Can the National Guard solve the immigration crisis?

If the border is secure, as the Biden administration keeps telling us, then why are two dozen states sending about 2,500 National Guard troops to our southern border?

The answer is that the border isn't secure.  Illegal aliens have been pouring through it into the United States with the encouragement of the left in this country.

The U.S. Department of Defense made the request for assistance at the border, and Republican-led states responded.  Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina and Arkansas agreed to send troops.  Even Democrat-led states like Rhode Island, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and the territory of Puerto Rico are lending their support.

"Several other states — Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon, Utah and Washington — will be providing National Guard aviation support for border operations, according to the department," The Center Square reported.  "The U.S. Virgin Islands has also committed National Guard troops to the mission, which is being overseen by the U.S. Northern Command."

The National Guard will assist the U.S. Border Patrol with the surge of illegal weapons, drugs, and people into the country.  They will serve as support to U.S. Border Patrol and are prohibited under federal law from detaining undocumented migrants or others caught crossing into the United States illegally.

"It will definitely be helpful to have more boots on the ground there, because the border patrol is absolutely overwhelmed," said Jessica Vaughn, director of policy studies at the Washington D.C.–based Center for Immigration Studies.  "One of the biggest security problems is that federal officials are so distracted dealing with migrants that the border is totally unguarded."

"Groups that support tougher immigration restrictions say the deployment of the National Guard troops will help overburdened federal agencies deal with the surge of illegal immigration", according to The Center Square.

This may not be the answer to the problem of illegal immigration in the United States, but it should help.  It is definitely a step in the right direction.

"The U.S. Border Patrol has apprehended migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border more than 1.8 million times since October, breaking previous records, according to the agency.  The Center Square, through its sources, reported in August the number of illegal entries is nearly 5 million since Biden began to occupy the White House in January 2020."

We should not stop other efforts to curb illegal immigration.  Most likely, the solution will come from a combination of varying efforts from the states and the federal government.  And while many states seem more than willing to do what they can to help, the Biden administration and deep blue states will have to be pulled kicking and screaming into doing what is right for the country.

"It's clear from the Biden administration's response that they are not interested in stopping the influx of illegal immigrants," Vaughn said.  "They have many tools at their disposal that they could be using to put a stop to the illegal crossings, but they have not done that."

This sort of action has been long overdue.  Hopefully, it will show results that we can build upon to secure our borders. 

Michael A. Letts is the CEO and founder of In-VestUSA, a national grassroots non-profit organization helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bulletproof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

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