Border Crisis Reaches Breaking Point [OPINION]

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan says conditions at the southern border have reached a “breaking point.” McAleenan says there are simply not enough agents to keep up with the flow of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

In addition, the crush of migrants seeking asylum has overwhelmed the system forcing Border Security to shelter hundreds of them in a makeshift facility under the international crossing bridge in the El Paso area, a caged off area outdoors where cots and facilities have been placed. Officials say the health crisis that has developed is alarming.

Customs and Border Protection tweeted that the crisis is out of control: "#CBP saw the highest total of apprehensions and encounters in over a decade on Monday, with 4,000 migrants either apprehended or encountered at ports of entry in a single day. Yesterday, that record was broken again—4,117 in a single day."

Fox News reports the situation at the border is rapidly intensifying: "Last month, more than 76,000 migrants were detained, marking the highest number of apprehensions in 12 years. That figure includes more than 7,000 unaccompanied children. More than 36,000 migrant families have arrived in the El Paso region in fiscal 2019 with about 2,000 at the same time last year."

President Trump has declared a state of emergency in order to free up federal funds to complete a border barrier to at least help to reduce the flow of illegals and asylum seekers, but Congress continues to fight him every step of the way.

This invasion of our sovereign nation has got to stop. Americans must demand action from Congress on the matter of immigration reform and insist that that reform include a sensible barrier to prevent this onslaught from continuing.

America has a very generous immigration policy that welcomes thousands of legal immigrants to our country each year. But simply allowing people to crash the gate is unacceptable and must be stopped.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.