The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media
“Within hours of the news that more than 50 migrants had died in the back of a tractor-trailer near San Antonio on Monday, the men, women and children having been baked alive in the blistering Texas heat, anti-immigrant Republicans quickly descended into blaming President Joe Biden. Not because he had anything directly to do with this disaster, this act of mass torture, this surreal tragedy; this was the work of human traffickers taking advantage of desperate people. . . . In the eyes of Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, Mr. Biden is at fault because he’s too soft on the Southern border. His walls aren’t long enough, his border guards not numerous or aggressive enough, his detention facilities not overcrowded or inhumane enough, his unwillingness to treat asylum-seekers as chattel a sign of weakness instead of what it is — an act of civility and kindness.
“These deaths are on Biden,” Governor Abbott pronounced . . . . “They are a result of his deadly open border policies. They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law.”
“On July 4th, the nation will celebrate its independence, gained 246 years ago by people who had much more in common with the San Antonio victims than with grandstanding politicians. . . . People like Greg Abbott or Donald Trump can’t bring themselves to see today’s generation of immigrants as human, let alone equivalent to the founders. They prefer to call them ‘illegals.’
“This year, let the holiday not just be commemorated with fireworks, parades and fanfare, listening to the “Hamilton” soundtrack or the marches of John Philip Sousa, or attending backyard barbecues or spending an afternoon at the community pool. Rather, let us take a moment to recall our history as a nation of immigrants. How can we care so little about the welfare of people seeking a better life from beyond our borders, as our forebears did? How much stronger could the United States be if more people were legally admitted at the southern border? . . “.– On This 4th of July, Can the U.S. Reconcile Its Immigrant Roots with Its Anti-Immigrant Policies?, The Baltimore Sun, Editorial Board, 6/29/22 [Link]
Fact Check of Above Quote: Gov. Abbott is absolutely correct. Joe Biden bears the greater share of blame for the recent deaths of 50 migrants. His open border policies almost beg foreigners to migrate here in defiance of our laws. Those policies also provide a steady and growing stream of income for cartel-connected human traffickers. During the Trump administration, when the border was relatively secure, migrant deaths were significantly fewer. Enforcement of laws brings order and security. Non-enforcement brings anarchy—and quite often anarchy brings death.
The Baltimore Sun’s editorialists claim that the deceased migrants have more in common with our Founders than “grandstanding politicians” like Abbott and Donald Trump. Like so many claims of immigration enthusiasts, this one is long on fuzzy sentimentality and short on truth and substance. In any case, Abbott and Trump have never hinted or suggested that illegal aliens are not human. Illegal is a description of their behavior, not their humanity.
This editorial maintains that we should legally admit people seeking a better life. And just how many might that be? Young Africans total about 360 million people. A recent poll found that 52 percent of them want to move to the U.S. or Europe. And in addition to them, tens of millions more from Latin America Asia would also like to come here for a better life. Would accepting them all really make us stronger? That question should answer itself. And since we can’t take them all, we need to control our border. Pious and dreamy sentiments about “a nation of immigrants” are no basis for a sensible immigration policy which would serve our national interest.
The editorialists insist that we consider the “welfare of people . . .from beyond our borders.” But do they care anything at all about the welfare of citizens within our borders? It doesn’t seem so.