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Monthly Column - Crisis at the Border

June 27, 2014

The immigration crisis unfolding in Texas and the southern border is a tragedy – one that presents complex issues with limited options. Since last October, more than 180,000 people, nearly one-quarter who are unaccompanied children, have crossed the Southwest border from Central America. That's a 99% increase from the previous year, and Border Patrol data indicates it has soared over 1,000% since 2009.

This massive uptick in illegal immigration has taken its toll on Texas' resources. Border Patrol officers are overwhelmed, and many are leaving their assigned missions to tend to the unaccompanied minors, meaning the border is left even less monitored.

That's a crisis in itself since only 6.5% of the border is fully monitored. The non-partisan Government Accountability Office released a report saying the current monitoring system "limits oversight and accountability and has reduced information provided to Congress." They can't even tell Congress how broken and porous our border is because President Obama's system doesn't require them to gather this information.

It's no wonder that hundreds of thousands of people from Mexico and Central America are illegally crossing into the United States: They know they won't get caught! And to make matters worse, President Obama continues to make illegal immigration appealing by broadcasting his support for amnesty programs like DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and the DREAM Act, when he should be making it loud and clear that if you cross our border illegally, you will be sent back.

Our number one priority right now must be to secure the border. Until we seal the border and stem the flow, this crisis will grow. With detention centers, makeshift warehouses, and military bases already filled with children, many who are sick, we are soon to be out of options. U.S. law prohibits the deportation of unaccompanied minors from Central America, leaving border towns overflowing.

It's no secret that conditions are dire in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Gang-related violence is on the rise, and families are scared for their children's safety. That's why the U.S. has partnered with each of these governments and provided them with hundreds of millions of dollars to help combat gang violence, strengthen citizen security, spur economic development, and improve their capacity to receive and reintegrate returned families and children.

Our resources are aptly spent to aid these countries, but I fear the crisis at the southern border will soon consume these humanitarian dollars, leaving millions of Central Americans even more vulnerable in their home countries. That's why a fully closed and secure border is the first, and most important, step. We shouldn't be in the business of enforcing other countries' laws without enforcing our own first.

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