The United States and its taxpayers have been taken advantage of for too long. For the last four years, illegal migrant crossings, through government-sponsored nongovernmental organizations, visa overstays and border entries, have reached a tipping point. It is irresponsible for us to continue this trend while intentionally forgoing enforcement of our immigration laws. Though advocates of illegal immigration continue to delegitimize legal pathways to citizenship, it is imperative that our nation enforces its immigration laws and regains control of our southern border.
The last administration and sanctuary cities across the country prioritized subsidizing and protecting illegal immigrants over supporting and safeguarding their own citizens. The financial strain this has put on local governments is felt by all. Denver, a sanctuary city whose mayor vowed to fight President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, has been forced to slash budgets for police and fire departments, cut 911 operator pay and freeze hiring to pay for the housing and support of its 42,000 illegal immigrants. Chicago, which is currently experiencing a self-induced budget shortfall, is expecting to spend $321 million this year in supporting their illegal immigrant population. In 2019, Athens, Georgia, opened its doors as a sanctuary city and the nation bore witness to the inhumanity that was brought to the campus of the University of Georgia. Examples of how illegal immigration has crippled local economies and civic organizations are not hard to come by.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Advocates of illegal immigration will attempt to focus on the hypothetical productivity and economic benefits of migrants, but these arguments are speculative at best. If mass migration is a net economic positive, why are the border crisis and the financial support of migrants sending cities to near bankruptcy? Why are these same cities, which loudly proclaim their sanctuary status, begging Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to stop the bussing of migrants to their doors? Illegal immigration is simply bad fiscal policy.
As we have sadly found out in the past few years, these policies are also deadly. The killing of 22-year-old Laken Riley serves as a reminder of the horror that unenforced immigration laws bring to our communities. Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan criminal that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was unable to stop, murdered Riley on the University of Georgia campus last year. On Jan. 29, Trump signed my Laken Riley Act into law to stop her fate from ever happening to another innocent soul, marking the start to a renewed focus of removing these dangerous criminals from our communities.
Anti-legal immigration leaders and activists have used support for illegal immigration as a litmus test for progressive bona fides, and the thousands like Laken Riley have paid the price. Instead of focusing on supporting existing at-risk populations or protecting their citizens, far-left politicians are subverting immigration laws as a deliberate attack against Republicans and are using their newly found support of illegal immigrants as a vehicle for resistance against Trump.
It wasn’t always like this. Repatriation was seldom a controversial topic prior to Jan. 20. The stigmatization of the enforcement of immigration laws in the media and with the progressive activists is a fairly new phenomenon. Between 2009 and 2015, then-President Barack Obama deported nearly 2.5 million illegal immigrants. The widespread negative ramifications and economy-crushing impacts the activist class claims will happen under Trump’s deportation plans did not materialize when previous presidential administrations enforced the laws. If the anti-legal immigration, pro-migrant activists are correct, wouldn’t their doomsday predictions have come true under Obama? A few loud voices in op-eds and news appearances should not dictate how the most powerful country on the globe enforces its laws. In fact, 66% of Americans agree that we should deport illegal immigrants
We are finally getting serious about protecting our sovereignty and rule of law because our country demanded it on Nov. 5. If an individual has entered our country illegally or has overstayed a visa, the United States has every right to remove this person from the country. We cannot simply ignore these crimes anymore. It is unreasonable to believe that we should intentionally not enforce our own immigration laws while opening the border to millions of people from across the globe.
A nation is nothing without its borders and laws. Since Trump’s inauguration, we are finally starting to see enforcement at our southern border and a much-needed commitment to upholding U.S. law.
Mike Collins, a Republican, represents Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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