RUTHFULLY YOURS

The area around America’s southern border has long been a dangerous, inhospitable place.

In addition to the harsh desert environment, the lure of sneaking into a prosperous nation has brought with it a lucrative criminal enterprise.

Now that the federal government has all but abandoned the idea of border security, the Biden White House’s faux compassion on immigration policy is creating unprecedented levels of criminality, terror and death.

While making a mockery of our long-standing immigration laws meant to protect our nation and its legal residents, Biden’s policies have also empowered vicious human trafficking cartels and subjected aspiring border crossers to unspeakable horrors.

Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most violent cartels, released a video threatening to kill escorts and sex workers who do not pay protection money to them. It featured several terrified women bound and on their knees while being menaced by masked, gun-toting cartel enforcers.

The staging was reminiscent of the 2004 Nick Berg decapitation video, which was carried out by Islamist militants during the Iraq War. At the time, the world was shocked by the brutality of the militants half a world away. Thanks to the White House’s misguided agenda, the same kind of brutality now lives in our proverbial back yard.

To dismiss the CJNG video as an aberration would be factually wrong, as any immigration enforcement agent could describe innumerable similar incidents. A recent video message from the attorney general of Sonora, Mexico, described how the notorious Sinaloa cartel makes videos showing migrants being beaten with a paddle to extort money from their family members.

Migrants are not the only targets of cartel savagery. Four U.S. citizens were abducted in Matamoros, Mexico, in March, leaving two dead. After the U.S. government applied pressure, the Gulf cartel turned over its members who kidnapped the Americans. The cartel also issued a public apology for the incident, an unusual act which shows it operates more like the de facto rulers of the area than a criminal enterprise.

In addition to the violence inflicted by the cartels, the White House’s neglect of border security and the limitless influx of migrants has resulted in so many deaths, one might think the area is covered with land mines. There were 890 migrant deaths along the border in fiscal year 2022, a 58 percent increase over 2021. That includes people drowning in the Rio Grande, falling off cliffs or suffering dehydration in the desert heat.

“It’s like a graveyard,” said Maverick, Texas, County Sheriff Tom Schmerber. “I’ve been working on the border for almost four decades and never saw tragedies of this magnitude.”

Then there is the destruction pro-illegal immigration policies have caused in the U.S. interior. While our overwhelmed Border Patrol seizes large amounts of drugs, far too much is still getting in. Overdoses of fentanyl, one of the cartels’ most profitable imports into America, are now the number-one cause of death in the country among adults 18-45 years old.

While our corporate media does its best to ignore it, the nonstop flow of people across our border includes violent criminals. Customs and Border Protection reported a more than 500 percent increase in arrests of individuals with criminal convictions since fiscal year 2020. The most common offenses include driving under the influence, assault, burglary and sexual offenses.

It is often the case that those arrested with criminal convictions committed their offenses during a previous stint in the U.S. Border agents in Douglas, Arizona, arrested Javier Olivar-Sosa on June 14. The Mexican national has a previous conviction of first degree criminal sexual conduct in Minneapolis. Given the federal government’s current posture on illegal aliens, how long will it be until he is back on the street, living in the shadows in one of our many “sanctuary” communities?

The tragedy is that these incidents—kidnappings, drownings, murders, drug overdoses, assaults, among others—are not cases of fait accompli. They could be prevented or greatly reduced with wise, commonsense leadership. Instead, we get policies that weaken America’s borders, make our country a worse place to live and create untold human suffering on both sides of the border, all done under the guise of “compassion.”

Do not fall for the red herrings and shiny new things meant to deflect blame for the immigration meltdown. After a brief four-year respite of border security, responsibility for our present quagmire belongs squarely with Joseph Robinette Biden and his band of one-world, anti-borders zealots. The only question is when, if ever, a significant majority of Americans will stand up and demand better.