We Must Control the Tide of Illegal Immigration [OPINION]

As many as 14.3 million illegal immigrants are living in the U.S. now, an increase of nearly two million over the last two years. That, according to a new report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which estimates the illegal population is costing taxpayers roughly $132 billion a year.

Breitbart says the FAIR report attributes the sharp increase to "an unsecured southern border, growing sanctuary city policies, widespread available U.S. jobs with no nationwide E-Verify mandate, an increase in social welfare programs, exploitable asylum laws, and the ongoing promise of amnesty by GOP and Democrat lawmakers."

FAIR suggests the problem could worsen dramatically if steps are not taken to slow the tide of illegal immigration: "The total number of illegal aliens residing in the United States could surge to over 21 million by 2025, at a cost of nearly $200 million, annually.”

Why is Congress not doing something about this? Neither political party seems to be all that worked up about the immigration crisis, and that blows my mind. The public is aware and according to polling is concerned about the impact unchecked immigration will have on jobs, wages, services, entitlements and a host of other issues. The politicians are out of step as usual.

America is a nation of immigrants but it is first a nation of laws. Unless the laws to protect America's sovereignty and the rights of her citizens are protected from foreign invaders, our great country will cease to exist as we know it.

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.