Border Security

For those of you living in a cave and hadn’t heard, Texas has been in the news a lot lately. It seems Gov. Abbott realized Biden is ignoring the massive invasion on our Southern border and decided to act.

Gov Abbott offered free bus rides to Washington DC to illegal immigrants crossing into Texas. He also directed Department of Public Safety officers to perform “enhanced inspections” of vehicles hauling produce and other goods across Texas’ southern border.

The first was hailed by the White House through spokesperson Jen Psaki as “nothing more than a publicity stunt”. The second was declared unnecessary as inspections are already performed randomly and it was “hurting the economy and would drive up prices”, thus affecting Americans already reeling from sticker shock at the grocery store, gas pump and elsewhere. The jury is still out on whether the bus ride to DC, which, so far, has resulted in less than 100 taking advantage, is effective or a stunt. Of course the very thing the White House is calling a “publicity stunt” is the very thing that happens every day at the border. Buses arrive and take illegal immigrants to the airport, to hotels, to other parts of the US.

Gov. Abbott finally decided we citizens of Texas had had enough. If Kamala Harris, the appointed immigration czar, and Joe Biden cannot be bothered to come to our border, then illegal aliens will be taken to them.

And for those of you keeping count, yes, Bandera Reader, our tax dollars are funding cell phones, bus rides, hotel stays, trips around the country, but not COVID tests because those aren’t required. Since the United States gives billions to the UN, who in turn give $250 per week to illegal aliens waiting for the right time to cross illegally, we the people are also paying for their stay in Mexico. Thus, if a “publicity stunt” will shed more light on a serious problem, I’m in.

The second action taken by Abbott was the order of “enhanced safety inspections”. These inspections resulted in miles of trucks waiting for hours to deliver their products into the US or re-rerouted to other border states to gain entry. Normal commercial traffic dropped at the border by 60%.

Gov. Abbott ordered the inspections stopped when the governors of the four neighboring Mexican states signed an agreement to thoroughly inspect vehicles, monitor the border, as well as stop illegal entry from their state’s southern border. Chihuahua has pledged a technological investment of $200 dollars to include drones, facial recognition software and license plate reading. Our governor has also stated that DPS inspections will continue if the four border states fail to keep up their end of the historic agreement they signed.

Democrat governor contender Beto O’Rourke groused that the inspections were useless because the DPS officers could not inspect the vehicles for people or drugs and that Abbott didn’t care about Texans or the higher prices at the grocery store this would bring. The same sentiment was echoed by the White House calling the inspections “thoughtless” and claiming Abbott did not understand it was “impacting people’s jobs and the livelihood of hardworking American families.”

Ahhh, just so we are clear:

White House: Paying more for gas is patriotic because we care about the borders and sovereignty of Ukraine.

Also White House: Possibly paying, more for goods by supporting the United States border and sovereignty makes you an incompetent evildoer. Clearly, the real point of the inspections was not physically finding illegal aliens or drugs but to get Mexico’s attention. Quickly. And it did. Abbott would not have to add “head of truck inspections” to his job description if Biden was doing his. But Biden is not, so Abbott is.

I understand the skepticism that Abbott’s agreement will be enforced long term. It is up to us, We the People, to hold elected officials’ feet to the fire. No one likes rising food prices, or the trucking or any business to be negatively impacted. But some fights are worth the risk and the pain.

Our sovereignty is one of them.

Months back, when explaining why Americans should care about Ukraine, White House deputy security advisor Jonathan Finer said ”Because it goes to a very fundamental principle of all nations, which is that our borders should be inviolate, and that our sovereignty should be respected.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

And that’s, just one gal’s opinion.

Becky Lay is the Chairman of the Bandera County Republican Party Election Integrity Committee. This column does not necessarily represent the views of the Bandera County Republican Party.