A Reality Check

The government is now open after over a month—the longest shutdown in our history.  It will remain open for only 15 days and is dependent upon whether or not a “reasonable” deal can be reached (which can only be accomplished by bipartisan compromise).  Mr. Trump asserts that if the Republicans and Democrats cannot reach the “reasonable’ deal, he has other options, which I assume would be the declaration of a national security emergency.

National conversation around immigration and the southern border region took on a new emphasis when Donald Trump announced his bid for the presidency and proclaimed without evidence that  most immigrants were thugs, rapists and drug dealers. He declared that only a wall, paid for by Mexico, could resolve the issue as he described it.  He continues to assert his claims and has taken an enforcement-only approach, demanding more border walls, more agents, more detention beds, and more military interventions.  Is Mr. Trump’s claims evidence-based?  Are his “facts” reality?  The Southern Border Communities Coalition says No.  Mr. Trump and Tucker Carlson of Fox News say Yes. It is past time for a reality check.  

Billions of dollars have been invested in border enforcement.  Is this our national priority?  What about the northern border?  Border enforcement  is a spending monster eating up taxpayer dollars that are needed for health care, education, and infrastructure.  Congress has channeled more money to immigration enforcement ($21 billion now) than any other enforcement agencies combined, including agencies like the FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals and Secret Service.  Most of the money goes to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  

CBP’s budget in fiscal year 2018 was $14.4 billion.  Border patrol personnel numbered 59,000, making it the largest enforcement agency in the nation.  Eighty percent of the agency’s Border Patrol agents (16,605 of 19,437) are concentrated on the southern border.  Trump’s expanded deployment of the military to the border will cost $200-$300 million in addition to the $182 million for the earlier deployment of the National Guard. (2000 National Guard and 5,200 active-duty troops are at the southern border now).  

Is there a need for a “great, great wall?”  Should Congress allocate even more money to this “national conversation” (now the only conversation) by Trump’s faulty assertions that the southern border is a national security issue?  Because Mr. Trump says so does not make his assertions true, and his record of not telling the truth is a matter-of-fact.