Dear Editor,

The Republican Party caved again to the wishes of Mr. Trump. Talking out of both sides of their mouths, they blustered that they would hold up Ukraine aid until and unless they got what they wanted on border security.

Then Mr. Trump began to fulminate behind the scenes. This was a winning issue for him in the upcoming election, and he didn’t want any attempts to fix the problem. The bill included aid for Ukraine, Israel, Pacific allies as well as aid to the Palestinians. The proposal would have also invested $20 billion in border security. The bill would have raised the standard for migrants to pass an initial asylum screening, hired thousands of added border personnel, hired 100 more judges to hear asylum cases, purchased 100 new machines for detecting fentanyl, and expanded legal immigration by small amounts.

It had no concessions about the “Dreamers’” path to citizenship. It would allow the president to close the border if over 5,000 migrants attempt to cross in a single day. Considering that in December there were over 300,000 migrants attempting to cross, over 10,000 per day, this would be an added tool to reduce the incentives for migrants to attempt to come to the United States.

Make no mistake, this is a hemispheric problem. Massive numbers of people are on the move because of political instability in their countries, climate change making it impossible to survive where they are, crime and corruption. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, a noted conservative leaning newspaper, on February 6 published an editorial, part of which is transcribed here.

“By any honest reckoning, this is the most restrictive migrant legislation in decades… The Senate bill is a major improvement over the status quo, as the Border Patrol union said Monday in endorsing it. The bill would go far to reduce the incentives for illegal migration and provide new tools to the executive branch to control it. Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, who negotiated for the GOP, deserves thanks for digging into the policy nuances and writing a bill that Mr. Trump never came close to getting when he was President. Yet the signs are that many Republicans in Congress may heed Mr. Trump’s current orders and reject this policy victory. They will point to this or that detail to justify opposition, all of which are minor in the context of these consequential reforms. House Republicans could also work to improve the bill, but it appears they may not even allow a vote.

If Republicans reject this bill, they will hand Democrats an argument that the GOP wants border chaos that they can exploit as a campaign issue. The chaos will continue for at least another year. Republicans may think they can write a better law if Mr. Trump wins in November, but don’t count on it. Democrats will again demand much more in return. If Republicans pass up this rare chance at border reform, they may not get a better one.”

The stated reason for rejecting this proposed border fix was that the GOP didn’t want to “give Biden a win.” How absolutely cynical of them. What about the citizens of this great nation? Do we get any consideration? Republicans don’t want to fix anything. They want power, or they are afraid Trump’s base will pillory them in a primary or send them death threats. It is sad to see this capitulation when the problem is only growing. Can we wait another year?

Bill Thibedeau

Gilpin County