If there were a threat in your neighborhood, what would you do? Seeing armed intruders, squatters, vandals or thieves at your neighbor’s house, would you gawk out the window while taking videos on your smartphone? Would you call 911? Would you help? Would you be next?
I hope none of you ever face that moment: the violation of your home, the invasion of privacy, the loss of a sense of security.
What if I told you it was a government policy that encouraged such loss of sanctuary? What if your neighbor’s crisis was because elected leaders invited armed intruders, squatters, vandals and thieves to come to your town? Far-fetched? It’s not.
This is exactly what our neighbors in border states have endured for the past four years. Ranchers on the southern border no longer feel safe on their own land. American communities are devastated by the costs of illegal immigration. Crime tied to illegal aliens is a daily news headline. But they were invited.
Some elected leaders still don’t get it. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston proclaimed he would gladly go to jail to resist new border security policies from the Trump administration. Multiple blue state governors say they will continue their sanctuary policies. The Los Angeles City Council just voted to declare themselves a sanctuary city.
Armed intruders, squatters, vandals and thieves still have open invitations from Democrat leadership.
But these are our neighbors. Cities and states are the neighbors of other cities and states. Neighborly behavior is warranted. It is needed. It should be expected.
There was a day when the nation did not sit idly by when the border was breached. It was a question of national security and sovereignty — neighbor watching out for neighbor, states watching out for states.
In 1916, American communities suffered raids by Mexican bandits. The Mexican government was no help. Bandit leader Francisco “Pancho” Villa led an army of 1,500 guerillas across the U.S. border against the small American town of Columbus, N.M. Villa and his men killed 19 people, leaving the town in flames. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson ordered General John “Black Jack” Pershing to lead thousands of American troops into Mexico and capture Villa.
American sentiment was high. Cross-border damage and destruction was an outrage, an affront to our very being as a nation. One editorial cartoon of the time by Clifford K. Berryman depicted Uncle Sam leaping the border saying, “I’ve had about enough of this.” A smoldering home lay in the background of the image as Uncle Sam chased Villa. The states answered the call with thousands of National Guardsmen. Alabama’s own 167th Infantry joined the “Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army.”
For almost a year, Pershing and his soldiers chased the elusive Villa. The American troops had several bloody skirmishes with the rebels. Mexican troops began to resist the U.S. forces. In February 1917, diplomatic efforts avoided war in the Western hemisphere. The war in Europe became a pressing matter and troops on the border shipped out to the battlefields of WWI.
Regardless, there was a time when the federal government was willing to go to war to protect the southern border of the U.S. and the states answered. No one wants that. No rational person desires armed conflict. But the point is that a time existed when the U.S. government would not sit idly by while border communities suffered. Neighbors needed help.
American communities were harmed and this was viewed as an invasion, a destruction of the sense of security and sovereignty that every U.S. citizen has a right to expect and demand their government ensure. Armed intruders, squatters, vandals and thieves coming across our border were unwelcome. As one we responded to our neighbor’s distress.
It has not been that way for the past four years. In what seems to be a blatant and intentional effort to blur the lines of national borders, the Biden administration has failed to provide even a hint of care and concern that U.S. citizens should expect them to provide.
Taken into context, all the actions and inactions of the Biden administration make this lack of security at our southern border clearly appear as an intentional effort.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas claimed the border was “not open.” Vice President Harris went to the border only twice as border czar. Customs and Border Patrol officers were overwhelmed. Texas was forced to take unilateral action in Operation Lone Star and was sued for doing so by the Biden administration. Border wall construction stopped. Millions of illegal immigrants rushed the border and flooded into the United States.
But if we care about what happens at our neighbor’s house, then you will agree that we must not sit idly by. We must venture across the property lines to assist our neighbors. Because if the danger to our neighbor goes unchecked, then eventually it comes to our own house.
Securing our borders is a core principle of good governance. It is a key portion of providing for the common defense, supporting the general welfare, and ensuring domestic tranquility. Without a border, you have to question whether we really have a nation.
Armed intruders, squatters, vandals and thieves still have open invitations from progressive leaders. But there was a time when a president saw the border as something for which to fight. A time when Uncle Sam leaped the fence and said, “I’ve had about enough of this.”
To contact Phil or request him for a speaking engagement, go to www.rightsideradio.org.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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