be spent on immigrant care and benefits before this problem is considered a true crisis?

Let's start with Democrats and leftists adamantly protesting that the border issue is a manufactured crisis started by President Trump to justify the border wall. Well, as the well proven saying goes, "numbers don't lie". So let's look at the numbers.


As of today, April 22, 2019, The US Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley sector apprehended a total of 164,000 people, surpassing the total number of apprehensions made in 2018. Last week, a large croup of 135 immigrants was detained near Roma, TX. That group was comprised mostly of families and unaccompanied children. In only three day of that same week, a total of 2,500 immigrants were detained throughout the RGV alone. These numbers do not reflect the immigrants detained in the rest of Texas or other states.

For the past couple of weeks, Border Patrol agents and Customs officers have been overwhelmed with the ever growing numbers of immigrants. Even the respite centers, shelters, and churches are overburdened with such a huge influx of humanity. Resources everywhere are stretched to breaking point while other immigrants are taking advantage of the situation and slipping by and avoiding the standing processes. Today, one of those immigrants who managed to enter the US near Abram, TX was found to be a known MS 13 gang member from El Salvador with an active warrant out of Minnesota. Fortunately, he was caught but how many more others aren't caught? Most MS 13 gang members can speak English and can blend in to a community or move around easily with the help of local gangs. 

There are believed to be some 10,000 MS-13 members scattered across the United States.

One aspect of this crisis that is under reported in the mainstream media are the deaths that occur during the immigration journey. Many occur soon after the immigrants leave their home country while travelling to Mexico. Many more occur in Mexico and others perish in the deserts north of the border during the blazing temperatures of summer.

In today's world of political correctness and fear of offending, the term asylum seekers is being used while I'm still using the term immigrant. The reason I still call them immigrants is because they are immigrating from their country to ours and in most cases illegally. The media prefers to refer to them as "asylum seekers". Let's be real here. The immigrants have been taught to claim asylum once they reach the US. We know full well that they're claim of asylum is bogus and that they know that by claiming asylum, the US must follow the procedures which allows them to remain in the US longer to await their hearing. The are then transported to their destination of their choice where they disappear.

I totally understand helping your fellow man in trouble and hurting but from what I have seen from the inside, many immigrants claiming to seek asylum or a better life simply prefer to live in the US because of the quality of life here, period.  If that's the case, why do they sneak in illegally and or lie to get in? Why do they constantly avoid the legal process? 

Back in 2014 when a similar situation was occurring, an agent friend of mine detained a small group of immigrant near McAllen. He found a few of them carrying printed booklets filled with tips on how and where to cross the border, the times of day, and days of the week to cross into our country. It also included what to say to agents if caught and phrases to regurgitate once in custody. The booklet even contained maps with routes to popular cities. 

 

At many popular crossing points along the Mexican border, immigrants can find vendors selling everything from water jugs to shoes with carpet glued to the soles to hide shoe prints. Other items for sale at these impromptu stands, Immigrants can also purchase items such as maps, flashlight, calling cards, sun hats, and even snacks.

Many of the smugglers (coyotes) often work for the drug cartels and work with smugglers already in the us. These coyotes often coerce or force the immigrants to carry drugs across the border. If there is any sign of US law enforcement intervention is detected, the coyote ditches the immigrants and flees back to Mexico leaving the immigrants literally holding the bag. Due to this happening so often, real smugglers caught crossing the river are now claiming to be immigrants who were forced to carry the drugs and they are soon returned to Mexico to try another time.


So, with with so many immigrants entering the US illegally and the majority claiming asylum, Who can we determine which claim is legitimate when almost every other claim is identical to the last claim? How can we be positive that the child really is a true family member? How can we be sure that some claiming asylum is not a criminal? Since most Central American countries do not share this information (most of which is inaccurate or incomplete), there is no true vetting process. In the meantime, the US continues to bear the cost and burden of treating the immigrants like welcome guests coming over for Christmas dinner.



CRI-SIS /ˈkrīsis/ noun. a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger. 2. a time when a difficult or important decision must be made. 3. the turning point of a disease when an important change takes place, indicating either recovery or death.  

The question of whether the problem at the border should be called a crisis or not depends on a person's definition of crisis. In my experience dealing with this problem, I do consider it a crisis by it's very definition and not by a political interpretation.


Regardless of your interpretation, the problem of human suffering, deceit, and drugs still exists. Stop with the politics and help with a solution or just continue to be part of the problem.

eModicus