To the Editor:
A nation without border security is no nation at all but rather just lines on a map. The United States border, particularly along the southern side is largely porous. The current situation is best described as a crisis with millions of illegal entrants busting through Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stations and barriers or simply running straight through unprotected zones where these travelers will then disperse and melt into the wider U.S. society.
While no one knows for sure just how many have entered illegally, estimates put the figure at around 2 million people in just the last 24 months. To put that number into perspective that is the equivalent population of more than two times that of the city of Indianapolis. According to the New York Times report in October 2023, migrants were encountered 1.7 million times in the prior 12 months. That is “the highest number of illegal crossings since at least 1960.”
More to the point, there is no doubt in my mind that there are some bad apples in that apple cart and our national safety is at risk at the border. According to CBP, we had 169 individuals on the terrorist watch list apprehended at our southern border all attempting to illegally enter the United States. Since President Biden took office, we have witnessed 7.5 million encounters, 6.2 million at the border, arrested 35,433 aliens with criminal records, lost 1 to 2 million illegal entrants, aka, “gotaways.” Never mind the unprecedented flow of illicit drugs, like fentanyl coming across the southern border, put it all together and we have a true crisis in the land.
Former Democratic President Harry S. Truman had a sign on his desk that famously said the “buck stops here.” Meaning he didn’t pass the buck onto anyone else; he took responsibility for how the country was governed. Amazing how differently this current officeholder is compared to his Democratic predecessor.
It’s time to demand more from our leaders. We need to face the absolute certainty that we are under attack and our nation is becoming less safe by the day. If you want to preserve the country and uphold the law — the first thing to do is secure the entry points. Secure the borders, not just the southern ones, but also the northern ones, the interior ones, the seaports and all other points of entry. Any official who fails us in this regard should be removed from their posts.
Jim Sullivan
Indianapolis
