Shelters and services are being overrun from open border policies leaving some U.S. citizens in need. Make your voice heard and apply to vote early.

1,853,837

That’s the number of migrants that passed through the southern border of the United
States from October 2021 to the beginning of August 2022 according to the U.S.
Customs and Border Patrol. As reported by the Western Journal, in less than one year,
a record number of undocumented immigrants came into this country, 200,000 more
than in fiscal year 2021. There have been terrorist sightings along with tens of
thousands of unaccompanied minors that were seen crossing our southern border.

Title 42

Many of these migrants journeyed to our border expecting that Title 42 would be reversed. Based on CDC guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic, President Trump initiated Title 42 (i.e. the “Remain in Mexico Policy”) which allowed border patrol agents to expel migrants without allowing them to seek asylum. The policy remained in effect after numerous legal challenges until the Supreme Court lifted an injunction on June 30, 2022. As of August 8, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security officially ended the Remain in Mexico Policy. Until that time, the policy had remained in place with the Biden Administration continuing to enforce it. But, did they?

Placement

There is no doubt that many that crossed the southern border were returned to Mexico according to Title 42. However, in January 2022 under the cover of darkness and while Title 42 was still in effect, flights of undocumented immigrants landed in Scranton and Allentown. These “ghost flights” as they’ve become known brought immigrants from the southern border to relocate in Pennsylvania. Many of these flights have been recorded and no notice was given to the communities in which the immigrants were sent.

Now that migrants are not returned to Mexico by the U.S. Customs and Border Control, the states along the southern border are completely overrun with non-citizens. The governors of Texas and Arizona have had enough of the lack of federal enforcement of the country’s border and immigration laws. Since the problem was caused by Washington, D.C., Governor Abbott (TX) and Governor Ducey (AZ) decided to take the problem to Washington. 

In April 2022 the governors began sending busloads of immigrants to D.C.’s Union Station. After three months, with thousands of the immigrants now in its sanctuary city, Washington, D.C.’s Mayor Bower complained that the city’s shelters were filled and they were overwhelmed. She claimed the immigrants were being “tricked” into going to the nation’s capital. Additionally, Texas also sent some immigrants to New York City whose mayor was just about as happy as Mayor Bower with the influx. Since April, Texas has bussed almost 8,000 immigrants to New York and D.C., and Abbott pledges that the state will continue to do so to assist Texas with this migrant crisis. The mayors of New York and D.C. are crying for federal assistance with the humanitarian crisis that their cities are now facing. 8,000 is a humanitarian crisis for these mayors! So, what would they call the almost 2 million people who have entered the southern border and taxed the resources of our border states! Oh, that’s right…Not Our Problem!

Cost – Financial and Human

There is both a financial and human cost to the immigration laws which are not being enforced.

Financial Cost

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the federal government spends almost $29 billion on illegal immigration. Although most undocumented migrants do not pay taxes, there are many who do, and those revenues amount to $9.5 billion per year.  That leaves a net federal outlay of over $19 billion annually.

The federal expenditure categories and the percentage spent on each can be seen in this FAIR chart. As you can see, 56% of the $29 billion is spent on Administration of Justice and general expenses, while the remaining 44% covers Medical, Public Assistance, and Education expenses. One would think that educational expenses would be greater, and it is – but most of those expenses are paid at the local and state levels!

The cost of Illegal Immigration for states is even higher than that of the federal level – $84 billion! Southern border states and those with large sanctuary cities bear the biggest financial burden. However, Pennsylvania spends $1.378 billion annually on the care and services provided to the undocumented.

Education for the children of illegal immigrants is by far the biggest expense the states incur. A small portion of the expense is offset by federal funding, but nearly all of the cost falls on the state and local governments to bear. General expenses, Medicaid, and Justice are the next largest categories of expenses for the states.

Is it any wonder then that border states like Texas would feel overburdened with the influx of nearly 2 million migrants flowing into the state? As these migrants are released into the states, whether in Texas, California, or Pennsylvania, the taxpayers of those states must pay to support the sudden increase in the population. There is no budgeting or planning as with natural population increases. It is suddenly thrust upon them to fund and accommodate. The migrant crisis is exacerbating the financial crisis in this country.

Human Cost

• Kidnapping
• Suffocation
• Drowning
• Rape
• Extortion
• Murder
• Sex Trafficking
• Smuggling

The list goes on and on of the horrific fates that await many good people trying to come to the United States for a better life. Many are trying to escape their countries because of persecution over sexual orientation or religion. Others simply want to come to our country to try to capture the American Dream. Some people coming to our border can rightfully seek asylum, while others should wait for our immigration process to proceed. 

Unfortunately, Mexican cartels prey upon these people wanting a better life. According to the NY Post, “Criminal cartels that are trafficking families, women, children, and single adults over the southern border earned as much as $14 million a day in February, 2021.”  If migrants can’t pay the cartels, then they are often told to smuggle drugs or they are put into a life of “indentured servitude” to pay off the debt. According to an NBC News report from 2020, “Mexico is an origin, transit, and destination country for human trafficking, a global business estimated to be worth $150 billion a year.” Those most at risk are just the ones seeking asylum: members of the LGBTQ community, the disabled, young girls, and single women with children.

Everyone who looks at the activities on the southern border knows that the immigration laws are not being followed and the process is in desperate need of reform. While we await those reforms, we can’t deny that the current “open door policy” of the Biden Administration, no matter how well intentioned, could actually be enriching criminals, enslaving migrants, and causing a crisis in many of our states.

Whether immigrants were bussed into Pennsylvania or flown here on a “ghost flight,” we need to understand where the breakdowns in our processes occur before we have a hope of fixing them. One such breakdown occurs when immigrants as part of the Motor Voter Law are sometimes, for a variety of reasons, registering to vote while applying for Pennsylvania Driver’s License. Once registered, these people may actually vote in our elections without knowing they are not allowed to do so.

However, if a non-citizen votes in a U.S. election, then he/she can never become a naturalized citizen.

In some areas of the country, city councils have passed ordinances which allow illegal immigrants to vote in municipal elections. If those immigrants do what the local law allows, then they have completely ruined their ability to ever become citizens. 

Today we have hardworking immigrants living in Chester and Delaware Counties who would like to become citizens. However, because of bad systems, bad communication, or bad policies, they are unable to do so. We can and should do more! People survive many horrific trials to come to this country. The least we can do is provide them with the correct information and process to be able to stay and one day proudly take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States at a Naturalization Ceremony.