Why I Haven’t Been Writing On The “Border Crisis” (And Why The “Border Crisis” Is Nonsense)

Joe Biden is nearing his 100th day in office, and so far, all things have been good. Both of his major policy proposals — COVID-19 relief and the infrastructure package — are incredibly popular, he currently sits at a 60% approval rating, and his opposition has had trouble attacking him. Business Insider reported recently that Republicans are admitting to having issues countering Biden’s agenda, meanwhile, Fox News has all but given up, focusing instead on Dr. Suess and Cardi B instead of attacking Democrats — which is especially funny considering attacking Democrats is all Fox News is ever good for.

However, one controversy still looms over the Biden Administration, despite the administration constantly trying to ignore it. And that is the “crisis at our southern border” that you have likely heard so much about — although not from me, because I’ve been ignoring it due to the utterly nonsensical nature of the situation.

Our media has been obsessing over this so-called crisis. On 4/1/2021, The New York Times published an op-ed from Christopher Landau — Trump’s Ambassador To Mexico — titled “The Real Reason For The Border Crisis.” His solution is simple, just do what Republicans have already spent years advocating for:

Unless there is a serious effort, through mandatory E-Verify and other relatively simple means, to ensure that persons hired to work in the United States are eligible to do so, our country will continue to entice unauthorized immigrants and reward unauthorized immigration.

E-Verify is something Republicans have been attempting to pass for years. Back in February, Republican Senators Mitt Romney and Tom Cotton introduced a bill to establish it in Congress. Tom Cotton, for those who forgot, is the same man who dropped this gem at CPAC 2021:

[The Biden administration has] halted deportations for all illegal aliens — murderers, rapists, terrorists, MS-13 gang members are not being deported.

Meanwhile, on 4/16/2021, Republican Congressman Fred Keller published an article in The Hill titled “How To Solve The Border Crisis.” His solution is rather simple, just continue doing what Donald Trump did:

President Biden could end this crisis tomorrow by sending a clear message that illegal immigration will not be tolerated. By reversing the decision to cease construction of the border wall and reinstating the “remain in Mexico” policy, America can once again assert its strength while maintaining a compassionate approach to processing good-faith asylum claims.

To give you an idea of just how similar that is to what Republicans are already pushing for, here’s their 2020 Platform on the same issue:

That is why we support building a wall along our southern border and protecting all ports of entry. The border wall must cover the entirety of the southern border and must be sufficient to stop both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. We insist upon workplace enforcement of verification systems so that more jobs can be available to all legal workers. Use of the E-verify program — an internet-based system that verifies the employment authorization and identity of employees — must be made mandatory nationwide.

Mind you, I wouldn’t exactly call “remain in Mexico” a “compassionate approach to processing good-faith asylum claims.” Although maybe I’m biased because I actually remember the man who created this process, President Donald Trump. Here’s what Donald Trump had to say on Asylum seekers during a rally in 2019:

The asylum program is a scam. Some of the roughest people you’ve ever seen. People that look like they should be fighting for the UFC. They read a little page given by lawyers. I am very fearful for my life. I am very worried that I will be accosted if I was sent back home.Oh, give him asylum. He’s afraid. He’s afraid. We don’t love the fact he’s got tattoos on his face.

It seems like anyone who talks about asylum seekers in that manner would have no interest in a “compassionate approach to processing good-faith asylum claims.” And that’s exactly what Donald Trump’s asylum policy showed. Last Week Tonight ran a segment on it just before the election, and the “remain in Mexico” policy Keller promotes commonly forced migrants to live in crowded and unsanitary locations where they were commonly kidnapped by cartels for ransom.

You might remember that in 2018 there was a caravan of migrants heading for the United States border. Here is Trump on them on 11/1/2018:

At this very moment, large, well-organized caravans of migrants are marching toward our southern border. Some people call it an “invasion”. It’s like an invasion. A lot of young men, strong men. A lot of men that maybe we don’t want in our country. I don’t want them in our country. And women don’t want them in our country. Women want security. Men don’t want them in our country. But the women do not want them. Women want security. Young strong men are invading and coming for our women.

Here’s Trump on Chain Migration:

Chain migration is not a good thing. Chain migration is bad. We have to end chain migration. Then you have chain migration. Chain migration. A guy comes in, stone-cold killer, in many cases a guy comes in, and then you have to bring his aunt, his uncle, his father, his grandfather, his grandparents, his third niece by a different marriage.

Here’s Trump on the Diversity Visa:

They call it “visa lottery”. I just call it “lottery”, where countries come in and they put names in a hopper. Common sense means they’re not giving you their best names. They’re giving you people they don’t want and then we take ’em out and where they do it by hand, probably what’s in their hand are the worst of the worst.

Honestly, it seems like to have anything close to a compassionate system would require a complete overhaul and the reversing of every immigration-based decision this man made. Not just because of his policies, although those don’t help, but also because this man had no compassion for immigrants. In all the quotes above, he implied that most immigrants are dangerous, that doesn’t seem like compassion.

For those who forgot, this is how Donald Trump talked about immigrants in his speech announcing his 2016 Presidential Campaign:

When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

Once again, if this is what Fred Keller views as compassion, then that’s rather alarming.

With that said, looking back at what our most recent Republican President said on immigration is important, not just because it shows what Biden entered office with, but also because it shows where his political party is coming from. The fact is, Keller likely does not want more immigrants in the first place, meaning any large number of immigrants coming to the border could be considered a “crisis” by them.

This is the angle much of the mainstream media seems to be covering the “crisis” with. Back in March, ABC’s This Week had this conversation with a South American migrant:

ABC’s Martha Raddatz to an illegal immigrant from South America: “Would you have tried to do this when Donald Trump was president?”

Migrant: “Definitely not.”

Raddatz: “Did you come here because Joe Biden was elected president?”

Migrant: “Basically”

Now, maybe this migrant really did come to the country because Joe Biden was President, I don’t know I can’t read minds. I will say that, if that is the case, I feel the need to ask: So what? Many people voted for Biden in part because they disagreed with Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric. A large number of us wanted more immigration to the United States, making this less of a “crisis” and more Joe Biden doing what his supporters want.

In a video uploaded on 3/22/2021, Keith Olbermann made this simple point better than I could:

What is it you all want us to do with the child refugees fleeing murder in their homelands, fleeing to us and begging us for our help? What is it Kevin McCarthy that you want us to do with them? Put them in cages as Trump did? What is it disgraced White House ex-surgeon Ronny Jackson that you want us to do with them? Send them to storage in filthy conditions in Mexico as Trump did? What is it that you Ted Cancun Cruz want us to do with them? Send them back to die in their native countries as Trump did?

Olbermann ends the video by asking if we’re going to let them in or “be a nation of goddamn stinking Trumps.” Once again, this is an obvious statement for someone whos in favor of immigration, but oddly enough that perspective seems to be rampantly disappearing from the mainstream media.

Make no mistake, Tucker Calrson is not the only mainstream media figure who hates immigrants. Back in Febuary, Assosaited Press was caught using The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), NumbersUSA, and the Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR) as sources in their reporting. I’ll allow Media Matters to explain who these people are:

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), NumbersUSA, and the Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR) were all founded by eugenicist and white nationalist John Tanton, who once wrote that “a European-American majority” was required to maintain American culture and fearmongered about a “Latin onslaught” in memos to FAIR describing immigration. In fact, CIS and FAIR are classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. CIS Executive Director Mark Krikorian has a long history of disparaging documented and undocumented immigrants. Under the Trump administration, he vehemently defended the family separation policy and dismissed concerns about the hundreds of children who could not be reunited with their parents. Krikorian was close with former Trump administration official Stephen Miller, who also has known ties to white nationalism. The AP quoted Krikorian alone at least four times within the last year — with no mention of his extremist views.

I could go on, but the point should be obvious: The only people who think what we’re seeing is a crisis are people who are anti-immigrant. If you are anti-immigrant, that’s fine, that’s your right as an American, but don’t pretend things not going your way is a “crisis.”