Signing a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill March 23, 71-year-old President Donald Trump lamented the fact that Congress only earmarked $1.6 billion for border security. Since the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised a “big-and-beautiful” border wall to keep drug dealers and criminals on the Mexico side of the border. Trump asked Congress for $25 billion for his border wall, only to find opposition from Republicans and Democrats. Congress doesn’t see the logic of spending on a border wall when there’s no guarantee that the wall will do any better than the current fence in keeping out illegal aliens, largely from Mexico, South and Central America. “We’re going to be doing things militarily. Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military,” Trump said, after speaking with Defense Secretary James Mattis.
Meeting his campaign promise of building a border wall, Trump’s concerned about recent reports of caravans of South, Central American and Mexican refugees seeking entrance into the United States. Calling using the military a “big step,” Trump hopes to prevent more undocumented foreigners from breaching the U.S. border. “We really haven’t done that before, or certainly not very much before,” Trump said, referring to prior efforts by former President Barack Obama to use the National Guard to help secure the U.S. Mexican border. Former President George W. Bush launched Operation Jumpstart, sending some 6,000 National Guard troops to the border in 2006. Reduced to 3,000 National Guardsmen in 2007, Bush phased out the program before leaving office Jan. 20, 2009. Under Bush, National Guard troops built over 30 miles of fencing and more than 86 miles of vehicle barriers.
When you consider the polarization on immigration reform, Democrats back open-border immigration policies, something generally opposed by the GOP. Democratic elected officials tend to back illegal immigrants, even when it violates current U.S. border and Homeland Security laws. Democratic lawmakers cast their Republican counterparts as anti-immigrant, when, in fact, the GOP backs immigration as long as immigrants play by the rules. Democrats view any enforcement of immigration laws as a form of racism. “Trump wants the GOP Congress to pass funding for a border wall with the Nuclear Option, passing legislation with only 51 votes, with Vice President Mike Pence casting the deciding vote. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) both resist the idea on changing House and Senate rules to get legislation passed.
Trump’s decision to use the military doesn’t address the issue of border wall funding that must go through Congress. Unless Congress votes for more border funding, it’s not likely the military can be used Under Title 10 for law enforcement, something mandated for the Border Patrol. Trump has un uphill battle convincing Congress, with all of today’s budget constraints, to allocate large sums of cash to build a border wall. When former President Barack Obama sent 1,200 National Guardsman to the border in 2010, they did primarily reconnaissance or intel gathering, not law enforcement. Reacting to Congress’s lack of funding for a border wall, Trump declared the DACA [Deferred Action Childhood Arivals] program “dead,” blaming Democrats for not allocating cash for his border wall. Trump rescinded Obama’s executive order allowing so-called “Dreamers” to stay in the U.S. indefinitely.
After Sep.11, a new version of the Minutemen on the Mexican border was founded in 2004 by activist cattle ranchers led by Jim Gilchrist. Gilchrist lent much needed media attention to the border crisis but was ultimately discredited by left wing activists as a form of racism and xenophobia. Trump’s successful 2016 campaign was driven by the string of Mideast-style massacres on U.S. soil, prompting civic groups to call for better border security. Instead of working on both sides of the aisle, Democrats have sided with illegal immigrants, often painting Trump and border security activists as anti-immigrant. With the mainstream media painting Trump and his border security advocates as racist, there’s little chance Congress can find common ground to allocate cash for Trump’s border wall. Both sides know the border security is a clear-and-present danger to U.S. citizens.
With caravans of Hondurans heading to the U.S. border, Trump wants the military to reinforce the border as much as possible. “If it reaches our border, our laws are so weak and so pathetic,” said Trump. “It’s like having no border,” calling attention to the need for a more secure border. Whether Trump’s border wall provides better security is anyone’s guess. If Trump would sell the need for more border agents and high-tech security there might be more receptivity in Congress. Building a physical wall where there’s currently adequate border fencing makes little sense to lawmakers trying to spend tax dollars wisely. Whether or not the U.S. government improves the existing border fence or builds new wall where practical, the public is weary of border security kicked around like a political football. Most Americans agree that something must be done to beef up security on the Mexican border.
