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On BBC, a reporter was talking about the “great migration surge around the world.” Is this the surge that Republicans are blaming on Biden? Well, they blamed him for high prices when the supply chain broke down during COVID, too. If only he was as powerful as the GOP claims he is.

President Biden does wield a lot of clout in the world. He pulled NATO together. He worked with legislators on both sides of the aisle to pass the CHIPS Act and the infrastructure bill. And he could do something about the border situation if Congress would only do its job.

The president is asking for additional manpower at the border. It’s clear that Republicans really don’t want to fix the problem. If they did, what would they have to run on? At least one congressman admits that’s the reason he won’t vote for the funding package.

But the great surge! Why do people want to come to the U.S. and Europe? Are they looking for opportunity? Democracy? Safety?

Democratic countries with vibrant economies are the best places to live. Republicans want to change all that. So, give us a dictator and take away our freedoms and economic privileges, and soon, maybe no one will want to move here?

What we need is a welcome mat on the one hand and a robust screening system on the other. We need more asylum judges for a faster turnaround on asylum claims, you know the right to asylum that is written into our Constitution. We need holding facilities to house asylum seekers during the shortened claim process. And we need to quit talking about the cost of maintaining the border and think about the added number of hardworking, tax paying citizens we welcome in.

Keep the bad players out.

Keep stopping fentanyl at the borders and airports.

Keep working with countries around the world to stop the drug trafficking that exists all over the world, not just on our southern border.

Congress, instead of blaming President Biden for a world-wide crisis, it’s time you gave him the resources he needs to address it. And if you really don’t like immigrants, I have to ask, “Who were your immigrant ancestors, and when did they arrive?”

 

If you’re not indigenous, your ancestors either immigrated or were brought here against their will. Humans migrate. You can’t stop the migration, but you can work to make our system safer and more streamlined, and you can advocate for peace and prosperity around the world.

Holding up funding will only make the problem worse, and that won’t be Biden’s fault, but yours.