As the situations in both Texas and Washington play out I can’t help but be struck by the games that appear to be going on with managing expectations. If there is truth to the limited details that have leaked out about this border deal, we are being played. The details seem a little foggy to me as I have heard a couple of numbers in the media. So let’s just go with the most generous.
If accurate, the deal would allow up to 5,000 illegal crossers into the country every day before any real enforcement actions would take place. At 155,000 per month, that seems reasonable compared to the November and December numbers we saw (over 300,000 each). It comes to 1.8 million every year. That appears to be an improvement from fiscal 2022 (2.6 million) and 2023 (3.2 million), both numbers according to CBP’s website. According to Statista, during the years of Trump’s presidency, the average number of crossings was just under 500,000.
So here’s the question: what Republican, in their right mind, could possibly look at those statistics and believe that the deal they are negotiating with the Democrats is a reasonable and good deal for Americans? I mean, what is Lankford thinking? How can he defend this? Has the Biden admin done so much damage to our perception of what’s normal at our border that they believe now that they can convince us that this is a great deal? I guess it’s possible. There’s still a cohort of Americans that don’t believe in borders at all. For them any limit is too much.
But for us to agree to a level that is higher than we have ever had under any president before Joe Biden is absolutely unacceptable. Especially since Biden has shown himself to be unwilling to do much of anything to shut any of this down. This deal is bad enough but do we really expect this administration to enforce it if it gets approved?
Finally, it is really what has not yet been revealed in this bill that has me worried. That’s the part that few seem to be discussing. And, true to form, it is being reported that Schumer plans to shut down debate for a vote by Thursday of this week. So Senators will have a day to review the actual text before voting on it.
This has got to change.
You're being generous. The bill is a travesty, and when the Senate as expected passes it along to the House, it's a lose-lose proposition for House Republicans who have promised to shoot it down...and will be awarded high blame by the media. This is why people need to pay attention to details - and why every legal vote matters.