The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media
As the Biden Administration grapples with the soaring numbers of migrants and asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, conservative pundits and politicians have upped accusations that some Democrats support “open border” policies.
The big picture: By using the term “open border,” conservatives –including Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) who is seeking the role of House speaker—are suggesting that anyone can get into the U.S. without much hassle. But the reality is that the southern border is more fortified than it’s ever been.
Reality check: Since 1992, the U.S. has quadrupled the number of Border Patrol agents—from less than 5,000 to nearly 20,000 today.
- Barriers, walls, and fences have been erected along portions of the 1,951 mile U.S.- Mexico border, in addition to new Border Patrol outposts and high-tech surveillance systems.
- The Border Patrol regularly breaks border arrest records, highlighting the difficulty of entering the country illegally.
- Most recently, Biden decided to go forward with a border wall in South Texas.
- Lines at ports of entry have gotten longer because of new requirements to enter the U.S., putting pressure to expand hours at newer ports of entry like the one in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. . . .
What they are saying: We don’t have open borders because the U.S. government is attempting to stop as many people who cross the border as they can, David J. Brier, associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, tells Axios. . . . If the administration was pursuing any kind of open border policy, the number of people being arrested would be dropping. And that’s not the case. They are arresting and expelling as many people as ever. – The Myth of a U.S.-Mexico ‘Open Border.’ Russell Contreras, Axios, 10/17/23 [Link]
Fact Check of Above Quote: The author of this article, Russell Contreras, claims that we don’t have an “open border” because we have 20,000 Border Patrol agents and extensive fencing. If those agents were allowed to do their job of apprehending and expelling illegal aliens, maybe Contreras would have a point. But thanks to policies of the Biden Administration, that is not what they generally do.
Yes, they arrest lots of illegal aliens, but commonly these aliens volunteer to be arrested. That’s because they will falsely claim to be asylum seekers, a form of fraud encouraged by the administration. Next, the Border Patrol processes these aliens so that they can enter the U.S. If they don’t get asylum, they most likely will remain anyway. The Administration deports few people from the interior. Since Joe Biden became president, the Border Patrol has ushered about 2.6 million of these people into our country.
With the Border Patrol diverted to do processing, it has to neglect its core mission. Brandon Judd, the head of the Border Patrol’s union, observed that “It demoralizes us knowing that we’re supposed to be patrolling the border. We’re supposed to be out there trying to protect the American people and we can’t do that because we’re not performing patrol duties. We’re not out there actively doing law enforcement duties — we’re doing administrative duties. We’re not protecting the American people.”
With the border significantly unprotected, about 1.7 million illegal aliens since Biden’s inauguration have entered the U.S. without contact with the Border Patrol. Fences might be useful in stopping the flow of migrants, but only in conjunction with boots on the ground. In any case, less than 700 miles our 1,951-mile southern border have barriers of any kind. Will there be a new border wall in Texas? The administration now seems to have abandoned the idea.
Our border is not totally open. Arrests and deportations still occasionally happen. But for all practical purposes our border is wide open to just about anyone who wants to cross it. Contreras claims says that we are “arresting and expelling as many people as ever.” His dishonesty is mind-boggling.