In an op-ed posted today to the Washington Examiner website, Chief Political Correspondent Byron York questioned what comes next for those who vehemently denied that there was a legitimate crisis at the southern border. "The need is obvious," York states, referring to the House of Representatives' plan to vote today on emergency humanitarian aid to care for immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border.
With virtually no barrier to stop them, and easily evadable laws and loopholes, thousands of migrants are crossing illegally into the United States every day. Present predictions indicate that well over 1,000,000 illegal immigrants will come this year. Current U.S. law prevents border officials from quickly returning illegal aliens, and while they are being processed, some of the immigrants, including children, are kept temporarily in terrible conditions. "American officials have an obligation to take care of them before those with no valid claim to be in the United States are returned to their home countries," says York.
Nevertheless, House Democrats are reportedly torn about voting for the emergency spending measure. Those who support the appropriations bill do so with the intention of supporting the migrants, those who oppose the bill say that it will empower President Trump to carry out a plan to deport millions of illegal immigrants (illegal immigrants whose cases have received full legal, due process and who have been ordered deported by immigration judges). "Such deportations used to be relatively uncontroversial but are now, apparently, unacceptable to some Democrats," states York.
Most would say that this worsening, yet now accepted, crisis at the southern border should cause some introspection for those who have consistently downplayed its urgency. Earlier this year, despite the rising numbers of illegal aliens, for the first time in recent years mostly family units and unaccompanied children, and the testimony of border officials that they were unable to handle the situation at the border, many Democrats and their supporters in the media forcefully denied that there was a crisis on the southern border. "Here are a few - actually, more than a few - examples," writes York.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the situation "a fake crisis at the border."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it "a crisis that does not exist."
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, "There is no crisis at the border."
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries said, "There is no crisis at the border."
House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Eliot Engel called the situation "a fake crisis at the border."
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said, "There is no crisis at the border."
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said, "We don't have a border crisis."
Rep. Lloyd Doggett called the situation "a phony border crisis."
Rep. Earl Blumenauer called it "a fake crisis at the border."
Rep. Sanford Bishop called it "a crisis that does not exist."
Reps. Jesus Garcia, Jose Serrano, Suzanne Bonamici, Donald Beyer, Pramila Jayapal, and Adriano Espaillat called it a "nonexistent border crisis."
Former congressman and current California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said, "There is no border crisis."
Former Rep. Joe Scarborough, now with MSNBC, called the situation "an imaginary border crisis."
Former Bush White House official Nicolle Wallace, also with MSNBC, said: "There's not a crisis."
Former Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol called the situation "a fake crisis."
GOP strategist Rick Wilson said, "There is no crisis on the border."
Former conservative talk radio host Charlie Sykes said, "There is no crisis at the border."
The Washington Post's Max Boot called the situation a "faux crisis."
The Post's Jennifer Rubin said, "There is no crisis at the southern border."
The Post's editorial board called it a "make-believe crisis."
And finally, lest anyone ignore the late-night Resistance, comedian Jimmy Kimmel called the situation "a fake border crisis."
"Are 26 examples enough?" York asks, "There are plenty more, for those who care to look."
"The situation at the border is so terrible in part because those in power, and those cheering them on in the media, have steadfastly resisted commonsense measures to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants - the large majority of whom do not have a valid claim of asylum - across the border. The resulting paralysis in the border security encourages more migrants to come, making the situation worse by the day. Perhaps some of those quoted above only want to deny the president a victory, no matter how sensible. Perhaps others are simply looking for partisan advantage. Perhaps some sincerely believe in open, or virtually open, borders. It does not matter what their motives are. The crisis - yes, crisis - at the border worsens every day they do not act" concludes York.
For Byron York's full story, please visit the Washington Examiner.
